Rise: New organisation launched to help get Northumberland communities more active

The charity, to be known as Rise, has been formed by a merger of Tyne & Wear Sport and Northumberland Sport, two previously independent active partnerships.

The purpose of the change is to renew focus on reducing physical inactivity in communities throughout the combined area in order to achieve strategic outcomes including increased educational attainment and reduced absenteeism, improved physical and mental health, reduced anti-social behaviour, and safer and more vibrant communities.

Research has shown that inactivity is twice as deadly as obesity and responsible for one in six deaths in the UK.

The North East has the second highest levels of inactivity in the UK, with almost 40% of adults in Tyne & Wear and 30% in Northumberland not achieving the Chief Medical Officer’s minimum requirements of 30 minutes per day of moderate to intense physical activity.

Rise chief executive, Clare Morley, said: “Our aim is to help our strategic partners to achieve their desired goals by incorporating physical activity into their solutions, and to help create a more active approach to life and travel for residents in our area.

“Achieving these aims involves working with a broad range of local, regional and national partners including six local authorities, NHS, Sport England, businesses, education settings and the justice system to create the conditions for success across a wide range of projects.

“Our purpose is to offer guidance, information, insight and expertise to achieve fundamental and sustained increases in the number of people participating in regular physical activity, with a particular focus on under-represented and disadvantaged community groups.”

Strategic projects include working with the Police and Crime Commissioner’s unit, connecting with youth offending teams within each local authority area to develop a needs-led intervention programme involving young people receiving court orders.

Professor Andrew Walton, chairman of Rise, added: “It is more important now than ever that we focus at a strategic level on reducing inactivity in our communities by taking a whole systems approach and push for change at a population level.”

To mark the launch, Rise is running a week-long series of online events, which are available to view at www.wearerise.co.uk/launch

They include Rob Murfin, Northumberland County Council’s director of planning, talking about the socio-economic impact that can be created by incorporating physical activity into planning spaces.

Last summer, we reported that a 10-year Northumberland Physical Activity Strategy had been drawn up, with the aim of tackling the rising number of physically inactive people, which is bucking a downward national trend.

There was also concern about some ‘real stubborn inequalities’, with groups such as women and girls, people with disabilities and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds much less likely to be active.

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