Ambitious plan launched to make Wandsworth London’s most active borough

Wandsworth Council has set out its vision to help its residents become the most active in London by providing better access to high-quality physical and leisure activities. 

The plans, set out in the Council’s new 'Wandsworth Moves Together’strategy, will help raise awareness of the benefits of staying active, provide more and better opportunities to get active in ways that suit individuals’ needs, and ensure local services that support active communities are accessible and fit for the future. 

While Wandsworth residents are more active than both London and England on average, research has found that women are less likely to be active than men, and inactivity levels are higher among Black and minority ethnic groups as well as the unpaid carers and older people. One in three children are also not getting the recommended levels of activity. 

To combat this, a range of measures have been set out including free swimming to all children who receive free school meals, and a dedicated taskforce to focus on women and girls in sport.  

Residents on a range of means-tested benefits can already get free use of council gyms, swimming pools and other sports activities, and so far 50,000 bookings have been made at our Wandsworth leisure centres. To ensure every resident has the opportunity to enjoy Wandsworth’s amazing facilities, this summer 250 free tickets were available every day at the newly refurbished Tooting Bec Lido, as part of our Access for All scheme. 

While publicly accessible parks make up almost a quarter of the total area of Wandsworth, the Council has also committed to £1m per year to deliver significant improvements to play areas. The Council will also be investing in leisure centres, sports halls, playing pitches, play, parks and open spaces, active travel, and all of this investment will have sustainability at its heart.   

A pilot Community Wellbeing Activation Project will also take place with residents on the Alton Estate, which will identify barriers to participation in physical activity and connect residents with existing local leisure facilities and create new opportunities where gaps are identified.  

Cabinet Member for Environment Judi Gasser said: 

“Wandsworth residents are already some of the most active in the country, enjoying access to our wealth of green spaces and amazing leisure facilities – but we now want to ensure that everybody in the borough can enjoy what’s on offer in a way that works for them. 

“That’s why we’ve worked hard to come up with a strategy that works to remove the barriers people might have – whether that’s to do with cost, timing, proximity, or other issues, we’ve listened to residents and will continue to listen so that no one feels they can’t join in.  

“This will be a key part of our Access for All plan to improve access to all council services and will help us deliver our pledge to make Wandsworth fair, sustainable and compassionate.” 

Wandsworth Council is committed to making Wandsworth fairer for all its residents as part of the Access for All scheme. Over the next few months, more concessions and support across a wide range of council services will be announced, and we would welcome your views on what areas you think are most important for us to focus on. 

We'd like to hear about how you use our services, what you think about the principles of the scheme and where you think the money should be spent to make the biggest difference to our residents. 

Please give us your feedback using the Online Survey. If you need to request a paper questionnaire or any other format, please contact consult@wandsworth.gov.uk or call 020 8871 6000 quoting 'Access for All Consultation'.