An ambitious ‘Active Through Football’ programme is being proposed for the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham aiming to increase activity levels and create sustainable behaviour change, with public consultation currently underway.

The borough has been shortlisted to apply to the Football Foundation for funding to support the increasing of physical activity in people aged 16+, and practical ideas are being gathered. A key element of the success and sustainability of the project is community engagement, so a survey is gaining the views of local residents and organisations so they can help develop this project.

A new mapping tool has also been added to the ‘One Borough Voice’ website to indicate which areas of the borough people feel should be involved in the Active Through Football programme. 'Pins' can be created to share details as to why individuals think their specific area would be a good fit.

There are many ways this programme can be delivered, including recreational football, female sessions, Walking Football and ‘football for fitness’ classes. The eventual delivery, location and time will be fully dependent on the local community feedback. Ideas and suggestions can then be taken on board to help shape the project’s structure.

A second community conversation is being hosted on Monday 19th April from 6:00-7:00pm. Plus, residents who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for one of the following prizes (kindly offered by Everyone Active): one of 100 guest passes, one month's free membership, spa day.

To find out more about the ‘Active Through Football’ community consultation, or to complete the survey, follow this link. For further details, contact Sean Harris via sean.harris@essexfa.com. Information on grassroots football can also be found on Twitter by following @EssexCountyFA, or by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.