About the Investment Programme
The Movement, Activity and Sport Investment Programme is a £2.75 million programme, dedicated to reducing inequalities and improving wellbeing through increased participation in movement, activity and sport at all stages of life.
Background
York and North Yorkshire’s key challenges include:
- Rising levels of physical inactivity
- Health inequalities and deprivation
- An ageing population
- Long-term health conditions
- Infrastructure and capacity gaps
- Local organisations and volunteers that lack the funding and workforce stability to deliver long-term, high-quality physical activity projects
The investment will look to tackle these challenges by aligning services, scaling up good practice, and creating a more resilient system for promoting physical activity.
The Sports Steering Group
The Sports Steering Group was created to ensure the programme is underpinned by expert advice. The Steering Group have advised on the current landscape, identified where there are funding gaps and opportunities, and recommended how the Mayor’s role and CA investment could be applied to have the biggest impact.
The taskforce is chaired by David Watson, Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Sport.
The taskforce has met regularly since April 2025 and includes the following partners:
- City of York Council
- NHS
- North York Moors National Park
- North Yorkshire Council
- University of York
- York City Football Club Foundation
Aims
The overall aim is to reduce inequalities and improve wellbeing through increased participation in movement, activity and sport at all stages of life; with a focus on addressing priority groups (including participation for women and girls, rural isolation and access, early intervention and prevention*, disability sport and inclusion).
*Early intervention and prevention has been subdivided and includes health and anti-social behaviour/crime.
The key objectives include the following:
- To promote physical activity to encourage behavioural and systemic change.
- To foster inclusivity and diversity ensuring movement, activity and sport opportunities are available to all with a focus on priority groups.
- To encourage partnerships between traditional and non-traditional sport settings.
- To enhance skill development and training in the sector/non-sector workforce.
- To achieve long term sustainability in movement, activity and sport initiatives for continuation after the funding has ended.
Four key areas of activity
Behaviour Change Campaign
Working in partnership to build and amplify current campaigns and strategies to promote the use of movement, activity and sport as a way of improving well-being, and reducing inequalities.
Additional Support for Policing, Fire and Crime Community Fund
Enhancing the Police, Fire and Crime Community Fund with a boost to the current annual grant funding investment. This will support a targeted call for projects relating to early intervention and prevention (crime and anti-social behaviour) that are routed in ‘movement, activity and sport’.
Movement, Activity and Sport Open Grant Programme
Supporting a call for projects with direct engagement and long-term sustainable inclusion of the following priority groups: Early intervention and prevention (health), participation for women and girls, rural isolation and access, disability sports and inclusion.
There is a role for traditional settings to become more inclusive and for non-traditional organisations to create opportunities and also support people to access traditional settings.
Workforce Development
Supporting people to become more active by developing sector workforce capability, through training around mental health, long term health conditions and falls prevention for example. Also, developing the non-sector workforce, who are working with the priority groups on a regular basis, to be able to give movement and activity messages and promote behaviour change.
The grant funding elements are expected to launch in October 2025. Please keep checking the website for updates.
