Plan to address low levels of physical activity in Slough

Slough councillors have backed a strategy put forward to tackle the drastically low levels of physical activity in the borough.

A council report said that in Slough, physical inactivity amongst residents has been higher than the national average for over a decade.

It said that 30 per cent of adults in the borough are inactive (compared to 22 per cent nationally) and only 40 per cent of children meet the recommended activity level for their age (compared to a national average of 47 per cent).

This contributes to a ‘very low’ healthy life expectancy in the borough of 58 for men and 60 for women.

The strategy aims to address these issues by focusing on having safe spaces where people can exercise, living in a healthy environment, and ensuring more residents use active travel.

It calls for a review of the current sports and leisure facilities in the borough to see how these can be improved.

Healthcare providers will also be tasked with raising awareness about the importance of physical activity during patient consultations.

Councillor Ejaz Ahmed (Con, Slough Central), the council’s lead member for community cohesion, leisure and sport said that the strategy focuses on areas where the council can ‘make the biggest differences’.

The strategy came before Slough councillors at a cabinet meeting on Monday, October 20 but some had questions around how this will be effectively implemented.

Cllr Paul Kelly (Con, Haymill) welcomed the plans but said that inactivity amongst children in particular has got ‘really, really bad’ over the years.

“I see the negative side of [children inactivity] every day at my day job,” Cllr Kelly, who works at a primary school in Slough, said.

“If you walk out of my school and you walk just 100 metres down the road, you’ve got three fast food places.

“How can we align a corporate strategy that matches this [physical activity] strategy and involves planning and licensing [services in the borough]?”

One of the strategy’s priorities covers ‘schools and early years’ and looks to encourage active travel for students and staff, creating a good physical culture.

Tessa Lindfield, the council’s director of public health and public protection, said that the strategy’s second priority, ‘healthy environments’, also addresses what Cllr Kelly raised.

It sets out plans to make parks and public spaces such as playing pitches more accessible for physical activity.

Ms Lindfield said: “We just have to make sure that we’re all in, that we’ve all got skin in the game. It’s not going to be enough for just public health to do the work.”

She added public health is already working closely with the council’s planning officers to make Slough a healthy place to live in.

Cllr Robert Stedmond (Con, Cippenham Green) also had questions around public safety after female residents contacted him and said that they would like to use the sports facilities in the borough more, but they don’t feel safe to do so.

Kelly Evans, the council’s director of public health, reassured Cllr Stedmond and said that women and girls is a specific group the strategy will focus on under ‘safe spaces’.

This priority calls on partners in Slough to encourage communities to engage in co-producing ‘social and physical environment interventions’ for women and girls.