Hannah Dobbin talks about Sheffield City Council's plan to become the leading outdoor recreation city in Britain.
Sheffield City Council has a plan – to be the leading outdoor recreation city in the UK. But what does this mean and how will it work?
It means making outdoor recreation a part of everyday life and removing barriers to getting active. And so far, so good as this extract from a survey of 2000 workers in Sheffield reveals:
“Even from inside the city of Sheffield, you can get into a park or navigate your way out into the wilds without having to negotiate traffic.”
The economic argument for outdoor recreation has been made. Our Reconomics report found that outdoor recreation is the UK’s favourite pastime, with three in four adults regularly getting outdoors generating a total visitor spend in England of £21 billion in 2013/14.
Sheffield Hallam University says the evidence suggests that the city has higher than average participation rates across many activities, in particular running, recreational cycling, fishing and skiing. The outdoors is also key to Sheffield’s economic footprint:
Sheffield's Green and Open Space Strategy 2010-2030 aims to ensure that that ‘every area of the city has green and open spaces of exceptional quality for all current and future generations to use and enjoy’.
Sheffield is now looking at the economic impact of its natural assets, and will develop an Outdoor Economic Strategy in the autumn of next year.
This will be achieved by the local authority working in partnership with voluntary and private sectors through a joint venture to invest in its natural assets and creating outdoor recreation hubs across the city.
The outdoor recreation hubs aim to join-up provision across the city, provide high-quality facilities and encourage talent, tourism and trade.
Sheffield City Council’s vision is exciting. It’s based on economic evidence which will hopefully bring immediate financial return but also long-term cost savings to areas like health.
But it won’t be without its challenges.
These may include issues around land ownership, as well as successfully engaging local communities and those who may not previously have had access to outdoor activities.
We look forward to seeing how Sheffield gets on with its plan and hope that it will be a catalyst for other cities to embrace and deliver outdoor recreation.
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