Archived press release

Date Published: 22/12/06

Aylesbury Vale’s residents are officially amongst the most physically active in the country, according to a major nationwide survey commissioned by Sport England. The results of the Active People Survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, show that...

Aylesbury Vale’s residents are officially amongst the most physically active in the country, according to a major nationwide survey commissioned by Sport England.

The results of the Active People Survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, show that Aylesbury Vale adults are in the top 25 per cent of physically active people, with 23.5 per cent of residents over 16 taking part in at least three thirty-minute sessions of moderate activity each week. The national average is 21 per cent.

Out of 354 local authority areas, Aylesbury Vale is ranked as the 76th most active and makes it to the top 30 in the south east region.

The Active People Survey is the largest single survey of sport and active recreation ever undertaken in Europe and provides greater detail about sports participation than any previous research. More than 350,000 people were surveyed between October 2005 and October 2006, including at least 1,000 people in each of the local authority areas in Buckinghamshire.

The survey confirms that the vast majority of Aylesbury Vale residents are happy with sports provision and services in the district. The results show that 75.7 per cent of people are satisfied with the sports provision in their local area, compared to 69.5 per cent nationally.

People in the district are also generous with their time with 5.2 per cent of those questioned saying they volunteer at least an hour of their time to help run a sports club or activity. This is above the national average of 4.7 per cent.

In addition, the survey highlights that more than one in four (28.8 per cent) belong to a health or sports club, just under one in five (18.6 per cent) have received coaching or tuition in the last year(18 per cent nationally), and 17.9 per cent have taken part in competitive sports in the past 12 months, again above the 15 per cent national figure.

The most active age group within the district are those aged 16 to 24 and the survey indicates that, perhaps predictably, people tend to become less active as they age.

“These results highlight the investment and hard work the district council and other key partners have put into leisure in Aylesbury Vale in recent years,” said Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure. “We have a good range of leisure facilities across the district, including Aqua Vale in Aylesbury, Stoke Mandeville Stadium and the Swan Pool in Buckingham, as well as a large number of quality sports clubs that are served by many committed volunteers.” 

“However, there is more that can be done as there are still a large number of people who are not doing any exercise at all. We’ll continue to look to see where we can extend our provision and improve what we’ve already got to help create a more healthy community,” he added.

For more information about the Sport England Active People Survey, please go to www.activepeoplesurvey.com

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