Elmbridge Leisure Community Forum: supporting local health and wellbeing

The Elmbridge Leisure Community Forum helps residents stay active and healthy through the jointly funded Community Wellbeing Grant. 

The grant aims to tackle health inequalities in the borough and supports initiatives focused on enhancing the mental and physical health of residents. 

Working alongside a wide range of local partners, including local GP surgeries (Esher Green, Hersham and Forthouse), Claygate Youth Club, Surrey Police, Active Surrey, Elmbridge CAN, Heathside School, Surrey County Council, Walton Citizens Advice Bureau and The Counselling Partnership, the Forum focuses on reaching people who may face barriers to take part in physical activity or accessing specialist services. 

What the Forum has funded so far 

More than £25,000 has already been awarded to local organisations to run inclusive health and wellbeing activities, such as: 

• Mindful Yoga and Move Through Menopause Yoga, offering gentle support for women’s wellbeing. 

• cancer rehabilitation and pre‑habilitation classes, helping people stay strong during treatment. 

• aqua rehab sessions for safe, low‑impact recovery. 

• specialist community programmes like Parkinson’s “Move and Shout”, circuits, cycling, and musculoskeletal “Good Boost” sessions. 

• improved GP referral pathways to help more residents access preventative health programmes. 

These activities are already making a real difference by helping residents feel more confident, engaged and active. 

The Community Wellbeing Grant has also helped fund activities ranging from youth projects and family support to community events. Some of the beneficiaries included The Teen Project, Elmbridge Community Link, Home Start Elmbridge, Voices of Hope, Lower Green Community CIO, Walton and Hersham United and Sophie’s Stars. 

What the partners say  

Cllr Simon Waugh, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Commercial Strategy, said: 

Improving health and wellbeing across Elmbridge is one of our key priorities. The Forum’s projects are helping residents stay active, included and supported, and we’re proud of what has been achieved so far. 

Stuart Urquhart, from Places Leisure and General Manager at Xcel leisure complex, added: 

We’re proud to support programmes that improve residents’ health and wellbeing and help to build thriving communities across Elmbridge. By working alongside our local partners, we’re ensuring that people can access the right activities and support at the right time, creating lasting benefits for individuals across the borough.

For more information on the Community Wellbeing Grant and other sources of funding, please visit About community grants and funding | Elmbridge Borough Council.