Carlisle centre-stage at World Health Organisation conference

It comes after four health initiatives from Carlisle were showcased at a high-profile European conference in Hungary.

The three-day event was staged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at Pecs, near Budapest, earlier this month.

It was part of the global body’s prestigious Healthy Cities initiative, of which Carlisle has been a member of since 2010.

Having Healthy City status does not mean Carlisle is already a healthy city but demonstrates its commitment to becoming one by incorporating health into everything it does.

Two years ago, Carlisle City Council ’s Emma Dixon was invited to speak at a WHO conference in Greece about some of the successful initiatives that had been set up since its original launch.

Now she has been to Hungary to showcase yet more good work that is now improving life for residents of Carlisle.

Emma, Carlisle partnership manager at the council, travelled to the conference with Lee Sherriff , city council portfolio holder for health, and Darren Crossley, deputy chief executive.

She put forward five submissions and had four accepted for inclusion – three as formal presentations.

The event was attended by representatives of 30 different countries, with only a select few UK cities invited to take part.

Prior to the conference, each had to submit “abstracts” – or case studies – explaining how they had put the healthy cities concept into practice. These were then reviewed carefully by academics to determine which ones should be used as good examples.

Very few had as many submissions accepted as Carlisle.

The city therefore took centre stage at several of the sessions, with both Emma and Darren giving presentations in front of high-profile delegates from some of the biggest European destinations.

At one point a public health expert from Copenhagen approached the trio to talk about the work that has been happening in Carlisle, hoping to take inspiration back to Denmark.

The Carlisle oral presentations focused on air quality management, green spaces infrastructure and youth democracy.

The fourth submission, a digital health partnership with the University of Cumbria, was also included as a poster presentation.

Emma Dixon Emma said that being such a big global issue at present, the air quality presentation was particularly well attended.

It focused on a project launched to monitor air quality in Carlisle, with stations set up at various locations to check nitrogen dioxide levels, largely affected by emissions from cars.

It then analysed how air quality had improved in the city centre following the opening of the Carlisle Northern Development Route – the bypass that now takes traffic north of the city.

“It highlighted how improving infrastructure has had a really positive impact on air quality. It’s really interesting when you look at the design of the city now and what it was like before,” she said.

Lee said the project has shown that air quality is areas such as Stanwix has improved considerably since the new road opened.

“That’s proof that the CNDR has done the trick as it was one of the areas that was most congested. Some of the countries that were there have real issues with air pollution and were quite amazed at how much it had improved,” she said.

“To see that it can be done has given them a bit of optimism and food for thought. Carlisle was seen as a shining light as it is something that everyone seems to be trying to do.”

Emma added: “Using that healthy city concept to design a city is really positive and will be key as Carlisle grows.”

Lee said: “It’s just about putting some real thought into it and not just doing things. Planning them so they improve the health of the city. It strengthens our case for the garden village and if we can do something similar to the northern development route in the south, that’s going to really improve air quality in other parts of the city.”

The green infrastructure work looked at how important green spaces are to Carlisle, what they are used for and by who.

“Even in the city centre, you do not have to walk far to find a green space. That has a lot of health benefits as well as having a really positive impact on climate change,” explained Lee.

“They help get people active, are well used by families and we’ve also had some great events, such as the parkruns at Chances Park. There are also allotments, which provide fresh, good quality food.”

This importance has now been recognised by the council, which has as a result, incorporated green infrastructure into the Carlisle Plan, which sets out the city’s priorities for the future, and the Local Plan, a key document on which all future planning decisions are based.

Emma said it was a really productive event, showcasing Carlisle on a global stage and potentially help to attract both visitors and even new employees to the area. They also took inspiration from other cities for future Healthy Cities projects.

“The council have tried to embed healthy cities in core services. Health is everyone’s responsibility. We know that things like parks and green spaces have a really positive impact on health, well-being and physical activity,” explained Emma.

“Having this work recognised by WHO shows we are making a difference, that we are committed and that we deliver. In terms of prowess, its like the health equivalent of the UN.

“It felt like a real honour getting work accepted and helping to put Carlisle on the map at such a big event.”

Lee added: “People are quick to criticise the council but actually this is a great accolade for the city and we probably don’t shout about it enough. It shows how great Carlisle is.”

Emma stressed that none of the Carlisle Healthy Cities projects would be possible without strong local partnerships. She thanked all contributors for their help, saying it was a real team effort.