Communities on the edge

Coastal communities are some of the most beautiful places in England and many of the country’s wealthiest spots are on the coast.

But it is also true in England that a disproportionate number of the places suffering the most deprivation, worst physical and mental health outcomes and lowest healthy life expectancy are on the coast too.

All this may read contradictory, but coastal communities haven’t ended up in this position by accident.

Many were once thriving seaside economies, built on tourism and seasonal work, but as those patterns changed, they left behind communities with deep roots but with fewer opportunities than those in urban and rural communities.

This deteriorating state of coastal living standards is driven by deprivation and the complex and challenging issues around housing, transport and employment, which together lead to disproportionate lower levels of physical activity.

As Sport England highlight with their sustainability strategy, Every Move, adding to these challenges is that those facing the greatest inequalities are often the least active and the most affected by climate change.

Plus, coastal communities are facing significant climate effects through coastal erosion, flooding and the fact that industries on the coast are the ones producing the majority of the UK’s carbon emissions.

So how can we turn the tide on physical inactivity on the coast?

Can you define ‘coast’?

It is amazing that whilst we are an island, there is no agreed government definition for the term ‘coast’, unlike clear definitions for urban and rural areas.

This leads to the coast often being lost in talks around deprivation as the debate revolves around those in urban and rural areas.

The Coastal Navigators Network, which tackles health inequalities on the coast, has identified that whilst coastal communities are often small individual places, when considered together, they are as large and significant as a national population group (19%) and the near equivalent of the entire North West and North East regions combined.

So with this in mind, what inequalities do people living in coastal areas face in terms of access to sport and physical activity?

The most obvious one is that for coastal communities half their catchment area is in the sea!

Away games are often long car journeys to the far away urban areas for at least half of their season and let's not forget about those extra carbon emissions!

However, it is the opposite for their urban colleagues, who consider their fixture in the season on the coast as going to the seaside for the day!

Sport and physical activity has come late to the policy work across England about improving opportunities for coastal communities, but is now beginning to build the partnerships with organisations like the Coastal Communities Alliance, OneCoast, the Coastal Navigators Network, and the Coastal Cultural Network.

In fact, in February 2026, the APPG Coastal Communities have scheduled a briefing session on the Culture, Creative & Sport Sector in coastal communities. (Please note that while no final information is available yet, the Coastal Community Alliance is currently organising this with the APPG, so check their sites and socials for more information.)

Where is the good work happening?

Five years on from its launch, Active Withernsea is making a real difference in creating physical activity opportunities and lifestyles and transforming its local community.

Local data by Sport England-funded Active Withernsea highlights that while in 2018, 44% of people in Withernsea were inactive (that is doing under 30 minutes of exercise a week), this number has gone down to 15 % of residents being inactive in 2024.

Further, the percentage of residents who are now active increased from 44% to 62% over this time period.

Happiness and satisfaction with life have also improved and anxiety amongst Withernsea residents has decreased, while activity for those with a disability has seen the biggest increase.

A Physical Activity and Community Engagement (PACE) network has been established to lead physical activity projects going forward and ensure that the work continues with more than 100 residents, groups and partners now directing the next steps to continue to deliver physical activity for the people of Withernsea.

What Active Withernsea has shown is that when national policy makers do focus on coastal communities, significant change can help increase physical activity levels. 

What is also clear is that Sport England place-based funding has begun to turn the tide for coastal communities and that, together, we will keep working to improve the lives of those living by the sea.