New Health and Wellbeing Plan announced

Chelmsford City Council, with support from partners including Livewell Chelmsford, has updated its Health and Wellbeing Plan to help residents of all ages across the Chelmsford district to achieve and maintain good health.

The plan was approved at Tuesday night’s Cabinet meeting and focuses on five main areas. These include looking at ways people are supported in the city to maintain a healthy weight and increase physical activity, how we improve our housing conditions, and how we bring communities together to help alleviate loneliness and social isolation.

What is the Health and Wellbeing Plan?

The newly adopted Health and Wellbeing Plan sets out a strategy for improving the health and wellbeing of people living in the city of Chelmsford and the wider district, including South Woodham Ferrers.

The purpose of the plan is to understand the needs of residents and the barriers they may face to live a healthy life, such as poor-quality housing, and to work closely with partners and local organisations to give everybody the necessary support and opportunities. The plan is broad and looks at many factors that may have an impact on a person’s wellbeing, such as age, disability, and income.

The plan aims to help improve the health of those who play, live and work in Chelmsford, including the large urban areas of Danbury, South Woodham Ferrers, and rural communities by combining the resources and skills of local organisations.

Plans are in place to increase opportunities for older people to engage in physical activity through programmes such as Forever Active. Becoming more active will be supported through the promotion of accessible public green spaces and community facilities and by ensuring new developments encourage sustainable travel, walking and cycling for all. 

Services and activities are also in place to support and prevent young people from getting involved in crime, and loneliness can be tackled through inclusive activities that reflect our community. A full list of actions planned to take place across the district are detailed within the Health and Wellbeing Action Plan, which will be regularly reviewed.

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"Chelmsford offers many opportunities for people to lead healthy and active lives and our aspiration is for everyone to benefit from those opportunities. However, as highlighted within this refreshed Health and Wellbeing Plan, a higher percentage of our local population is now in the 65-90 age group and we need to ensure those people can also live well.

We need to address health inequalities and tailor our work to overcome barriers across all age groups. This plan gives the council, our health partners, local campaigning organisations, charities and support groups a shared focus, and together we will work towards a healthier, more connected Chelmsford for everyone."

Cllr Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for Greener and Safer Chelmsford

Partners involved

Partners include members of Livewell Chelmsford, including Essex County Council, Active Essex, Chelmsford CVS, Action for Family Carers, Primary Care Networks, and South Woodham Ferrers Health and Social Care Group. The full list of partners can be found in the latest document.

You can find a copy of the new Health and Wellbeing Plan, and you can also visit the Livewell campaign website for information on all that’s on offer for improving health and wellbeing.