Dr Helen Moore, Associate Professor (Research), and Amelia Lake, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, have recently contributed to the development of new online training, with an initiative to support healthier food environments.
Imagine walking through your neighbourhood and noticing fewer fast-food outlets and more spaces dedicated to community gardens and farmers’ markets. We’re hoping that this vision is more likely to become a reality thanks to our new e-learning course – Planning for a Healthier Food Environment. We have developed this course over several years and recently launched it on FutureLearn. It’s designed to empower professionals working within local authorities and develop their knowledge and tools to use planning powers effectively to support healthier food environments.
We’ve worked collaboratively to develop this training under the umbrella of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health. Our work was funded by Public Health England (now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities), and the final training was created to bridge the gap between planning and public health to promote healthier food environments.
We worked with other colleagues at Teesside University (Dr Claire O’Malley, Hannah Poulter and Callum Bradford), and Professor Tim Townshend from Newcastle University, and were supported by specialists from Public Health England and Arup.
This training package arrives at a crucial time for local government. In December 2024, the Government published its revised National Planning Policy Framework, giving councils greater power to limit new fast-food outlets near schools and areas where children and young people gather. This e-learning forms part of a wider support package to help councils embed public health within planning decisions.
We ensured the training is firmly rooted in real-world practice by gathering insights through a survey of professionals from local authorities, which helped shape the course content to reflect practical challenges. This engagement means the training speaks directly to the needs of those working in planning and public health.
The course is designed for local authority public health and planning professionals, but it is open to anyone interested in understanding how the built environment can be shaped to promote healthier lives. We hope that participants gain practical knowledge of the planning system and learn how planning and public health can work together to address rising levels of obesity and poor diet. All learners can access the course for four free weeks by selecting the ‘limited access’ option on FutureLearn.
By Helen and Amelia
