Sheffield City Council has agreed to receive over £1million from Sheffield Hallam University in order to increase physical activity in five priority areas across Sheffield.

The revenue funding from Sheffield Hallam University is a result of it’s partnership with the National Centre for Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) and will go towards improving health and fitness levels in Firth Park, Woodthorpe, Arbourthorne, Batemoor and Jordanthorne.

These areas were flagged by Sport England, who are currently working with nearly 70 other areas across the country, as a part of their Place Expansion programme. A programme which targets areas facing high levels inactivity and significant health inequalities in comparison to the rest of England.

Cllr Nabeela Mowlana said: “There’s a ten year life expectancy gap between some parts of the city and others.”

Once the agreement is formalised Sheffield City Council will use the money to improve the VCSE – voluntary, community and social enterprise – sector within Sheffield including the expansion of the Move Well programme which aims to support residents with long term health conditions.

Move Well has been running as a pilot process for just over a year and it is expected that this funding will be used to roll out the service across a two year period from April 2026 to March 2028.

As a part of the Move More scheme, Move Well aims to create long term change rather than short term solutions to systematic issues.

Cllr Kurtis Crossthorn said: “Hopefully after the investment period the benefits will be felt in these communities for years and years to come.”

Move More recently hosted its annual award ceremony to recognise the work already being carried out by the programme.

According to Sheffield Hallam University, Dr Marlize De Vivo, Director of NCSEM Sheffield, who spoke at the event, said: “In Sheffield, patterns of health and physical activity reflect deeper, structural inequalities across the city and addressing those requires sustained, coordinated action.

“This investment allows us to respond to that with a level of intent and coordination that has not been possible before.”

Sheffield City council will also use the money to collect data from the voluntary sector and residents within the effected areas to establish what activities they would like to see and how they would like them to be delivered.