Location: Hertfordshire
Purpose: Hertfordshire Council is concerned that 19.3% of 4-5 year olds and 28.6% of 10-11 year olds in Hertfordshire are overweight or obese — even though this is lower than the national average. In Hertfordshire, around 51% of primary school pupils either walk or cycle to secondary school and 47% walk and 3% cycle to secondary school. In an effort to increase this, the council designed the ‘10 Pillars of Action’ for healthy living to address all areas where children were living sedentary or unhealthy lifestyles.
Description: The ‘10 Pillars of Action’ comprise ‘prevention’ measures, including a focus on young people and schools. The plan looks at how to encourage children to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives through schools. Measures include ensuring that schools have enough secure storage for pupils to cycle to school, and, where new schools in Hertfordshire are being built, introducing new ‘car exclusion zones’, where only buses are allowed within 500 yards of the gates to dissuade parents from driving their children to school. Subsequently, the council has published a new public health strategy that looks at how to encourage residents of all ages to be more active, but also ensure that the planning system allows for them to have access to green space and breathe cleaner air.
Conservative councillor/ council lead: Councillor Morris Bright MBE, Executive Member for Public Health & Community Safety, and Councillor Eric Buckmaster, Executive Member for the Environment.
Further links: Hertfordshire Whole Systems Obesity Programme briefing note, Local Government Association write up, Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy (revised March 2023), and Hertfordshire public health strategy 2022-2027.
top of page
bottom of page
Comments