Sport England has made an initial £273,000 place-based investment into 11 estates in Milton Keynes to support communities to tackle physical inactivity. The money will be used to create meaningful, long-term, community led change, supported through shared leadership.

The MK Place Expansion Programme Board, established in June 2024, successfully applied for the investment to cover a 15 month ‘discovery phase’ of community engagement – listening, testing and learning.  The discovery phase will inform a further full application to activate what has been learnt.

This innovative approach builds on learning from Local Delivery Pilot areas across the country where Sport England have already invested and forms part of a £250 million investment across 80 places in England.

FAQs

Which estates will benefit?

  • Stacey Bushes
  • Fullers Slade
  • Greenleys
  • Hodge Lea
  • Kilm Farm
  • Eaglestone
  • Fishermead
  • Springfield
  • Coffee Hall
  • Beanhill
  • Netherfield

The 11 estates form two MSOAs (Middle Super Output Area) each comprising of multiple LSOAs (Lower Super Output Area)

  • MSOA MK012 – Stacey Bushes and Fullers Slade (SBFS) and includes the estates: Stacey Bushes, Fullers Slade, Greenleys, Hodge Lea and Kiln Farm.
  • MSOA MK018 – Eaglestone and Fishermead (EF) and includes the estates: Eaglestone, Fishermead, Springfield, Coffee Hall, Beanhill and Netherfield.

How were the areas chosen?

  • Sport England’s Uniting the Movement Strategy details how they are targeting the greatest resource to areas with highest inactivity levels and other social need indicators, as this is where the biggest impact on key outcomes is possible.
  • Sport England recognise that no two places are the same, so they use a range of data sources to inform their investment decisions, including physical activity data from our Active Lives Surveys, as well as wider social data including the index of multiple deprivation (IMD), community need and health inequalities data.
  • Places were chosen which had the highest need (PNC of 1) at the point of application Place Need Classification tool | Sport England
  • You can find out more about how Sport England identified the areas to expand their place-based investment into here: Identifying priority places for expanding our place-based partnerships 2023-28

 

How is the money being spent?

  • The investment was awarded following a successful and robust application to Sport England. Leap co-ordinated this application on behalf of the MK PEP Board and the Board will be held to account on how the investment is spend.
  • Governance comes via the Board which was formally established with Terms of Reference agreed by Sport England in December 2024. 
  • Primarily based on five components – Leadership and workforce development; Capacity; Revenue for test & learn interventions; Evaluation and Learning.
  • Leap, as an Active Partnership hold the investment on behalf of the MK PEP Board as per Sport England’s investment approach.

 

Which organisations are involved?

    • The MK PEP Board is made up of the following organisations
    • Wolverton & Greenley’s Town Council
    • Woughton Community Council
    • Campbell Park Community Council
    • Stony Stratford Town Council
    • MK City Council
    • MK Community Foundation
    • Street Games
    • BLMK ICB (Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board)
    • Leap (Active Partnership for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes)
    • Community Action MK
    • No single organisation can solve this alone. Systemic change requires shared ownership and action. This is not single issue or single stakeholder based.

 

How is this investment different to things that have happening before?

  • This investment isn’t solely for the delivery of interventions, programmes or projects. It isn’t short term 6–8 week new sessions helicoptered into areas and then not sustainable
  • The initial phase of ‘discovery’ is all about listening and learning, with activity / delivery happening in the next phase (with exception of 4 test and learn activities.)
  • This isn’t about looking just at the symptom of inactivity, it’s about looking deeper at the root cause. The work will aim to address the systems that shape daily life—transport, safety, housing, and access to green and blue space
  • This builds on the learning from Local Delivery Pilots (LDPs) which Sport England have been investing in since 2017.

Can I apply for funding for my activity or session?

  • Delivery funding for providers / programmes will come at the second stage of Sport England’s Place Based investment process (and be determined by communities and their needs) Discovery phase ends mid 2026.

 

I already work in these areas, can I get involved?

  • Absolutely, understanding what is already happening locally is a vital part of MK PEP and we want to accelerate / complement existing work in these estates.
  • Please contact one of the following