It has been three months since I stepped away from working directly in Local Government. I have had time to reflect and think, a luxury you don’t always have when working day to day, especially given the pandemic’s impact.
I am fortunate to have a great network of friends and colleagues who continue to work in the Local Government sector and are doing some fabulous work in responding to these challenges, on top of their normal day job. There are so many fantastic stories. I took time out to look around, to listen and to reflect and learn remains vitally important. Therefore, I would wholeheartedly encourage everyone to read Sport England’s recent new strategy uniting the movement and the recent feedback from their local delivery pilots people and places. There is certainly plenty of food for thought and evidence of a growing understanding of the value of localised more flexible approaches moving away from transactional to relationship-based investment. I love this.
I live in the hope that in looking at COVID-19 recovery planning, local Councils see the value in placing physical activity as a central theme as its cross-cutting contributions are enormous. After all, a Physically active (less sedentary) place is a:
- A healthier place.
- A happier, more agreeable place to live.
- A better connected and less lonely place.
- More sustainable (less carbon) place.
- A more economically prosperous place.
