Tendring District Council announced on 5 February 2026 that it has secured a £210,000 grant from Sport England’s Place Partnerships programme to expand community fitness and sports activity across the Tendring district, with a particular focus on projects in Clacton-on-Sea and other high-need wards such as Jaywick Sands and West Clacton.
The funding will be used to develop a programme of free and low-cost sessions, recruit staff and create coordination capacity. The council has allocated £50,000 to prepare community activities linked to the planned Community Ride & Play facility behind Clacton Leisure Centre; £100,298 will launch an Active Wellbeing Programme (including two two‑year ‘Active Wellbeing Activator’ roles to work with local groups); and £60,000 will be invested over two years to fund a permanent Community Sport and Activity Manager to lead delivery and partnerships. The programme brief also cites support for pop-up sports festivals and beach‑based activity pilots.
Councillor Mick Barry, TDC Cabinet Member for Leisure and Public Realm, said the investment offers ‘simple and accessible ways to get involved’ and will help people start or return to activity and improve quality of life. The work is being delivered in partnership with Active Essex and other North Essex partners, using lessons from previous Local Delivery Pilot work to try to create sustainable, community‑led opportunities to be active.
The Sport England grant comes alongside plans for a larger, planned £2 million Ride & Play facility (including a pump track, learn‑to‑ride area and climbing boulders) behind Clacton Leisure Centre; that project is currently in the design and planning stage and is expected to open in 2027, subject to approval. Local coverage by the Clacton and Frinton Gazette has framed this funding and the planned facility as part of a wider effort to tackle low physical activity and entrenched health inequalities in parts of Tendring.
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