Supporting planning letter for High School

Following the submission of a pre-application for planning permission, the feedback highlighted a number of areas where more details would be required, below we have addressed the issues raised in these areas.

Icknield High School would like to install a four-bay cricket facility on their playing field, in 2021, in collaboration with the Cricket Board (ECB), funding has been secured with the ECB committing to 50% of the installation cost, subject to planning permission being granted. The other 50% will come from school funds which has already been ear marked for this purpose.

The school has a long history of sport in the town but is unfortunately the only in the town without a sports hall, which disadvantages our students. That said we perform well against other schools in the town and at regional level. We have 13 students that currently represent the county at cricket, which given the lack of facilities is quite an achievement.

We started talking to the ECB about investing in a joint venture last year, with an introduction from Amran Malik, one of our parents that is the Wicketz development officer. We met with the ECB on a number of occasions and they provided us with a list of ECB approved installers who met the required design standards. We went out to tender, receiving back four quotes, we identified Exclusive Leisure following a selection process with our governors as our preferred provider.

Independently. Exclusive Leisure were also the company selected by the local authority to provide the parks cricket facilities earlier this year.

The first point raised was to look at the local plan for (20111-31) which promotes new and extended education facilities where there is a demonstrable a local need and the facility is well related to the area it serves. From our discussions with the ECB they have identified that there is both a national and local need for this facility in Luton which is why we have secured targeted funding. There is also a local need as identified by Luton’s strategic vision for sport and physical activity 2018-22, which states ‘A five-year strategy to increase levels of physical activity and maximise the wider benefits of participation in sport and physical activity in Luton’.

Other objectives the report identified are;

Providing the right environment for sport and physical activity to take place is of huge importance, as the quality, quantity and appropriateness of the natural and built sporting infrastructure of an area will have a direct bearing on participation levels but can also bring additional benefits such as reduced traffic congestion, increased community cohesion and social interaction.

A greater number of activities, initiatives, programmes and events aimed at using sport as a mechanism to bring communities together to celebrate Luton’s diversity and support a reduction in crime and antisocial behaviour, while increasing community cohesion and social trust, with the target of at least five projects or programmes per year until 2022. other local partners to continue to tailor their national sporting offer to meet the needs of Luton’s super diverse communities, including targeted programmes to engage BAME communities and those from higher areas of social deprivation.

Part of the local challenge is for sport National Governing Bodies (NGB’S) to tailor sport participation programmes to the needs of Luton’s diverse communities in order to enable an inclusive offer for the town. NGB’s continue to proactively respond to the challenge by delivering population relevant sport programmes such as Cricket’s Wicketz programme, which seeks to increase participation of young people from South Asian

Luton’s Playing Pitch Strategy and prioritisation list identifies the following;

2.2: Cricket

• In total, there are 11 cricket pitches provided in Luton, of which only one is unavailable for community use (at Icknield High School which is a junior pitch). Cricket pitches accommodate 42 senior teams and 8 junior teams. • Site assessments scored one pitch as good quality (Luton Town & Indians CC) and the other nine as standard quality. • There is a need to consider asset transfer as a way to make facilities more sustainable. • It is reported that a large number of players (approximately 100) travel outside of the Borough to access cricket pitches and a higher standard of play. This is attributed to both a lack of pitches in Luton as well as a lack of higher quality pitches. • It has been highlighted that significant informal play takes place at parks sites in Luton. Due to the difficulties in providing robust quantitative data for this type of demand it is likely that the deficiencies identified are greater than stated. • Overplay at cricket sites in Luton is a total of 45 matches across the Borough per season. If all overplay was to be relocated to other sites, there would be a need for one additional cricket ground (based on a cricket square with 10 wickets). • Unmet demand cannot be accommodated on the current supply of pitches and equates to the need for four additional cricket grounds (based on a square with 10 wickets). • As over play and unmet demand cannot be met due to pitches being at capacity there is no spare capacity to accommodate any latent or future demand which requires an additional 11 pitches (based on a cricket square with 10 wickets). • Education: Availability of education sites, particularly secondary schools to accommodate a range of community use needs, including underuse of grass pitches.

As you can see from this, there is a significant need for additional cricket facilities in Luton.

The proposed facility would mitigate the loss of part of the playing fields by providing an alternative development which will provide an improved provision on the Icknield site. The proposal would only use a small portion of the school field, located at the edge of the field, close to existing changing facilities and close to the boundary with Cowslip Meadow Nature Reserve. It is not anticipated that this would result in harm to the amenities of the area and the proposal is screened by vegetation.

The site already benefits from other sporting facilities and would provide an additional, high quality facility, using suitable fencing and netting. Due to its location on the site, there are no adjoining occupiers, with no anticipated impact on this area.

It is anticipated that the facilities would be used primarily for school PE lessons and for team practices between March and October, weather permitting, this would be for Icknield students Monday to Friday. During the winter months the extent to which it can be used after school will be dictated by the light, however we want to utilise these facilities and offer any spare time to other schools, local junior team practice and local groups with special needs or who are vulnerable.

We have knowledge of the demand for good quality facilities as identified in Luton’s plan, with over 100 players going out of the Borough in order to play cricket. We would look at letting out the facilities at weekends to clubs and organisations, fulfilling the community use element.

Cricket is an important part of the PE curriculum with the addition of it being part of the girls’ timetable since last year. This initiative was supported with after school sessions by Chantal Hardy from Chance to Shine & Educational Officer (Bedfordshire), whereby coaching took place for girls, this was very successful and well attended with excellent participation levels, particularly from our BAME students. This facility will enhance female cricket participation in Luton.

We do not anticipate any parking issues as the school has 150 parking spaces on-site and 3 disabled bays which would be available for evening and weekend/holiday users, when the school staff are generally not there. We do not anticipate any additional parking on Riddy lane that would adversely affect residents. We will not have to change any access point as there are gates for pedestrian access already in operation.

There is no waste management plan, as the proposed facility will be dealt with by the existing waste management systems.

There is no application for additional lighting at this time but this, may be a separate application in the future. It is envisaged that the net facility will be used during daylight hours.

The planning officer wrote in his letter of the 23rd October 2020 that ‘Generally, the scope of the proposal would likely be viewed positively’ if we addressed the considerations highlighted in his letter. We believe we have addresses each of the points raised. This facility will be the best not only in the county but also in the region once it is built, it will be a centre of excellence for the school and the town.

We believe that there is a local need for these facilities and that they fit in to the local plan and comply with policy

We would urge the planning committee to support us in granting planning permission in a timely manner, as to delay it may result in the financial package of support being withdrawn given the current reduction in revenue from televised sporting fixture, in the current pandemic.

We look forward to hearing from you shortly.