Stowmarket Health, Education and Leisure Facilities

Project overview

Stowmarket is the largest town in the Mid Suffolk district and has a growing population.  An exciting opportunity has become available to collaborate with several key partners to develop an exemplar sports, education, health, and wellbeing scheme on two adjacent sites in West Stowmarket. 

New and enhanced facilities will allow opportunities for all partnerships to thrive and expand.  Providing a platform for new collaborations between sport, education, health, and wellbeing.

This exciting scheme has two main strands:

• Facilities which are fit for purpose and support the growth of the area as well as providing spaces for collaborative working and shared spaces for a range partners and organisations; 
• Partnership and programming between partners to ensure the right opportunities are maximised for the whole community.  

Investment in sport and leisure facilities and wellbeing provision in Stowmarket is linked to key outcomes in the Councils’ strategic plans including:

• Wellbeing Strategy ('WS');
• Refreshed Sports, Leisure, and Physical Activity Strategy ('SLPAS');
• New Economic Recovery Plan ('ERP').

As a growing town, Stowmarket was identified in the SLPAS as needing more sporting facilities.  The creation of the Wellbeing hub will provide a unique offer for Stowmarket and its surrounding villages to have a fit for purpose facility for the Community's Health and Wellbeing needs.  The facility will allow partnerships to thrive and expand and will provide a base for new collaborations between sport, education, health, and wellbeing. It will also encourage a transition from existing, more formal, health services, to greater partner delivery. 

This is a model already supported by Sport England and Suffolk's Joint Health and Wellbeing Board, and allows for a multi-agency approach in:

• tackling local health inequalities;
• promoting and supporting wellbeing;
• the provision of services for young people.