We are developing our place based offer, working across more locations in line with local need. We remain focussed on the 20% most deprived communities and aligned with national agendas, such as Levelling Up and Left Behind Neighbourhoods.

We have teams on the ground in London, Bristol, Oxford and Manchester and we have recently expanded into Sheffield. We are also working in the West Midlands and Essex.

West Midlands

The West Midlands is the second most populous county in England after Greater London. Containing several major towns and cities including Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and Walsall, it is a sprawling and diverse urban area. It is also one of the most deprived regions in the country, where in cities like Birmingham more than half (51%) of children (under 16s) live in areas ranked within the top 10% most deprived areas of the country.[1]

Access Sport began working in the West Midlands in 2015, working with Midland Mencap to create the region’s first Flyerz inclusive hockey club.

In 2020 our Angus Irvine Playing Fields Fund supported O'Dells Boxing Club to deliver Christmas Covid-19 relief food parcels to families in Hodge Hill, Birmingham’s most deprived area[2] and in 2021, Access Sport launched a new offer in the West Midlands with our partners at Sported and StreetGames. The work aligns closely with Include Me West Midlands, Sport Birmingham, Think Active and Active Black Country and is supporting six community sports clubs across the region to develop their disability inclusion offer.

Essex

Access Sport has been working with Tendring District Council, Essex County Council and Active Essex since 2020 to transform the cycling provision for disadvantaged and disabled people in Tendring.

Tendring is the most deprived of all Essex districts[3], with Clacton ranked as one of the top 50 most deprived areas in the England[4] and Jaywick the 3^rd most deprived[5]. What is more, there is a large population of people (circa 35,000) with disabilities or long-term health conditions (LTHCs) and 60% worry about their health and fitness.^[6]

As part of the ambitious Essex Pedal Power initiative Access Sport is leading on the development of a new all-wheeled, inclusive community cycling facility in Clacton and worked with Wheels for All to design a transformational disability cycling offer that will enable independent cycling by people with disabilities and LTHCs through the offer of a free bike to own and delivery of specialised cycle training sessions.

 

We welcome interest from new partner organisations and community clubs. If you are interested, please contact us on:
[email protected]
0207 993 9883

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[1] Deprivation in Birmingham. https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/2533/index_of_deprivation_2019.pdf

[2] Deprivation in Birmingham. https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/2533/index_of_deprivation_2019.pdf

[3] https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/council/TendringDistrictProfilev102.pdf

[4] https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/18800034.least-deprived-areas-essex-revealed/

[5] https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/council/TendringDistrictProfilev102.pdf

[6] Essex Residents Survey – Essex Open Data