Stockport County Community Trust launches ambitious Health & Wellbeing Strategy

Stockport County Community Trust launched its new Health and Wellbeing Strategy to support local residents to live healthier lives.

The strategy has been designed and developed in consultation with partners from Stockport Council, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and a number of local organisations, alongside the national EFL in the Community.

This plan sets out an ambitious vision for the next three years with the primary aim of supporting people to live healthier lives, particularly those living in more deprived areas in our community and who are likely to have poorer health outcomes. By harnessing the reach of football, the strategy aims to forge closer links with the wider community as well as positioning the Edgeley Park stadium as a sustainable health asset. A wide-ranging programme of projects will be created over the next three years, with the intention of improving mental and physical health inequalities within the borough.

The new strategy was officially unveiled at the Club’s 1883 Suite, where over a hundred guests were able to watch a presentation from the Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Manager, Eddie Owen, before hearing from a platform of speakers that comprised Jilla Burgess-Allen, Stockport Council’s Director of Public Health, Andrew Bailey, Deputy Director of Strategy & Partnerships, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Johnnie Garside, National Programme Manager, Live Well, EFL in the Community, Louise Williams, National Lead, Start Well, EFL in the Community, John Stevenson MBE, Stockport County Community Trust’ Chair of Trustees and Tom Mahon, Stockport County FC’s Chief Operating Officer.

Eddie Owen, the Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Manager, said:

“Good health and wellbeing affects every aspect of our lives and underpins much of what people do and achieve.

“At Stockport County, we are uniquely placed to effect change through football, which acts as the ‘hook’ to reach out to communities, families and individuals, especially those who may not access health care through traditional means.

“Consulting with local  partners and organisations has helped the Trust to fully understand the needs of our community. Using this strategy as a blueprint, we aim to support people across the spectrum of age, background and ability in order to make Stockport a healthier, fairer, more active and more inclusive place to live.”  

Added Jilla Burgess-Allen, Stockport Council’s Director of Public Health:

“Inequality is one the biggest single challenges for Stockport’s health. Unfortunately, it remains the case that people in some areas don’t have the same health and wellbeing outcomes and opportunities as others, which can ultimately affect their life-chances.

“The Community Trust’s impressive new strategy demonstrates the key part that Stockport County can play towards combatting these issues, by recognising the health gaps across our borough and by using football and sport as a force for good.

“By working in partnership across Stockport, we can all help to create a happier and healthier community in which people have hope and aspiration for the future and are able to live longer, more independent lives.”

The full Health and Wellbeing Strategy is available to read here.

Pictured L-R: Andrew Bailey, Deputy Director of Strategy & Partnerships, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust; Jilla Burgess-Allen, Stockport Council’s Director of Public Health; Eddie Owen, Stockport County Community Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Manager; Johnnie Garside, National Programme Manager, Live Well, EFL in the Community.