Find Your Active Southend
Strengthening community activity, wellbeing and inclusion through locally-led investment
The Active Southend Fund, delivered through the Find Your Active Southend Network and administered by the Community Investment Board and SAVS, invested £20,000 into community driven physical activity. From 29 applications, 12 organisations were funded to deliver a range of physical activity projects locally.
These projects delivered diverse, insight‑led opportunities for residents who often face the highest barriers to being active. Across Southend, these projects created safe, welcoming and accessible opportunities for families, older adults, people with long-term conditions, SEND or seeking asylum, those experiencing homelessness, domestic abuse survivors, neurodivergent children and more. Activities ranged from padel and yoga to inclusive festivals, bouldering, boxing, community gym programmes and visually‑impaired activity pathways.
Collectively, the programme demonstrated a high‑value, low‑cost model of inclusive physical activity that strengthened community assets, encouraged behaviour change and improved wellbeing across the city.
Active Essex played a central leadership role, enabling community‑led decision making and ensuring investments aligned with the Fit for the Future Strategy and the Active Essex Implementation Plan 2025–26.
By empowering the Community Investment Board to distribute funding locally, Active Essex strengthened trust, local ownership and collaboration across Southend’s voluntary, community and sport sectors. This model also reflected the partnership principles of the Southend-on-Sea Health and Wellbeing Strategic Plan 2025–27, supporting prevention and improving wellbeing.
The approach emphasised:
- Insight driven programme design
- Lived experience led decision making
- Inclusion and behaviour change principles
- Sustainable, community rooted delivery models
Key Learnings
It's important to take time to reflect and understand the learnings from work undertaken, to focus on ways to improve in the future.
Demand
Waiting lists for activities such as Yoga4All cancer sessions and padel, exceeded capacity.
Environment
Weather and seasonality affected participation that took place outdoors.
Confidence
Participants with additional needs required reassurance, routine and encouragement to take part.
Barriers
Transport, timing and venue access affected attendance.
Trust
Co-creation with beneficiaries, was essential for SEND, homelessness and asylum seeker projects.
The fund generated several meaningful ripple effects across Southend’s physical activity system. New partnerships emerged, including a collaboration between Brazilarte Circle CIC and Mind to deliver long‑term mental health and movement programmes. Many participants progressed into mainstream activity, such as individuals from the Boxing for Recovery initiative who went on to join Southend Combat Academy independently. There was clear evidence of long‑term behaviour change, with families, older adults and visually impaired residents who continued activities beyond the funded programmes, and the fund also increased awareness of inclusive sport, particularly relating to autism, visual impairment and mental health. Organisational sustainability strengthened as groups like Little Heroes successfully renegotiated affordable facility rates, and additionally residents reported feeling more confident, socially reconnected and supported by their peers, demonstrating the wider social impact of the fund.
Going forward, many partners intend to sustain or grow their delivery, with several exploring new funding pathways, progression routes or additional sessions, such as follow‑on boxing rounds, further blocks of yoga, expanded SEND bouldering opportunities and more frequent outdoor community fitness.
The Community Investment Board will apply learning from this round to shape future resident‑led investment models. Meanwhile, Active Essex will continue supporting partners to embed sustainability, inclusion and co‑production, ensuring 2025’s momentum contributes to long‑term participation and healthier communities across Southend. This approach will continue informing the ambitions of the Southend-on-Sea Health and Wellbeing Strategic Plan, with a focus on prevention, wellbeing and early intervention.
