If you’ve ever explored a historic site, met friends for coffee in the park, or taken a familiar footpath during your day, you might not have been thinking specifically about health. But these everyday moments outdoors often play a bigger role in our wellbeing than we realise.

Understanding this is at the heart of the Active Quarter partnership. Over the past few years, partners have been combining research, community insight and practical improvements to help more people access and enjoy outdoor spaces.

This work is also part of a wider national movement led by the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), a charity that supports communities by connecting people with non-medical support, including opportunities to spend time in nature. And, between 2021 and 2025, NASP was part of a cross-government Green Social Prescribing programme, helping organisations across the country explore the wellbeing benefits of nature and outdoor activity specifically.

Delapré Abbey – working with the University of Northampton and the wider Active Quarter partnership – have been on their own social prescribing journey. Supported by NASP and Arts Council England, they were part of the Thriving Communities Programme. This year, they were invited to share insights from this journey to inform and inspire others.

In a recent webinar, Delapré Abbey and the University outlined how this work has developed locally, the role of partnership in supporting it, and the impact it is having across Northampton.

The Abbey’s social prescribing journey has ranged from pathway improvements to inclusive cycling groups, on-the-ground evaluation to community arts – but it started with one central question: “How can a heritage site work harder to support health?”

Work has taken place over four phases, with university-led research informing what happened during each.

In 2020 and 2021, it was important to understand how the Abbey could support people’s wellbeing – and to measure it properly. The University helped put an evaluation framework in place to capture how people felt about visiting the site. From there, the Abbey was able to respond to this data – launching inclusive cycling sessions, women’s confidence sessions, and walking groups.

As this happened, changes in visitor numbers were measured to see if these programmes encouraged more people to visit; and residents were asked to share if, or how, being outdoors was supporting their wellbeing.

This insight helped the partnership understand what might be holding people back from enjoying their time at the Abbey even more. So, during 2023 and 2024, researchers spoke to visitors about their experience using pathways and wayfinding signs across the site. Temporary signs were put up and tested, and this research made the case for more permanent improvements.

Temporary signs helped demonstrate the need for easier ways to get around the Abbey

Crucially, the success of social prescribing is that it is driven by local communities. Research from the University helped capture what visitors – and potential visitors – really needed and explain this in a way that decision-makers and funders could understand.

More recently, footpath sensors and anonymised smartphone data helped show which parts of the park people used the most. When the data showed that muddy or uneven paths put people off in wet weather, it gave West Northamptonshire Council the evidence it needed to secure funding for 1,300 metres of upgraded pathways.

The impact of all this work taken together is significant. Over 1,500 people have taken part in programmes; more than 1.2 million visits to Delapré Park were recorded between 2022 and 2024; and the evidence gathered by the University has helped Delapré Abbey secure more than five million pounds of funding.

New pathways opened at Delapré Abbey

Leading on the data analysis and evaluation design was Associate Professor in Physical Activity & Health, Dr Declan Ryan, who said: “It’s great news to see this project feature as a case study by the National Academy for Social Prescribing. This reflects the importance of the findings, but also the work of multiple teams who have one interest at heart – that as many people as possible enjoy the green spaces in town.

The story of Delapré Abbey and the Active Quarter shows what becomes possible when organisations commit to genuine, long-term partnerships – and when community experience stays at the centre of everything they do.

In fact, since 2020, the number of visitors to the Abbey that live within three-miles of the park has risen from 75.1% to 84% – showing that proximity to green space isn’t the only thing that makes a difference: it’s putting people first.

Declan continues, “A key focus for the University is to support people from underrepresented groups to have better access to public spaces, services, research participation, and education. Our efforts continue to be guided by local needs in Northamptonshire, nationally and beyond, so please get in touch to help us understand what is important to you.”

Watch the webinar to hear directly from Delapré Abbey and the University of Northampton about each phase of their social prescribing journey, challenges they faced along the way, and how other organisations could begin doing similar work.