Water Wellbeing for Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Funding available to Pools for Water Wellbeing programmes
Living and ageing well is a priority for many people on the Isle of Wight. Activity plays a vital role not only in health and wellbeing, but also in reducing inequalities.
The Island is home to just over 140,000 people, and while the population aged 65–75 has grown by 26% over the past decade, inactivity affects a much wider group.
Residents aged 50+, those who are economically inactive, and people living with long-term health conditions are among those most impacted. Encouragingly, in the past year (2023–2024) we have seen a positive shift, with inactivity rates at their lowest in six years. Yet challenges remain, with an estimated 15,000 residents doing no physical activity at all.
This place-based work aims to support those who need it most helping people move more, while also addressing the social, economic, and health inequalities linked to inactivity.
Sport England’s Place Need Classification, which considers activity levels alongside social, economic and health needs in a place, suggests work could be most impactful in:
Our focus in these places will be supporting inactive adults to get started with physical activity and movement, especially those with long term health conditions so they can feel better as they age.
In each of our places we’re working with partners and the community to check and challenge our understanding of each place and use their feedback to shape the work.
You may also be interested in our other work and programmes that run across the whole of Hampshire and Isle of Wight.
If you would like to know more, or how to get involved get in touch.
Data and Insight
The data and insight used to inform the approach for the Isle of Wight came from the following sources
Helping us tackle inactivity to boost health and happiness
