Sport & Leisure Strategy Public Consultation 2024

Proposed Our Vision

By 2030 we will have an increased participation in active leisure for all, with a particular focus on those least active, through access to a network of modern and sustainable indoor facilities together with a diverse mix of accessible public outdoor sports facilities and greenspaces.

We will further develop partnerships with public, commercial, and voluntary organisations to drive participation in a wide range of sport and leisure activities across the Borough. We will deliver this vision for the Borough’s future sport and leisure offering by focusing on four strategic themes/aims.

The Strategy set out a set of four key priorities:

Strategic Themes and Objectives  

1. Investing in an Active Dacorum - The Council will invest its available resources in high quality sport and leisure facilities, prioritising access for those with the least resources and reflecting the desire to minimise any impact on the environment.

2. Active Communities - The Council will focus on enabling local, enjoyable, and accessible opportunities for everyone to be active in their own neighbourhoods. We will focus our support on those groups who are least likely to take part, such as older people, disabled people, and people with long term health conditions.

3. Active Travel and Environments -The Council will prioritise the design of safe, attractive, and environmentally sustainable places and routes across all neighbourhoods and communities. We will support active travel options and make it easier for people to be active in their everyday lives.

4. Connecting Health and Wellbeing - The Council will collaborate with local community sport and physical activity organisations and health providers, promoting joined up thinking to support residents in moving more and feeling great.

Our strategy will be underpinned by a number of principles which will guide in designing, planning and delivering all the work that we do.

• Community Involvement and Engagement is critical to delivering facilities and services which meet the needs and aspirations of our customers and residents. We know that communities have a vital role to play in the sport and physical activity sector and we will work closely with community partners and residents to ensure they are able to contribute and get involved in a way that best works for them.

• Climate Change and Carbon Net Zero  Our role as a Council is to reduce our own emissions and to do what we can to enable change across the Borough. Through the investment, refurbishment and rebuild of our sport and leisure facilities and initiatives that encourage active travel, our strategy puts the environment and our commitment to carbon reduction at the centre of our decision making.

• Covid Recovery  The Covid-19 pandemic has changed people’s behaviour relating to how they want to get active, it has impacted on the sport and physical activity sector and has further exacerbated the inequalities that were already present. We will ensure our facilities and services are re-shaped to enable our communities to recover from these impacts.

• Wellbeing & Tackling Inequalities  We know it is easier to be active in some communities than others and that the benefits of being active are not always realised where they are most needed. Improving access to facilities and services and focusing resources where they will have the biggest impact on health outcomes will be at the forefront of our planning and will contribute to wider public health ambitions of improving wellbeing and health inequalities across the Borough.

• Collaboration is at the heart of what we do and is essential to the successful delivery of our ambitions. Taking a whole systems approach, we will work with all partners and residents, providing leadership and support where it’s needed and enabling others to deliver in their areas of expertise. 

• Inclusivity  Ensuring everyone in our communities and neighbourhoods can access facilities and services that enable them to benefit from an active lifestyle, whatever their age, ability, or background.

Dacorum Borough Council is committed to ensuring that our services, policies, and practices are free from discrimination and prejudice and that they meet the needs of all the community. For us to check we are providing fair and effective services, we would be grateful if you would answer the questions below.