Case Study – Cumberland on the Move
Organisation name: Active Cumbria/Cumberland Council
Contact name: Cameron Wilson/Luke Leathers
Role / job title: Development Manager – Place/ Service Manager for Healthy Places – Place, Sustainable Growth & Transport
Partnership / collaborators involved: John Battrick – Active Cumbria,
Synopsis:
Cumberland Council’s formation in April 2023 created an opportunity to reposition physical activity within a wider active wellbeing and prevention agenda. Following a comprehensive review, the council developed the Cumberland on the Move framework, aligning services around health inequalities and population outcomes. In parallel, Active Cumbria’s Let’s Move! work convened partners and connected place-based insight to strategy. Together, this shifted delivery from fragmented leisure provision to a collaborative, system-wide approach, embedding physical activity across council priorities. This matters because it strengthens partnerships, improves coordination, and creates the conditions to tackle inactivity and inequalities more effectively at a local level.
The Story:
The challenge
Cumberland Council’s formation through Local Government Reorganisation created an opportunity to rethink how services contribute to prevention, inequalities and population health. Previously, the leisure provision was based on historic leisure contracts across multiple district authorities and a focus on facilities and sporting activity. The formation of Cumberland Council provided the catalyst to reposition physical activity within a broader active wellbeing approach and create stronger cross-council alignment and ownership.
What was done
From the formation of Cumberland Council in April 2023 it set clear priorities with Improving Health and Wellbeing as a golden thread underpinning everything that the Council delivered. This kicked off a comprehensive review of how Leisure Services and contracts were delivered and resulted in a detailed evidence base that informed the Councils Active Wellbeing strategic framework “Cumberland on the Move”. Cumberland on the Move was developed through a collaborative, cross-department approach which built shared understanding and ownership, supported by independent facilitation to connect services and align agendas. Physical activity was re-framed in the language of prevention and inequalities, and partners were embedded in co-design, shaping strategy and procurement.
In parallel, Active Cumbria has led on the Sport England Place Expansion work through Let’s Move!, adopting a strong place-based approach that positions the organisation as both a convenor and system connector. This has involved bringing together a wide range of local partners across sectors, including local authorities, community organisations, health partners, and the voluntary sector, to develop a shared understanding of local need and collectively shape solutions. By facilitating collaboration and aligning priorities, Active Cumbria has ensured that place-based learning is linked to the council-wide strategy.
This approach is rooted in listening to communities, building trusted relationships, and empowering local voices, enabling interventions to be tailored to the specific context of each place. Let’s Move! has supported a shift away from siloed delivery towards more joined-up, system-wide working, where partners co-design and co-deliver activity.
Impact and outcomes
These streams of work has led to stronger strategic alignment and a shift from leisure provision to a community-focused active wellbeing model. Physical activity is now recognised as part of the council’s core prevention agenda, with greater legitimacy across departments. Partnership working is embedded, with Active Cumbria and system partners influencing decision-making rather than sitting at the margins. A shared purpose has been established, improving cross-council collaboration and reducing siloed working. The leisure contract now acts as a system tool supporting wider outcomes. Overall, Cumberland has moved from fragmented approaches towards a more connected, place-based system, with early signs of improved coordination within Let’s Move! areas, ownership and readiness to address inequalities.
Learning and Relevance
Why this matters
This example shows that system change is less about individual programmes and more about creating the conditions for alignment, shared purpose and collaboration. By re-framing leisure as active wellbeing and embedding physical activity within prevention and inequalities agendas, Cumberland demonstrates how to elevate its relevance across a whole system. Others can learn the importance of convening the right people early, investing in relationships, and using collaborative design to build ownership before decisions are made. It also highlights the value of translating sector-specific priorities (like physical activity) into wider system language, enabling stronger buy-in and legitimacy. Crucially, change was driven not by authority, but by influence, facilitation and connection, showing how place-based approaches can act as catalysts for wider system transformation.
What would you do differently next time?
While strong progress was made in building alignment and shaping the strategy, earlier efforts to bring people together across the wider footprint and form alliances outside of Let’s Move! areas to embed the strategic focus could have further strengthened the impact.
The engagement across the Council varied at times so more work to try and show how this work could positively impact their service areas would have been beneficial.
There is an opportunity to involve communities more directly in co-design, ensuring the approach is not only system-led but informed by local insight and lived experience. Although facilitation was instrumental in moving from fragmented to more collaborative working, developing internal capacity sooner could help reduce future reliance on external support.