In 2006, the council made sport and culture one of it's five main priorities. As a result, the Sport and Active Lifestyles Strategy has been approved by cabinet and published. This strategy will give the guidance and recommendations as to what the key priorities are for sport and physical activity across the district for the next five years.

The strategy's vision is to provide opportunity to increase participation and improve performance in sport and physical activity through:-

• provision of a range of quality and accessible facilities, services and opportunities
• the ability to reflect and recognise the unique nature of the district
• developing provision to build on the heritage of rugby league
• engaging with and maximising the strengths of the voluntary sector
• meeting the sport and physical activity needs of local communities
• contributing to an overall improvement in health and quality of life in the District
• providing added value and value for money throughout the provision provided throughout the district

This vision is underpinned by two key aims:-

• 'to ensure a complementary sporting and community development programme to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate and progress to their sporting potential'
• 'to promote active lifestyles and enhance the quality of life for Wakefield Communities through the development of a sustainable network of high quality sport, recreation and fitness facilities, offering a wide range of facilities'

The strategy therefore, underpins the future work of the newly renamed 'Sport and Active Lifestyles Service', formerly known as the Sport and Recreation Unit

The full strategy is available under 'Downloads' as a 3.2 MB PDF document along with all the appendices which can be downloaded separately.