Residents of Cherwell can count on initiatives to promote their wellbeing in the coming years as the council reaffirms its commitment to delivering leisure facilities and activity programmes.
Published: Wednesday, 6th December 2023
A new wellbeing strategy was agreed at a meeting of Cherwell District Council’s executive on Monday 4 December. It contains seven key goals to make it easier for people to lead healthy and happy lives.
They are informed by up-to-date research capturing the factors which shape local people’s needs. The goals are: to ensure that everyone can eat well, be physically active, participate in their community, connect with nature and culture, feel welcome and included; and to ensure the council adds value to the work of the NHS and other public sector partners.
Councillor Phil Chapman, Portfolio Holder for Healthy and Safe Communities, said: “Cherwell has for some time now been leading the way with initiatives which promote healthy lifestyles. For instance, FAST, a physical activity programme for families, has been replicated across Oxfordshire because it is recognised as an example of best practice.
“District councils have a role to play in influencing the long-term health of their communities; we know that when people have an opportunity to pursue their favourite activities, they will be healthier and happier and, at a population level, this will reduce demand on the NHS.
“But the activities we deliver must be well-targeted if we want to achieve that. This new wellbeing strategy lays the groundwork for more class-leading opportunities, driven by an up-to-date understanding of their needs, and helping ensure that Cherwell will be somewhere easy to live healthily and happily in the years to come.”
The wellbeing strategy emphasises how the council can help residents stay healthier and happier by preventing problems before they happen, looking at the bigger picture of how everything in the community works together. This includes continued partnership working with the voluntary sector and other public sector bodies.
As well as the continued commitment to running its own activity programmes, the strategy sets out the council’s role in gathering investment from developers for community, culture and leisure facilities. The council will also continue to successfully bid for external funding, adding in council resources directly where it can.