Motivating healthy activity in Ebbsfleet Garden City 

Get Active in Ebbsfleet is a complex behaviour change intervention that encourages local people to be more active, visit local parks and connect with others. 

A 12-month pilot programme was commissioned in 2018 by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. It was so successful, it has been re-commissioned each year since, moving into its fourth year in 2021. 

Ebbsfleet Garden City is being developed as an NHS Healthy New Town, a development that puts health and wellbeing first by encouraging and enabling people to be more physically active. 

Get Active in Ebbsfleet has been hugely successful in repeating its take-up year-on-year. 

Just three weeks into the 2018 pilot, 76% of people classed as ‘inactive’ by Public Health England (that is, those who undertook less than 30 minutes of activity per week) had already progressed into the ‘insufficiently active’ or ‘active’ categories. 

Games and challenges, such as Ditch-the-Car Star and Get Back on Your Feet, help motivate people to try travelling more actively. 

The programme also supports community activities: for example, by giving bonus points for attending charity walkathons and other events. 

“What I like about the app is it’s so easy to use, I don’t need to think about it. It really encourages me go out and walk more than I used to. It’s a great motivator!” – Natasha 

“I have suffered from depression and earning BetterPoints has really helped me to get out walking, which always helps lift my mood when I am feeling down.” – Deborah 

“By not using the car, I’m less stressed and notice more of the environment. I never realised how much I’ve missed. The BetterPoints app has been a godsend – ten-out-of-ten!”  – Stephen 

So far… 

• 200,000+ journeys by foot or bicycle
• 20 million calories burned 
• 82,000+ kg of CO2 emissions avoided