Following Chancellor George Osborne’s weekend announcement that the UK’s first garden city for 100 years would be built in Ebbsfleet, ukactive CEO David Stalker has called on developers to ensure spaces for physical activity are high on the planning agenda, saying a successful outcome could provide a breakthrough in reducing the UK’s inactivity crisis.

The garden city concept – small, self-sufficient cities of 30,000 people that are ringed by an agricultural belt and combine the best of urban life with access to nature – was first proposed as an antidote to the overcrowding of industrial Britain by liberal social reformer Sir Ebenezer Howard in a book published in 1898. However, the concept has been revived in recent years as a possible solution to the south east’s housing shortage.

Osborne said the Kent town of Ebbsfleet was selected for its prime location, availability of land and “fantastic infrastructure” – which includes a connection to high-speed rail line linking London to continental Europe.

And Stalker, citing the UK’s widespread physical inactivity problem, believes a physical activity strategy must form part of the infrastructure for the proposed 15,000 home garden city.

“With the Ebbsfleet development only just announced, our sector can work in partnership with the urban development corporation to ensure physical activity is embedded in the infrastructure from the outset,” he told Health Club Management.”

“I call on the architects and planners to design space for leisure facilities and create a landscape with open spaces in which people can enjoy activity. The success of Ebbsfleet to establish an active community will unlock the potential for future large-scale developments to consider how they can work with the sector to reduce the inactivity crisis.”

Health Club Management magazine editor Kate Cracknell recently identified the potential for wellness cities as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for the health and fitness industry, in a leader column for the magazine’s March edition.

Citing ukactive’s recent research into the inactivity crisis, Cracknell opined that a purpose built wellness city – with places to walk, exercise and spend time outdoors – would not only lead to a greater quality of life for residents, but also help reduce healthcare costs.