Better Together: how planning decisions affect our health and wellbeing
"Access to healthcare is only a small part of what enables people to remain healthy throughout their lives. The built and natural environment (buildings, homes, places, streets, routes, land, watercourses, natural habitats) and the activities undertaken in these (living, working, learning, playing, shopping, travelling, moving) determines the health and wellbeing of the population"
Public Health Wales and the Welsh NHS Confederation have today published a new explainer showing how decisions about housing, transport, green space and food environments are directly influencing the nation’s health – and why Wales urgently needs a whole‑government approach to create healthier places and communities.
The report highlights that poorly planned environments are contributing to rising obesity, physical inactivity and widening health inequalities. In 2024/25, 27.3% of children aged 4 to 5 years were overweight or obese, while 62% of adults self-reported being overweight or obese. At the same time, new 24‑hour fast‑food outlets continue to be approved. Health boards are under growing pressure to expand weight management services, yet current capacity can only meet a fraction of demand.
The explainer shows that planning can be a powerful tool for improving health and wellbeing – enabling active travel, access to green space, quality housing, employment and healthy food. But it can also entrench poor health when unhealthy food environments grow, when developments are built around car use, or when housing and retail are placed far from services. Evidence shows that deprived areas can have up to five times as many hot food takeaways as more affluent communities.