County Durham Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Study Stakeholder Consultation Report – Strategic/County-wide
1. Introduction
This report provides stakeholder feedback on a County-wide or strategic basis in relation to the County Durham Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Study 1. It provides an overview of findings secured from a variety of stakeholders including:
• Sport England • National governing bodies of pitch, court and greens sports • County Durham Sport • Durham County Council officers • Sports clubs
Section 2 provides a brief description of the methodology used for the consultation process and section 3 summarises the main views and perspective of stakeholders with a strategic interest in the project including Sport England, County Durham Sport, and various County Council officers.
Section 4 covers findings relating to the individual main pitch sports (cricket, football, hockey, rugby union and rugby league) and Section 5 the non-pitch outdoor sports (basketball, bowls, netball and tennis).
1 Detailed local findings from sports clubs, town/parish councils and schools can be found in the 14 Area Action Partnership Profiles that have also been produced as part of the study.
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2. Methodology
Consultation and engagement with stakeholders was undertaken using a variety of methods including:
• Interviews with key strategic stakeholders such as Sport England, the sports’ governing bodies, County Durham Sport, Durham University and various key officers from Durham County Council.
• Questionnaire surveys (postal and/or e-mail as appropriate) to: Pitch sports clubs Outdoor non-pitch sports clubs Sports league secretaries Town and parish councils Schools via the six School Sports Partnerships
• Five community workshops organised to cover the five County Durham Community Sports Network (CSN) areas.
The surveys were carefully tailored to the different types or respondent. For example the surveys to pitch sport clubs were posted directly to the club secretary and were individualised to contain team and pitch information relevant to that club gathered from Sport England (clubs were then invited to amend that information if incorrect). The survey also contained a local map on which clubs could indicate other grounds that they might be prepared to play on as well as providing the opportunity to highlight any open space that they thought had potential for the development of new facilities.
This report features some general county wide findings from the surveys where appropriate, but the more detailed local stakeholder consultation findings, including those from the town/parish councils, schools and the CSN workshops, will be found within the 14 Area Action Partnership profiles that have also been produced as part of the project.
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3. Strategic Partners
3.1 Sport England
A fundamental issue for Sport England is the current lack of a comprehensive understanding of the sporting needs of the county and a clear strategic framework to guide future delivery. They consider that the PPG 17 Study completed in 2009 will only be fully compliant when it is supported by an Open Space Strategy, Built Facilities Strategy and a Playing Pitch study.
Playing pitch studies exist in whole or in part for many of the 7 former authorities which now constitute the unitary authority of Durham County Council but they are not consistent enough to establish a complete picture for the whole county.
The county has a pressing need, because of development pressures, to put in place a comprehensive planning framework and a clear approach towards sport needs to be an integral part of the emerging Core Strategy.
In addition to the need for a comprehensive overview of sporting needs and provision the following key issues were identified:-
• The playing pitch study needs to be a robust document that will facilitate a co- ordinated approach towards pitch provision across the county. • Access to school facilities out of school hours is a concern to many clubs and organisations as community use agreements are not consistently applied and adhered to. Further rationalisation of schools could make the situation worse. • Town Councils have a critical role to play in the provision of pitches but standards of maintenance are inconsistent. • The Consett Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme is continuing and the Stanley scheme is progressing. Both will have an impact on the provision of sports facilities and pitches, which needs to be positive. • A clear community infrastructure is lacking in the county at present. • The overall provision of built facilities in the county is an issue. Each of the new towns in the area had a target population but these have never been reached. However facilities were provided at the outset to cater for the target population and taking all the facilities into account there is an apparent overprovision. • Aykley Heads Police Sports Facility, including indoor facilities, changing rooms and outdoor pitches is due to close at the end of March 2011. The buildings will be demolished. Whilst there is funding for pitch maintenance for the rest of this season after that there is nothing but the pitches are considered to be important for the city. There is also a longer term development threat to the site. The playing pitch study needs to help establish the value of and need for the site as its pitches currently are excellent.
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3.2 County Durham Sport
The County Durham Sports partnership works with various partner organisations to help improve and get more local people to take part in sport and physical activity. The main partners are the County Council, Sport England, NHS County Durham and the University. National Governing Bodies for sport are involved as part of the wider network.
Key points identified in discussion were:-
• Only three sports within the county currently have a facilities strategy – cricket, swimming and tennis. • In terms of football there appears to be a reasonable supply of facilities for seniors but an under supply for juniors. • The investment strategy around football needs to be related to the residual BSF programme. • School pitches are sometimes made available but in a majority of instances no other facilities i.e. changing rooms are available at the same time. • School sites will continue to have a major impact on sporting provision across the county and a clear, comprehensive approach towards community use is needed. • Access is a continuing issue for sporting activities because of the remote nature of much of the community. • There is considered to be a shortfall of pitch provision for Rugby. • Cricket is considered to be reasonably well provided for as regards quantity of facilities. • Bowls – many greens and a lot of indoor activity. • Hockey has the regional performance centre at the University playing fields based on a water based STP. • The PMP Facilities Strategy gives a good overview of the provision of indoor sports facilities that is relatively up to date. • In the current economic climate budget reduction is a reality and the Council may be looking to dispose of and rationalise assets including looking for others to continue with facility provision eg the Golf Club outside Durham which is currently being released. • There is still a shortage of artificial turf pitches (3G) in the Easington /Sedgefield areas and Rugby are looking for 3 in the south/central area. • Their priority is getting the County Sports Strategy completed and Partnership Support for focus sports. The primary output for the strategy is likely to be based around securing the improvement of performance sports at the local level. • Focus Sports include Fencing, Hockey, Lacrosse and Rowing and are ones which NGB’s are actively investing to engage the community. • Future changes to the delivery of public sector services will have a major impact on the partnership.
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• More and more the County Council wants to be seen as an enabler to help clubs and organisations deliver the activities on the ground. Asset transfer is a key part of that activity. There is obviously concern about how assets are transferred as disposal is often seen as the most attractive financially but other considerations need to be borne in mind ie continuity of service/activity, local needs and demands. • The trust route is also being considered for all of the ‘cultural’ services. • Action Sport type initiatives are likely to be reduced with clubs being expected to provide development initiatives for themselves. • In terms of participation, a Physical Activity Strategy is now in place, it’s not so leisure focussed and is more about lifestyle choices. • A review of school sport is being carried out with a view to being in place by September to replace the School Sports Partnerships. • Links for school sports clubs and clubs using schools are continuing as is investment into sports development but there will be a move away from the traditional sports development provision. • A future focus is likely to be physical activity networks ie generating an interest in a particular activity and then looking at what or who is available to deliver it. • An active people survey is still to be done.
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3.3 Durham University
The University is a key provider of world class sports facilities, one of County Durham Sports main partners and a significant provider of community sports opportunities.
Currently the University provides the following sports facilities at its main site
• Three rugby pitches plus an “all weather pitch” which is also being used for football with six football games being played on a Saturday and six rugby on a Sunday. • Seven grass football pitches plus a further two that are marked out on the cricket area during the winter and used mainly for women’s games. • One cricket pitch.
At any one time they are using 9 football pitches playing up to 5 games a week on each. One pitch is used by Hartlepool United.
Artificial turf pitches
• One water based mainly for hockey. • One sand based mainly for football • One rubber crumb mainly for rugby
The tennis courts near the entrance are likely to be replaced with a 5 a side area.
Other main issues raised include
• The University has strong community sports roots and is a key member of the County Sports Partnership. The partnership is considered to play a key role in delivering improved sporting opportunities across the county. It is also anticipated that partnership activity will increase. • A specific example of partnership/community work is the arrangement for hockey whereby the University provides the home base for Durham City Hockey club which runs five men’s and three women’s teams. • There is also a partnership arrangement with Rugby i.e. four City teams use the site as do four university teams. • A junior performance centre for under 18’s fencing has now been created which generates a lot of community use. • In relation to schools the University Schools hosts the schools indoor rowing championships and school festivals. In addition a junior netball club for under 12’s, 14’s and 16’s is run that links into a county programme and engages with 4,500 participants. • Similarly they have now developed a lacrosse development centre which engages with over 1,500 participants.
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• The University is also a regional LTA tennis centre but they use courts away from the site. • The University is talking to Houghall College about working more closely together to form more of a multi sport hub, maximising all the facilities available. • Re Basketball – the Durham Wildcats partnership arrangements have a strong community spin off. The Wildcats are looking to take on the four main community sports (tennis, basketball, netball and lacrosse) to support the university. • Critical issues for the outdoor pitches are programming and, for the grass ones, recovery. • Outside users make use of the facilities in the summer but in term time availability is more limited. • There are some down times for the all weather pitches but they attempt to limit these as much as possible. They are looking at more tournaments now for hockey for example. • In general the University is looking to provide world class facilities and is driven by three principles – outreach, participation and performance.
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3.4 Durham County Council
3.4.1 Sports Development Manager - Outdoor Sports (Nigel Dodds)
Nigel looks after all outdoor sports pitches (direct services deal with maintenance) and also has responsibility for events. He has two senior service heads one looking after performance management and the other the Leisure Trust.
• The main priority at present is understanding fully what there is in the county, auditing public sector provision and understanding supply and demand and trends.
• All of this will feed into a strategy for outdoor sport and physical activity aimed at making better use of existing resources.
• A one off bowling green strategy is currently being prepared in order to make strategic, informed choices in relation to the necessary rationalisation of green provision.
• The County Sports Strategy relates to the LDF settlement definitions – looking at the core offer for indoor facilities that relate to those settlements subject to large investment issues, i.e. capitalising on any growth/investment opportunities.
• They want participation linked more to outdoor facilities as they are more sustainable and are worth maintaining and protecting.
• A lot of work is done through the Community Sports Networks with 5 of these in place Derwentside, Durham and Chester le Street (2 school sports partnership areas) Easington, Sedgefield and the Dales (Teesdale and Wear Valley)
• Sports development will be structured around the CSN’s but the council will be moving more towards an enabling and coordination role.
• Access is still a critical issue a consistent approach towards the community use of schools is desperately needed and now is the time to achieve it.
• Enabling will mean looking at other ways of delivering services and managing facilities e.g. the disposal of the Golf Course at Durham currently being negotiated and generally passing assets on with ownership opportunities through leases etc.
• Multi sport clubs could be the way forward to capitalise on existing facilities and to maximise the potential sources of income.
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• The Riverside is a good example of a multi sport environment that can be used to generate broader community activity , especially through young people, whilst providing the opportunities to access sport at the county level and beyond and to try out new activities and skills.
3.4.2 Spatial Planning (Thomas Bennett)
Tom is the client officer for the study and their expectation is to be left with a delivery document that also provides long term priorities for the core strategy, site provision needs and a clear rationale for developer contributions.
Integration of the BSF outcomes is a fundamental part of the analysis as asset management and rationalisation/disposal will have a significant impact on provision and potential development. The dual usage of school sites is a related issue as there is a varying picture across the county. A consistent approach needs to be put in place for school pitch usage backed by evidence of demand and supply etc if schools are to play a full part in the provision of outdoor pitches and related facilities throughout the area.
3.4.3 School Physical Education and Sport Officer (Geoff Sheldon)
Geoff is the County Council lead officer for Physical Education and Sport in Schools across Durham (secondary and primary). This role includes being the official Inspector of Physical Education in schools. While his work clearly overlaps with health and physical activity these aspects are not parts of his responsibility. He was also taking a lead for the Council for the previous government’s BSF programme as regards sports facilities on school sites. Alongside County Durham Sports he had aimed to ensure sports had a high profile within the programme.
Geoff referred to a comprehensive audit report of sports facilities on school sites completed a couple of years ago with County Durham Sport (available from County Durham Sports). In very broad terms Geoff noted that nearly all schools in Co Durham, even the 240 primary schools tended to have outdoor grass pitches and that quantity was therefore not a problem. Many of the pitches are of poor quality however and changing facilities are very limited.
A few years ago ten primary schools were successful in securing funds from the Space for Sports and Arts Initiative so have mini-sports halls, changing facilities etc for outdoor sports. There is some community use at these schools. These include three schools in Seaham, Ebchester, Sacriston,West Auckland and Esh Village (near Durham).
Most pitches are used for football but some schools play rugby e.g. St James at Bishop Auckland. Page | 9
Cricket is widely played but often schools use local club facilities. Some schools have synthetic wickets. The Hermitage School in Chester-le-Street has an innovative 360 degree camera system for its indoor cricket training facility to enable players to evaluate that strokes etc. (much admired by local clubs no doubt).
Hockey is played quite widely but there are no dedicated synthetic turf pitches suitable for hockey on any County Council school sites.
Netball is widely played but no specialised centres.
Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
In relation to the now defunct BSF programme Geoff confirmed that 4 schools had already benefitted in terms of improved sports facilities (including outdoor sports provision):
• Durham Johnson (4 court sports hall plus outdoor pitches and a MUGA). • Shotton Hall (4 court sports hall plus outdoor pitches and a MUGA). • Easington (4 court sports hall plus outdoor pitches and a MUGA). • Sedgefield (Sports College) – Fitness gym, 6 court sports hall, outdoor pitches and a 3G ATP for football (supported by the Football Foundation)
Outdoor pitches include football and cricket.
All the BSF projects were based on the premise of shared community and school use of sports facilities.
In addition to the above 2 BSF projects may be imminent i.e.
• Stanley (amalgamation of 2 schools) – 4 court sports hall, pitches, and hopefully a 3G ATP (one of the 2 schools already has a 3G ATP funded by the Football Foundation so if this is lost as part of the project it should be replaced at the new school). • Consett - this is planned to be located on a current leisure centre site so similar or better facilities for sports should be provided ideally. This project is less certain than Stanley.
All the remaining planned projects are on hold with an uncertain future. A capital programme for these will be made once the financial situation becomes clearer. It is not yet clear whether the provision of sports facilities will remain a priority as regards future capital investment in schools. Some schools e.g. Shotton Hall are applying for Academy status which may secure some funds for sports provision.
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Geoff highlighted a number of areas where he felt future investment in school sports facilities should be priority – primarily in relation to their particularly poor quality:
• Durham Academy and Framwellgate Moor • Spennymoor and Tudhoe Grange • Teesdale and Staindrop (Teesdale school is located adjacent to Leisure Centre but little shared use of facilities currently). • Lanchester • Bishop Auckland (amalgamation of 2 schools one of which has very poor sports facilities)
Geoff pointed out that many leisure centres were nearing the end of their life and that it still made sense when thinking about new provision to provided shared community/school use of facilities.
3G Football Pitches (floodlit)
There are four pitches – all funded by the Football Foundation (FF) and available for community use
• Parkside School - Willington • Ushaw Moor – Deerness Valley School • Sedgefield School • Roseberry School – Chester-le-Street
Geoff noted that the 3G pitches could generate quite a bit of income for the schools.
Other points
• All the new FF funded 3G artificial turf pitches have community changing facilities • Sedgefield School has well-used tennis courts • Shotton Hall Primary – Community sports facilities improved a couple of years ago • Basketball is strong in Durham but little use of outdoor basketball courts – a number of Outdoor hoops were funded by England Basketball a few years ago. Good indoor basketball facilities at Durham Johnson School. • Good Indoor bowls facility at King James’ school Bishop Auckland
3.4.2 School Grounds Estates Officer (Charles Mercer)
Charles is in the Estates Division of the County Council and has responsibility for overseeing any works to school grounds including outdoor sports pitches. He explained that any school wishing to develop new use or significant development of school grounds was required to apply for and secure landlord consent from the local authority
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before proceeding with any works, but noted that this did not always happen in practice - which could cause problems.
School Grounds Asset Management Plan
Charles supplied us with a copy. He explained that this spreadsheet included details of all the grounds at school sites including pitches and tarmac areas but noted that it was not 100% up to date and had limited information.
He noted that the spreadsheet did not have any kind of assessment of quality and that many school pitches were of very poor quality. Charles offered to spend time with one of our team looking at maps to help identify specific facilities on each school site and to indicate quality issues that he is aware of.
Quantity re outdoor space on school grounds
There are nearly 300 schools (including special schools) in the County and all except three have outdoor grassed areas available for sports. Historically Durham County has ensured that provision of outdoor space is over the statutory minimum required.
Changing Rooms: Secondary schools tended to have changing rooms with showers but not necessarily separate or suitable for community use. Very few primary schools did.
MUGAs – Schools with an artificial turf pitch (ATP) or Multi-Use Games Areas include:
Park View Tanfield Durham Johnson Shotton Hall Easington Durham Sports College 3G Gilesgate Primary Belmont Primary (plus tennis) Sedgefield Sports 3G Greenfields 3G St John’s Barrington (tennis) Parkside Stanley School of Technology 3G Pelton Roseberry 3G
Most of the above are available for community use and most of the secondary school facilities have floodlights.
Quality and maintenance of school grounds
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Maintenance is the responsibility of the individual school. Each school receives a contribution for grounds maintenance in line with a formula based on are of grounds and number of pupils. However this is not ring fenced and Charles thought that most schools did not spend this allocation on grounds maintenance – many perhaps spending about 50% of the allocation for this purpose. The result was that many school pitches were deteriorating in quality. He pointed out that many pitches may look in better condition than they actually are as they are not used much. Problems would soon emerge with increased use e.g. extended community use.
Only a small minority of schools had a well planned regime e.g. rolling, spiking, harrowing etc.
Secondary schools that did encourage community use tended to have a better maintenance regime.
Estates did have some funds for school grounds maintenance for major capital works required beyond wear and tear e.g. major drainage works where failure to address could damage the fabric of the school building.
Four schools had drainage works done over the summer: Brandon, Esh, Kirk Merrington and Greenlands.
Individual sports
• Football: Virtually all the schools used their school grounds for football and most had pitches marked out and/or in primary schools primary use was for mini- soccer. There are five 3G artificial turf pitches on school sites (see above). These accommodate a large number of matches and training as well as generating income for the school from community use.
• Cricket: Very few schools maintained wickets with Consett Sports College being an exception (a local Cricket Club used this wicket under a licence agreement. Schools that were interested in Cricket often used local Cricket Club grounds 15 or so years ago every secondary school and 2 primary schools in the County had a new artificial wicket but these had not generally been maintained.
• Rugby: pitches not marked out or played at many schools but a lot of schools had the capacity for a pitch if needed.
• Netball: pitches marked out at quite a few schools on a tarmac area.
• Hockey: no hockey specific STP on a school site. Some schools play hockey on grass pitches. Some schools use pitches (3) at the University/Meadowfield.
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• Tennis: Only a small number of schools have tennis courts e.g. Durham Gilesgate, Belmont and Barrington.
Community Use
About 15 schools have fully recognised community use but many more have some access to their facilities by the local community.
3.4.3 School Sports Partnerships (Andrew Scothern)
Andrew is the Partnership Development Manager (PDM) for the Chester-le-street School Sports Partnership (SSP). He also acts as a co-ordinator for the 6 SSPs across County Durham. SSPs are groups of schools working together to develop PE and sport opportunities for young people in their catchment. Their catchments are based on the previous 7 Districts (Weir Valley and Teesdale are combined to form one SSP).
Consultation with Schools
We discussed the best way to consult and engage with the schools in relation to the playing pitch study and concluded that a short and simple e-mail survey to every school supported by the local PDM would be the most inclusive method. LandE would design the survey in liaison with Andrew then Andrew would distribute the questionnaire via the PDM network. The surveys would be returned directly to LandE .
Community consultation events
We discussed the best way of organising local consultation events given that there are 14 Action Area Partnerships (AAPs), 6 SSPs, and also 5 Community Sports Networks (CSNs). Community sports networks provide a locally co-ordinated partnership for increasing participation in sport and physical activity. CSNs include partners from across sport, health, education, community safety, regeneration and the local voluntary, community and private sectors.
We concluded that, subject to agreement with the project’s link AAP coordinator, convening the events based on the CSN network would probably be the best route. These events would be open to clubs, facility providers such as town/parish councils, and other interested parties e.g. AAP and SSP members. The SSP would help promote these events via their members.
General Issues
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• Football: Andrew highlighted the poor quality and low capacity of many school pitches and highlighted the need for the strategic provision of floodlit 3G artificial turf pitches across the County. These were much in demand in County Durham and can accommodate fairly continuous use as well as generating income to ensure they are properly maintained. • Hockey: very few if any STPs for school (and community) use and possibly as a result very little hockey played in schools. • Cricket: few good wickets and often played on club grounds by schools. • Rugby: not played by many schools but interest growing. • Netball: some schools play indoors but most outside on tarmac. England Netball keen to develop a hub site with decent facilities in each SSP area at a suitable secondary school site.
3.4.4 Economic Development (Chris Myers)
Chris is one of the Strategic Investments team who are responsible for facilitating the delivery of projects within 4 priority areas of the County. This covers, for example, housing, retail, mixed use leisure etc. The areas of focus are Durham City, Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland and Peterlee. Chris’s role is to help guide a range of specifically identified projects through the planning system.
Interest in the playing pitch study
Chris has a number of projects in which the outcome and recommendations of the PPS will be important, the majority of these in Durham City relating to the planned housing, retail and mixed use growth. E.g. up to 5000 new houses over the next 20 to 30 years.
Durham City: Areas of specific interest include:
• Aykley Heads – mixed development including 300+ houses and 90,000 sq m of commercial development. • Area west of Pity Me near Durham 6 th Form Centre(currently green belt but aim is to remove this designation) - up to 2,000 homes potentially • North of Arnison Centre – 300/400 houses • Site near golf course to the south of the city – 200/300 houses • Another 2 or 3 sites that Tom Bennet in planning will be aware of
Chris is keen that we should consider these areas in relation to any potential loss of playing fields in relation to the various proposals e.g. Aykley Heads; our proposed standards in relation to supply and demand for the various sports facilities; and in particular take into account the need for pitches and outdoor sports facilities, in relation to the projected future growth in population. How many pitches are needed to cater for this growth (in terms of all the sports covered)?
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Is there a problem with the quantity of pitches or is it more an issue of improving quality and capacity? Is it the spread of facilities that is the problem e.g. enough pitches but not in the right places? Could there be multi-sport facilities rather than thinking of the sports individually?
He also thought it very important to consider appropriate catchment areas/distance thresholds for differing kinds of facility. Important issues could include e.g. whether very local/on site provision of pitches is always needed or would a better option be the provision of a smaller number of larger higher quality facilities e.g. 3G pitches - even though a bit more travel may be required to access them? Where are the preferred sites in relation to all the above?
Bishop Auckland – about 2000 homes potentially. As for Durham there is a need to project this growth and consider its impact re the need for outdoor sports facilities and pitches. A Soccarena type commercial proposal is in the pipeline i.e. an indoor 3G type facility.
Peterlee – developments here will be likely to be “infill” type projects on a fairly health supply of green space within the town.
Barnard Castle – generally well catered for re sports pitches etc. Unlikely to be much additional demand or problems with lack of space/facilities.
Key policy outcome
Chris suggested that we consider options that provide maximum flexibility in relation to developer contributions e.g. rather than always aim at new provision within the development site to cater for growth could funds be made available to improve existing provision that is reasonably accessible from the development? Could funds from a number of developments go to provide facilities that are accessible from all these developments? It is also important to recommend under what circumstances maintenance contributions from developers is a reasonable expectation.
Other Issues
• Is the “temporary but fairly constant” student population – probably about ¼ of the city’s population a factor that need to be borne in mind? • The age profile of families potentially moving into the new houses also need to be considered e.g. a younger profile might imply the need for more pitch sports facilities than an older profile • Chris had received a request from a Golf-croquet club for a more permanent base (this sport is played on bowling greens). This should remind us not to forget the more specialist sporting interests.
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3.4.5 Area Action Partnerships (Andrew Megginson)
Andrew is the Area Action Partnership (AAP) coordinator for Chester-le-Street and District. There are 14 partnerships across County Durham and each AAP is made up of an Area Forum and an Area Board. The AAP aims to identify and tackle issues in local communities. They then put plans and actions in place to deliver services where they are needed most. Each AAP has a Board made up of elected members from organisations such as the county council, town and parish councils, and health; police and fire brigade and community and voluntary groups. Meetings are open to the general public. Andrew is the link AAP officer for this project.
AAP engagement
Andrew has already made his 13 AAP colleagues aware of the project and provided them with a briefing on the process. They in turn are able to promote the project locally, encourage clubs to reply to surveys etc. It was agreed that as regards more formal consultation LandE/JPC would create an Area Profile of supply of and demand for playing pitches and outdoor sports so that each AAP would have its own document. The AAP co-ordinators could then take this through their own AAP for feedback and comments.
Community Consultation Events
Andrew agreed that the 5 Community Sports Networks would provide the most appropriate forums on which to base the PPS consultation events. He would work with the AAPs to promote these alongside the School Sports Partnership coordinators and the direct invitations to clubs and other interested parties that LandE would distribute.
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4. Pitch Sports - Findings
4.1 Cricket
4.1.1 NGB Information
With some 130 senior and 130 junior teams in the area and a high quality, nationally recognised, facility at Derwentside cricket is a significant sport in the county.
The main issues highlighted in our discussions with the governing body were that:-
• Cricket is very much a club based sport and sufficient outdoor facilities are considered to be available to meet current demand. Most clubs have control over the facilities they use but in the Easington area teams tend to use Local Authority facilities and, in that area, there isn’t a strong enough club structure to take on a more proactive role.
• Whilst a majority of grounds are well maintained there is an issue in relation to the quality of built facilities – mainly club houses.
• Whilst the ECB can offer interest free loans to support the provision of new facilities there are now very limited funds available for providing grant support ie £300,000 for the whole of the North.
• The provision of indoor training facilities is the most pressing issue particularly in relation to the difficulty of accessing some provision on school sites eg New school in Durham City with a four lane centre that can’t be accessed, at present, during the evenings or at weekends.
• The indoor facilities that are available are not spread evenly through the county and access is, therefore, a problem as demand is still high. Indoor provision in the Derwentside area is particularly poor.
• The biggest threat for the future is the continuity of available outdoor and indoor facilities, particularly those provided by the public sector.
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Comments made previously in the Sub Regional Facilities Strategy and used in the
Quantity Quality Priorities Issues Outdoor Adequate The poor quality of A current priority is to Compared to other Sufficient pitches pitches, changing secure good facilities as areas there are a large available but the facilities and club part of the BSF number of clubs. weakest area is houses is a serious programme particularly Availability and Derwentside. The problem. Some are so in areas where the opportunity aren’t the
PPG17 Study, as set out below are still valid although there are now five four lane centres in the area.
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situation there might be run down that the clubs quality of pitches and problems but the resolved as part of a are unlikely to survive maintenance is poor. quality of provision and BSF initiative. its maintenance is. Indoor Currently 4 four lane Standard of facilities is Provide a quality 4 lane centres, 1 3 lane and 7 poor across much of the indoor cricket centre 2 lane centres – none in area, ideally on a school site. Durham City. Provide each Focus Club Gaps in provision are in The quality of indoor with access to quality the Consett Stanley provision could be indoor facilities area, Durham City, improved Easington and Teesdale.
Demand for facilities is high
Demand information is based on a DCCB Strategy for their 40 focus clubs. There are a further 60 clubs. Considered that indoor provision is OK for all clubs that want it.
4.1.2 League secretary information
The main issues raised in response to the survey are: • The difficulty of attracting and retaining younger players. • The increasing significance of funding issues particularly for smaller clubs and the related issue of amateur payments. • The quality of some of the pitches and greater concerns about the quality of changing/club house facilities particularly those in public ownership. • An overconcentration on the profile of the ‘Riverside’ at the expense of support to the grass roots particularly village cricket. • Decreasing playing numbers and the increasing age of officials and volunteers. 4.1.3 Club Survey – General
Questionnaire Surveys were sent to 61 cricket clubs and 22 were returned (36%). Some general findings are noted below:
Pitch Capacity
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• Twenty of the twenty one cricket clubs (95%) reported that current pitch provision was sufficient to meet their adult teams’ league fixture requirements (only Trimdon Colliery CC replied to the contrary). • Five clubs (24%) however highlighted that current provision was not sufficient to meet their training needs. • Three clubs (14%) said that additional cricket pitches could be accommodated on their main ground with some investment • All the clubs reported that current arrangements and use of pitches were adequate to meet junior league requirements though five clubs (24%) added that additional junior provision would be advantageous.
Pitch Quality
• Five clubs (24%) reported that at least 15% of their games were cancelled last season due to the pitch condition • Fifteen clubs (75%) confirmed that their pitches are used for training during the week and twelve clubs (60%) said that they would consider using training facilities at a different location
The following charts show the clubs’ general opinions on the quality of pitches and associated pavilion, changing and showering facilities:
Barriers to club development
We asked clubs to indicate the main barriers that were preventing their club from developing. The following two charts highlight the range of reasons reported:
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For cricket clubs the most common factors restricting club development appear to be the lack or poor quality of changing/pavilion facilities, followed by a shortage of indoor training facilities. A third important factor is a perceived lack of all weather pitches for training.
The most common other factor restricting club development was thought to be a lack of external funding to support developments. Other common factors were a shortage of volunteers, cost of insurance and a shortfall in internal fund-raising.
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4.1.4 Concluding Remarks
Within county Durham cricket is a high profile sport attracting a large number of players at senior and junior level. However there is a danger of stagnation and ultimately decline due to the difficulty of attracting and retaining younger players and officials.
Major issues are:
• The quality of changing/clubhouse facilities. • The lack of or ability to access indoor training facilities and the general shortage of training facilities. • Concerns over the continuity of playing opportunities created by uncertainties over the future availability and quality of publicly owned facilities. • The difficulty of attracting and retaining younger players and officials. • The lack of funding support and the increasing cost of maintaining viable clubs.
4.2 Football
4.2.1 NGB Information
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With some 480 clubs active in the area including a number of National League teams football is the most significant formal sports activity in the area. The Regional FA identified a number of key issues, as follows:
• The Football Facilities Strategy has been completed and it includes a list of 56 projects but funding isn’t readily available to make much of an impact on the list. Last year they were able to install a 3G pitch and do some drainage works but this year there is only £80,000 available for up to three projects.
• The potential loss of pitches at Aykley heads is a critical issue as it is considered to be a key site within the city.
• Budget cuts could also have an impact re the continuing maintenance of existing sites across the county.
• The Riverside is still bidding for 3G pitch to replace a sand one
• Other 3G’s are at Parkside – Willington Sedgefield – College Site Newton Aycliffe – Greenfield? School Peterlee – East Durham College Peterlee – Helford? Road small size Derwentside – Stanley School Durham County College – Full size pitch Maiden Castle (University) Full size football and Rugby
• Proposed Pitches Derwentside – Riverside Consett – Academy site 2 Bishop Auckland College Newton Aycliffe – Woodland Tech College.
• 3G pitches on school sites are being used but there are concerns about what will happen with reduced budgets and a reducing school sports focus.
• There are some National League Teams in the area with single pitch sites.
• There are also four Youth Leagues in the area (including mini soccer) and three Senior Leagues, Russell Foster, Chase Homes, Coleman Youth League
• Some youth teams apparently have difficulty finding appropriate pitches at the times they want.
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• A lot of youth teams turn up ready changed so changing facilities is not an issue although it would obviously be preferable to always have suitable facilities available.
• Changing is more of an issue for adult teams and the problem could be exacerbated if any school facilities are lost and the Aykley Head changing rooms are demolished, as intended.
• Youth teams mainly use school sites – The Durham County club uses seven different sites to cater for the demands of its teams.
• Pitch provision in the area tends to be fragmented with fewer large clubs having good facilities.
• The quality of pitches, particularly those managed by the public sector (mainly town councils) is very variable with no consistent standards across the area. One league has lost 300 games this season due to the non availability of pitches due to condition/weather.
• However there isn’t as much pressure from County Durham as elsewhere in the North East in relation to problems of pitch quality.
• Newton Aycliffe seems to be consistent for pitch quality.
• The FA doesn’t have a specified maintenance programme but are looking at providing one for those who manage the pitches.
• A youth review is currently being carried out which is looking at 5v5 for mini soccer and 9v9 for the rest. If the proposed changes are adopted it will have an impact on pitch demand ie a reduction. Any changes are due to be made in 2013.
• Re participation it is the third year of their strategy but participation has fallen in all areas of the game.
• There is more of a severe reduction in adult male and female teams.
• There is a significant continuing loss of players in the over 20’s group.
• Five a side activity, though, is increasing.
• Pub closures and redundancies have had a significant impact on participation. • The age of people running clubs and leagues is increasing and are not being replaced by younger people.
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4.2.2 League secretary info
The main points raised by the league secretaries who responded to the questionnaire were:
• The lack and expense of training facilities. • The poor quality or complete lack of adequate changing facilities. • Growing numbers still being attracted to the sport with some youth leagues/teams particularly buoyant so demand for pitches is likely to increase. • The threat to publicly owned pitches through disposal or reducing maintenance.
4.2.3 Club Survey – General
Questionnaire Surveys were sent to 315 football clubs (junior and adult) and 101 were returned (32%). Some general findings are noted below:
Pitch Capacity
• 76% reported that current pitch provision was sufficient to meet their club’s league fixture requirements but considerably fewer (61%) agreed that current pitch provision was sufficient to meet their training requirements. • Nearly half (49%) thought that additional pitches could be accommodated on their main site with some investment • Just over half (51%) reported that junior fixtures were played on senior pitches • 58% of clubs said that additional junior provision was needed on site but 60% said they would be prepared to consider using junior provision elsewhere (away from their main site)
Pitch Quality
• 44% of clubs reported that at least 20% of their games were cancelled last season due to the pitch condition • 51% confirmed that their pitches are used for training during the week and just over 60% said that they would consider using training facilities at a different location
The following charts show the clubs’ general opinions on the quality of pitches and associated changing and showering facilities:
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Barriers to club development
We asked clubs to indicate the main barriers that were preventing their club from developing. The following two charts highlight the range of reasons reported:
The most common facility based factors reported by football clubs as a barrier to development are a lack of 3G pitches for both training and match play as well as a general shortage of any kind of indoor training facilities. Page | 27
The two most (non-facility based) common factors reported as restricting development are both financial – a lack of external funding to support clubs and the cost of hiring and using facilities.
4.2.4 Concluding Remarks
Football is the most significant mass participation formal sport in the County with a strong league structure and large following.
There are, however, a number of fundamental issues that need to be addressed to maintain and increase participation in the sport.
These include:
• The variable quality of pitches across the county with no clear, comprehensive maintenance regime.
• As a result the reduced availability of pitches because of unplayable surfaces.
• The overuse of some pitches due to limited availability.
• The lack of facilities for training purposes.
• A failure to capitalise on the use of all weather surfaces for training.
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• The threat to publicly owned pitches through budget reductions, school mergers and closures and general closures eg Aykley Heads.
• The lack of or poor quality of changing facilities.
• The apparent need for additional junior pitches.
• The lack of sufficient senior pitches.
• The lack of funding and the increasing cost of participation.
• A failure to capitalise on the pool of younger players with participation dropping considerably in the over 18’s.
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4.3 Hockey
4.3.1 NGB Perspective
Overview
There are seven hockey clubs in County Durham, though only five are registered with England Hockey. The five registered clubs are: Sunderland Ladies Hockey Club (accredited with England Hockey and having one senior team) Durham City Hockey Club (working towards accreditation, with four men’s and three women’s teams ), Durham University (eight teams - four men’s, and four women’s), Hild Bede College (one men’s team), and Bishop Auckland Women (one team).
Hockey Clubs in County Durham are represented in both men’s and women’s County, Regional and National leagues. Women play in a County based league (two divisions), moving on to the North East Regional league, then the full regional league (North). Two clubs in County Durham, Sunderland Ladies (based at Meadowfield Leisure Centre) and Durham University (based at Maiden Castle) are represented in the England Hockey League North Conference Division (the highest level of any North East Clubs). Durham University men also play in the England Hockey League North Conference.
Junior teams struggle for regular competition as most clubs do not have enough juniors to field teams at all age groups and volunteers to organise and run the leagues is not forthcoming from the clubs. Various clubs enter English Hockey Board National Competitions from junior, senior through to national veterans’ competitions.
Trends
The number of teams within clubs is reducing slightly. Some clubs junior sections are growing whilst others are struggling. There is no specific trend, each club is different.
Key Facilities
Sand filled or sand dressed Artificial Turf Pitches (ATPs) are crucial to the sustainability of Hockey. The influx of 3 and 4G pitches is detrimental to the development of Hockey especially if they replace an existing sand filled/dressed ATP. The only full size ATPs suitable for competitive hockey in County Durham are:
• Riverside , Chester le Street • Two pitches at Maiden Castle, Durham, (used by Durham University HC, Hild Bede College, Durham City HC, and college teams - a total of approximately 28 club and college teams) • Meadowfield Leisure Centre, Durham • Barnard Castle School (Independent school) • Durham School (no floodlights)
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Of these venues only the first three (four pitches in total) are available for general public use.
Quantity and Capacity Issues
The England Hockey view is that, overall, as far as accommodating formal league play there is not a major problem. They note that while there is heavy demand on the University pitches, facilities at Meadowfield Sports Centre provide an overflow pitch if required. Sunderland Ladies have no issues with pitch usage at Meadowfield though they do have concerns with the associated changing facilities.
Overall there are probably sufficient exit routes for the Central Durham area. However, Sunderland Ladies are considering their future in the locality as there are too many clubs in Durham City itself to service the demand.
There are no clubs in Easington, Wear Valley, Sedgefield, Teesdale (there is Barnard Castle Ladies Club but they are not affiliated to England Hockey so EH do no not encourage young people to join), Derwentside or Chester le Street.
Bishop Auckland Hockey Club play matches at the Riverside but do not train or have a junior section.
Opportunities for improvement/development of facilities
• A new sand filled/dressed ATP in the County in an area keen to develop hockey, based at a school site and with a club to link into. • The ATP at Meadowfield is in good condition but the outdoor changing facilities are very poor; e.g. the showers don’t work and plaster is falling off the walls. Improvements should be made. • Provide floodlights for the Hockey standard ATP at Durham School • Sunderland Ladies are discussing their future in Durham City as there are too many clubs in the immediately locality and not enough young people playing. If a new facility could be developed, on a school site keen to develop hockey, the club may be interested in relocating. Their junior section has suffered badly and they are very keen to redevelop in a new location if this would mean they could grow their club.
4.3.2 North East Hockey League & Conference
Overview
The league covers the North East area between the Scottish Border and Cleveland/ part of North Yorkshire. There are 25 clubs fielding a total of 62 teams (a number of the clubs also have teams playing at a higher level). The league proper has four divisions of
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twelve teams and there are two 'Conference' divisions (split North & South) which are principally for junior developmental purposes.
The league feeds into the North structure and on into a national structure and a number of local clubs are represented at these levels.
In the North East hockey is a minority sport but it remains vibrant and there is a great deal of junior development activity bringing boys and girls into the sport across the whole region. Unfortunately, there is very little scope for them to take their interest into club hockey within County Durham.
Trends
In the local area there has been a slow decline in standards of hockey, but not numbers involved, in recent years. However current investment in junior development is beginning to reverse that trend. Demand is increasing gradually.
Current facilities
There are only a few pitches within County Durham and there is very little scope for further development of the game within the County. However, the facilities at Durham City are among the best in the country and provide the County Association with an excellent venue for representative matches etc. Issues
• There is very limited scope for bringing the sport to the majority of urbanised areas within the County. • There is a tendency for local authorities to build new artificial pitches with new '3G' surfaces which, although good for rugby and football, cannot be used for hockey. • There are no facilities in places such as Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor, Crook, Willington, Newton Aycliffe, Consett, Stanley, Easington, and Sedgefield.
4.3.3 Durham County Hockey Association
Overview
Durham County Hockey Association has 23 affiliated clubs but only four of them are based within the current administrative boundaries of the County (Bishop Auckland Ladies, Hild Bede Mens, Durham City Joint and Durham University Joint). There is one further club in the County – Barnard Castle Ladies – but they are not affiliated to Durham County Hockey Association and play in an unofficial league.
Much work has been done on junior development within the association’s administrative area in recent years and they have three Junior Development Areas (JDAs) based in Barnard Castle, Durham City and Tees Valley. Page | 32
Issues
• Hockey is now played on Astroturf which must be of a suitable nature for the game. There is a lack of such facilities within Durham County. • There is a tendency to build new facilities, or replace existing ones, with 3G or 4G pitches which, although suitable for Football and Rugby, are most unsuitable for Hockey.
Opportunities for facility development
The association wishes to see the development of more club hockey in the County proper. They point out that for junior development initiatives to be truly successful there need to be a means for those involved to move on to club hockey. However clubs cannot be created without the facilities to play the game!
The following population centres have schools in which interest in the game could be developed, but no suitable facilities:
• Sedgefield; • Newton Aycliffe; • Bishop Auckland/Spennymoor; • Crook/Willington; • Wolsingham/Consett/Stanley; and • Peterlee/Easington.
4.3.5 Club Survey – General
We received survey returns from six of the seven hockey clubs in County Durham (85%). Some general findings are noted below:
Pitch Capacity
• Just over a third (34%) reported that current pitch provision was not sufficient to meet their club’s league fixture and all their training requirements • Nearly half (83%) thought that additional pitches could be accommodated on their main site with some investment
Pitch Quality
• All six clubs rated the quality of their main pitch as “excellent” • Four out of six rated the quality of associated changing and showers as good, the other two said facilities were “average” • Only one club reported that 20% of their games were cancelled last season due to the pitch condition. Three clubs (50%) reported that less than 10% were cancelled. Page | 33
• All the clubs confirmed that their pitches are used for training during the week but only one said that they would consider using training facilities at a different location
Barriers to development
The most commonly stated barriers to club development (noted by at least half the clubs) were:
• A shortage of all weather pitches for both matches and training • The cost of hiring/using facilities • A lack of external funding
4.3.6 Concluding Remarks
In County Durham hockey is a minority sport but it remains vibrant. There are a number of strong adult hockey clubs within the county including those at the University but in general junior teams struggle for regular competition as most clubs do not have enough juniors to field teams at all age groups.
In Durham City it seems that there are insufficient ATPs to meet demand, particularly as there are many teams at the University needing to be programmed on a limited number of pitches. The pitches that do exist are rated as being of high quality, though the quality of associated changing facilities is variable.
Elsewhere in County Durham there are few opportunities to play Hockey at competitive level due to a lack of hockey appropriate ATPs in other parts of the County.
Some specific priorities for new and improved hockey facilities include:
• A new sand filled/dressed ATP away from Durham City in an area keen to develop hockey, based at a school site and with a club to link into. • Improvements to the outdoor changing facilities at the ATP at Meadowfield e.g. the showers are poor, plaster is falling off the walls etc. • Provide floodlights for the hockey standard ATP at Durham School
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4.4 Rugby League
4.4.1 NGB Information
The Governing body has indicated that Rugby League is a growing sport across the region. They have two full time Community Rugby League staff for the Durham area with a further five staff dedicated to supporting and developing the sport in the North East.
There is currently both a junior and adult league based across the North East. In Durham specifically there are the following teams;
• Peterlee Pumas; u10's, 12's, 14's, 16's and adults including females • Durham Tigers; u10's, 12's, 14's & 16's • Durham Demons; adults and new u12's for 2011 season
At present the clubs are based from the following facilities;
• Peterlee Pumas - Helford Road • Durham Tigers - Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Shildon • Durham Demons - Framwellgate Moor School
The League have also used New College Durham, St. John's and East Durham College to hold events such as Champion Schools and regional talent centres
The NGB did not raise particular issues concerning the availability of pitches for matches or for training but there is considered to be a general lack of indoor and all weather facilities that could be used for winter/pre season training. The facilities currently being used by the individual clubs are considered to be of a high standard.
Each club has a wide range of teams covering all age groups and both sexes. They have exit routes for players into clubs and also a strong regional talent programme for players of the highest ability
4.4.2 Club Survey – General
Questionnaires were sent to each of three clubs and complete returns were received from two.
Some general findings from the survey are given below.
Pitch Capacity
• Both clubs who responded say that there is insufficient capacity at their sites to meet current match and training demands. Page | 35
• Both clubs thought that additional pitch space could be provided at their site. • In both instances junior matches are played on senior pitches and both would like to have additional provision for junior matches. • Of the two, one would be prepared to use facilities away from their home base and one would consider it.
Pitch Quality
• One of the clubs had to cancel around 10% of their fixtures due to the condition of the pitch and the other club had to cancel around 15% of its. • Both of the clubs use their pitches for training during the week for on average three hours and both would be prepared to use training facilities away from the club although one reports that they consider nowhere to be suitable. • With regard to other facilities though two consider changing facilities to be below average and in one instance they don’t exist. For car parking both consider provision to be poor and in one instance it doesn’t exist. • One club considers pitch quality to be below average and one considers it to be average. • With regard to the quality of changing facilities one considers their facilities to be good and one excellent. One considers car parking to be excellent with the other stating that it is below average.
Barriers to club development
We asked clubs to indicate the main barriers that were preventing their club from developing. The following two charts highlight the range of reasons reported:
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The lack of suitable pitches is apparently the main barrier to club development
Financial issues are identified, in this instance, as the main ones that are restricting development.
4.4.3 Concluding Remarks
Although more of a minority sport it has a very enthusiastic following and the main issues identified are that
• The sport is growing
• There is an apparent lack of pitch capacity to satisfy match and training needs.
• There is a need to maintain a high quality of facility provision.
4.5 Rugby Union Page | 37
4.5.1 NGB Information
The national governing body for Rugby Union operates community based programmes aimed at increasing participation and supports the 9 clubs based in the area ie
• Consett RFC • Chester-le-Street RFC • Durham City RFC • Horden RFC • Seaham RFC • Sedgefield RFC • Newton Aycliffe RFC • Bishop Auckland RFC • Barnard Castle RFC
Rugby Union is very much a club based, social sport with activity centred on the facilities. All of the clubs have a clearly identified base but Seaham has recently lost its facilities and there is concern that if an adequate replacement site cannot be found in the immediate locality the long term future of the club is uncertain. The future of the pitch used by Consett is also under consideration as part of the schools rebuilding programme.
Current trends in participation are seeing a large increase in youth players and numbers stabilising at senior level.
The shortage of good quality well maintained pitches for match and practice use is considered to be the most significant problem for the sport. A number of clubs would like to undertake drainage works to their pitches but cannot secure sufficient funds.
4.5.2 Club Survey – General
Questionnaires were sent to each of the 9 clubs playing the sport and complete returns were received from only three.
Some general findings from the survey are given below.
Pitch Capacity
• Two of the three clubs reported that their pitch provision was sufficient to meet their match requirements and similarly 2 out of 3 indicated that their current provision didn’t adequately satisfy their training needs. • Only one club thought that additional pitch space could be provided at their siite. • In all three instances junior matches are played on senior pitches and all 3 would like to have additional provision for junior matches.
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• Of the three, two would be prepared to use facilities away from their home base.
Pitch Quality
• Two of the clubs had to cancel around 10% of their fixtures due to the condition of the pitch and the third club had to cancel around 20% of its games. • All of the clubs use their pitches for training during the week for on average seven hours and all would be prepared to use training facilities away from the club base at sports halls, 3G pitches or school sites. • Two of the clubs consider their pitch to be of average quality and one rates it as good. • With regard to other facilities though two consider changing facilities to be below average and in one instance they don’t exist. For car parking two consider provision to be poor and in one instance it doesn’t exist.
Barriers to club development
We asked clubs to indicate the main barriers that were preventing their club from developing. The following two charts highlight the range of reasons reported:
The lack of or quality of changing facilities together with the lack of all weather surfaces and indoor facilities for training are apparently the main facility based barriers to club development.
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Financial issues, including the lack of external funding appear to be the main non facility based barriers to development.
4.5.3 Concluding Remarks
The key issues identified for the sport are:
• The shortage of good quality well maintained pitches for match and practice use.
• An increase in the number of youth players.
• The shortage of general training facilities.
• The increasing cost of participation and the availability of support funding.
• The long term security and maintenance of pitches in public ownership.
• The availability of a replacement site for the Seaham club within the immediate area.
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5. Non-pitch outdoor sports
5.1 Basketball
5.1.1 Overview
Basketball is primarily an indoor sport but the NGB report that provision of outdoor basketball courts would be of great use and feasible at many of the sports centres. They note that Basketball (3v3) can also be played outside, but that many sports centres either don’t have any facilities at all for outside basketball or they are not in very good condition.
There are two main clubs in the County Durham area with one more up and coming. There are also a number of “satellite” clubs hoping to get off the ground very soon. The main club, the Durham Wildcats, play in the England Basketball National League competition at Division 1 level and are currently bidding to move up to the British Basketball League. The Durham Bobcats (female part of the Wildcats) currently play in the English Basketball League division 2 but are hoping to gain promotion to the top flight this year.
There is a Durham Local League with one women’s division and four men’s divisions.
5.1.2 Demand
The governing body reported that in general demand for basketball in County Durham is growing, but that this growth is restricted primarily by a lack of qualified coaches.
5.1.3 Key Facilities
The main facilities for basketball in County Durham are:
• Maiden Castle • Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre • Spectrum Leisure Centre • East Durham College
5.1.4 Issues
• Price and the availability of courts are the two main factors restricting accommodation of matches and training. • Not enough wooden floor courts. Lack of availability across the whole county, of decently priced courts. • The women and girls side of the game is not served fully; this is something that we are currently trying to address.
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5.1.5 Opportunities for development of facilities
• All sports venues could provide opportunities for basketball but in particular Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre could be enhanced and there is a need for better facilities in the Consett area.
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5.2 Bowls
5.2.1 Bowls Durham
Bowls is a traditional sport within Durham which has a large, enthusiastic but ageing number of players. Bowls Durham is an umbrella organisation representing the interests of affiliated clubs and their view is that:
• There are sufficient facilities available to meet current and anticipated demand. • There is a mix of public and private facilities with the majority playing on public ones many of which are managed by town and parish councils. • The quality of playing surfaces and changing/social facilities are the main concerns with the quality of maintenance being inconsistent across the county. • Some clubs are helping by doing their own maintenance. • Youth development and improving the quality of provision are seen as the main priorities and positive action is being taken in a number of instances to encourage younger people to take up the sport. • The sport is a cheap one to participate in but maybe it has been too cheap for too long. • There are now increasing concerns over the future of council run greens in relation to budget reductions.
5.2 Bowls Clubs
Since the discussion with Bowls Durham five community Playing Pitch Study Forums have been held, one in each of the Community Sports Network areas, and a number of other general bowls issues have been raised notably that:
• Bowls clubs based at County Council greens are concerned about the sustainability of their clubs due to increased fees • The long term future of bowls is under threat due to declining playing numbers and the lack of engagement with younger people. • Health and safety concerns inhibit the self management of greens. • There is uncertainty over the continuity of access to publicly owned greens. • Maintenance standards are declining significantly. • Vandalism and anti social behaviour acts as a deterrent to existing and future potential players. • Bowls is an easy sport to access for people of all ages and abilities .
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5.3 Netball
5.3.1 Overview
There is relatively little provision for Netball in County Durham and most of the netball activity in the North East is in Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley. There are a few affiliated clubs in County Durham; two in Durham City, one in Consett, and two in Chester-le- Street. There is a league in Peterlee. However most of the clubs in County Durham play in Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley leagues. Durham University also has a strong netball team. Most of netball in County Durham is played indoors as there is a lack of decent quality outdoor facilities.
5.3.2 Trends
There is an increase in beginners taking up the sport through the Back to Netball scheme run by England Netball and demand is increasing for these sessions. Back to Netball provides a gentle introduction to the sport for female players over sixteen years of age. Sessions are coach led and cover basic skill development and court play. The emphasis of these sessions is on learning new skills and having fun playing Netball with friends. These sessions cater for all abilities.
5.3.3 Current Facility use
Netball clubs and informal teams tend to use schools as the hire cost is usually lower or can sometimes be negotiated for free in return for some coaching support with school clubs. Availability is generally better with school facilities also when compared to leisure centres. There is no current formal league covering all of County Durham. To accommodate such a league, regular access to full sized two court netball facilities is needed.
5.3.4 Issues
• Lack of 2 court sports halls suitable and available to netball clubs. • Lack of decent quality outdoor netball courts and appropriate changing facilities. School yards are often the only option and these are rarely well kept or properly marked. Very few floodlit courts either. • Availability of facilities in general and the high cost at peak time (between 6-8pm week nights). • A lack of well-established teams in County Durham making it difficult in terms of providing exit routes from school play. • Clubs have reported problems with use of school facilities e.g. caretakers needing to work out of hours and problems of things being locked up when they have booked the facilities.
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• Some clubs have reported difficulties in leisure centre staff failing to get the netball posts etc set up in time for their games
5.3.6 Opportunities/Potential improvements
• The provision of Back to Netball sessions may encourage new clubs and teams to form. • Potential to improve club links with schools and to develop facilities for community use of indoor and outdoor school netball facilities • Some older sports hall floors become slippery with wear. For netball short, sharp movement with changing direction is important. This is difficult on slippery floors. Can floors be treated in some manner to add grip? • Need for a database of facilities (indoor and outdoor) that are suitable and available for netball • Improve provision at centres such as Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, Freemans Quay Sports Centre (Durham City), and East Durham College where netball clubs are already established. • Develop netball further via such “hubs” Potential for satellite club provision if appropriate facilities are made available. • Provide some additional good quality outdoor, accessible, floodlit courts - four or five together would be best and this could attract an outdoor league. • Meadowfield Ladies Netball Club who play at Freemans Quay Sports Centre in Durham) are hoping to develop a youth team but need a little funding to help with this.
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5.4 Tennis
5.4.1 Overview
The LTA explained that they oversee and manage the development of tennis in the following priority areas,
• Clubs / Places to Play (including parks) • Schools • Player programmes (performance), • Disability • Competition • Coaches.
5.4.2 Trends
The LTA report a growth in membership particularly at the Clubmark Clubs who are providing quality programmes. These clubs are marketing themselves well and building strong club-school links. ET have also noted growth in the number of junior members, which has grown to nearly 600 juniors (from 70 three years ago) within clubs plus a further 500+ in schools (in the combined Durham & Cleveland area).
There is a solid foundation of local leagues and the AEGON Team Tennis competition involved a total of 127 teams across the North East last year. This is a team competition for those aged from eight and under to adult
The LTA have introduced new opportunities including cardio tennis and touch tennis, which aims to bring new adults to the game who don’t necessarily want to compete or become regular club tennis players – but want to get fit and have fun.
Demand
In Clubmark Clubs demand is rising but in non Clubmark Clubs it is declining. For example Lanchester Tennis Club who has grass courts has 70 people on a Monday night coaching and growing. They are Clubmarked and have the right people in place to drive things forwards.
At Durham Moor Tennis club there are difficulties in accommodating matches and training – There are only two courts. However Lanchester has made links with a local college to use their facilities for overspill and run programme in winter so alternatives can be sought if clubs search.
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5.4.3 Facilities
There are three main providers of tennis courts, only the latter of which are always accessible to the general public:
• The registered tennis clubs (indoor and outdoor). A list of these is available from England Tennis. • Schools – some have decent courts and are active in tennis • Public and park courts (few and usually of relatively poor quality).
5.4.4 Club Survey
We received survey returns from five tennis clubs, four of which have active junior sections and two had links with local schools.
Overall the clubs were generally happy with the quality of their facilities. Areas of specific concern included poor quality changing facilities, insufficient car parking, a lack of floodlighting, inadequate storage facilities on-site, ease of access and facilities for disabled people.
In terms of development clubs indicated a wish to extend their membership and develop improved community and school links. The most common factors limiting development were a fall in membership and a lack of external funding to support expansion and improvements.
5.4.5 Issues
• Need more support from Durham County Council and the LTA to help clubs expand their facilities to provide all year round opportunity to participate in sport, recognising the vital role that specialist clubs can have in promoting sport, health and exercise throughout the community and tapping in to the contribution volunteers can make. • In deprived areas sometimes costs can be a barrier. The LTA is piloting a scheme called 8x8x18 which aims to reduce costs £8 per week for 2 hours of coaching and club membership.
5.4.6 Opportunities/Potential Improvements
• An indoor facility in the Durham area is needed but it has to be sustainable and financially viable. Each indoor court could take in approximately £11,000- £20,000 so strong business plan is essential. The LTA would be prepared to consider investing in a well planned project of this kind. • Expand club ownership and management of courts • Improve access to tennis courts and their management and maintenance
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• Lanchester Tennis Club could ideally do with some floodlights at the college and again a strong business plan would be needed to demonstrate sustainability. • Clubs need to link with other places (schools/parks) to grow and they need to expand their programme • Durham Archery Tennis Club is very strong. It has links with the University, is Clubmarked. It has a growing programme and membership and is self sufficient. They could be promoted as a model of good practice.
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6. Concluding Remarks
It is clear that the county is one of huge contrasts and not just in relation to its varied geography. In terms of sports provision the facilities available range from world class venues to run down sports fields with dilapidated or none existent changing facilities.
The playing pitch study, in association with strategies for the provision of built facilities needs to provide a comprehensive, inclusive approach to sports provision that builds on the areas sporting heritage, the enthusiasm of many of the sports club officials and members and the expertise and profile created by world class venues.
Currently there is considerable concern about the amount of funding likely to be available in the future to support sport, recreation and leisure matched by equally pressing concerns about an apparent lack of communication and commitment from the county council.
The disparate nature of the county also means that access to facilities, pitch provision and sporting activities is, understandably, not evenly spread across the area
Particular actions required include:
• The establishment of a clear policy towards the provision and support for sport in the county and the clear communication of that message.
• Improving the supply and quality of pitches across the county area.
• Improving the provision of and access to training facilities.
• Providing a comprehensive approach towards community access to school facilities recognising that that access a clear commitment from clubs and individuals to respect those facilities.
• Establishing and improving partnership activities between the council and the various sporting clubs and between the different sporting disciplines to maximise the use of all the resources available and to prevent any unnecessary duplication of effort.
• Addressing areas of poor access to improve the range of participation opportunities.
• Championing the positive role that involvement in sporting activities can play.
• Looking creatively at opportunities to improve the standard of provision by sensitive rationalisation or by capitalising on realistic development activities. Page | 49
Appendix 1 General Consultation Findings from Earlier District- Based Playing Pitch Studies 2
1. Introduction
Three of the seven local authorities have playing pitch strategies, although all are based on evidence and analysis that is now over six years old. All three adopted the methodology recommended by Sport England and detailed in the document 'Towards a Level Playing Field', and preceding guidance.
Former constituent Authorities
Document Chester Street le Derwentside DurhamCity Easington Sedgefield Teesdale Wear Valley County Playing Pitch NO NO YES YES YES NO NO NO Study
2. Outline of methodology re consultation 2.1 City of Durham This study was conducted on behalf of the City of Durham and the County Councils by the consultants McAlpine, Thorpe and Warrier Ltd. It is dated 2005 but was actually commissioned and started in 2001 begun. It generally follows the principles of the Sport England methodology. Method A postal questionnaire survey: carried out amongst all football, cricket, hockey, rugby league and rugby union clubs in the district as well as all existing and potential providers of pitches such as educational institutions and parish councils. Discussions: held with the County Development Officers for football, cricket and rugby union and the County Secretaries for hockey, football and cricket. A number of league secretaries for football were also consulted as well as Council and Sport England Officers.
2 from the County Durham PPG17 Consultation Report 2010
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2.2 District of Easington
This study was conducted on behalf of the District of Easington by the consultants Leisure and the Environment. It is dated 2004. It generally follows the principles of the Sport England methodology. Method
Questionnaire surveys: of clubs and leagues secretaries covering the sports of football, cricket, rugby and hockey
Focus group meetings: with representatives of football and cricket clubs
Other consultations: with governing body representatives, development officers and representatives of the principle facility managers.
2.3 Sedgefield Borough Council
This study was conducted by the Council. It is dated 2002. It generally follows the principles of the Sport England methodology. Method
Questionnaire Surveys: of all known pitch owners and operators; clubs; league secretaries for football, cricket, hockey and rugby.
Questionnaire surveys: of clubs and leagues secretaries covering the sports of football, cricket, rugby and hockey
Focus group meetings: with representatives of football and cricket clubs
Other consultations: with governing body representatives, development officers and representatives of the principle facility managers. 3. General Findings
The following highlights general themes identified through the above consultation processes. 3.1 City of Durham
For football the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• better training facilities/pitches • often low quality changing facilities • dog fouling • vandalism Page | 51
• lack of a central venue for mini soccer • a generally adequate level of provision in terms of adult pitch supply
For cricket the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• better practice facilities • better quality wickets • improved changing and other ancillary facilities • dog fouling and vandalism on some sites • need to promote junior participation
For hockey the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• lack of pitch provision (at the time) • likely increased demand in future years
For Rugby the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• the lack of public rugby pitches restricting development of the game, particularly the lack of floodlighting which does not allow coaching to take place after school hours during the winter months • little rugby is played in Secondary Schools. The poor playing surface and lack of changing facilities on school sites would give a negative initial experience for young people and would not encourage them to stay in the game.
3.2 District of Easington
For football the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• often low quality pitch surfaces (especially on council sites) and changing facilities • dog fouling • vandalism • a generally adequate level of provision in terms of adult pitch supply • few floodlit pitches for training • over demand for the main sites • some schools willing to explore more dual use of pitches • concern over long term maintenance funding • widespread interest in football which can provide a community focus
For cricket the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• Clubs are thriving • Established tradition of Cricket in the district – strong competition • Lack of finance – capital and revenue Page | 52
• Increase in number of teams particularly juniors generates more pressure for clubs • Need for more help from local authorities (district, town, and parish) • Perception from some clubs of poor value for money in relation to hire/lease of pitches (don’t mind paying providing facilities/services are satisfactory) • Some Welfare Grounds thought to have suffered in relation to pit closures and transfer of responsibility to councils. • Need for training facilities (including indoor facilities) • The feeling that the declining quality and quantity of such facilities is hampering the growth of the sport
For rugby the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• Rugby League appears to be prospering in the District; especially amongst younger players. This may result in pressures for a dedicated pitch to meet the needs of this growing club, and a need for better ancillary facilities. • The two rugby union clubs in Seaham and Horden (in particular) also have aspirations to establish additional teams for younger players, and also for females. This may have implications for the number of pitches required in both these settlements. • There are issues for rugby union clubs in respect of changing accommodation and floodlighting.
For hockey key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• The need to secure opportunities for hockey to establish in the area through providing access to an appropriate playing surface.
3.3 Sedgefield
For football the key issues highlighted through consultation were:
• refusing teams entry into their leagues due to pitch availability and quality (mainly junior teams) • latent junior demand could be a significant Borough wide characteristic • evidence of teams being turned away at some community schools because of over demand, and likewise for some local council pitches • lack of access to schools pitches in general • some dissatisfaction pitch and facility quality • high 'running costs' may be suppressing demand
As part of the Sedgefield PPG17 study a survey of pitch sports clubs was conducted The information, together with responses received from the other surveys can be used to validate the conclusions in relation to issues contained in the 2003 report.
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This survey suggests some issues that are generally consistent with the outcome of the playing pitch study consultation and these include;-
• Maintenance quality and consistency across the Borough; • Pitch availability; • Training provision; • Passporting youth activity levels into other age groups; • Developing and maintaining a dialogue with the Clubs.
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Appendix 2 General Issues identified in the County Durham PPG17 Consultation Report (playing pitch related)
Key Issues
• Only three of the seven constituent authorities had a playing pitch strategy and all of them are now over six years old.
• The quality of existing outdoor pitch and changing facility provision and uneven standards of maintenance on publicly owned sites.
• The fact that much outdoor provision is managed through town and parish councils meaning that the quality of provision and maintenance is variable..
• The uneven distribution of existing facilities creates gaps in provision particularly in relation to artificial turf pitches (football and hockey) and 2 court basketball facilities.
• The uneven spread of outdoor facilities particularly artificial turf pitches (football and hockey)
• Accessibility issues, particularly, for existing school sites.
• Transport difficulties for getting access to facilities.
• Maximising the potential of dual use facilities to match demand more closely, ie the ability to cater for peak time demands whilst minimising any underuse.
• The need to provide at least five additional artificial turf pitches (football and hockey)
• The general lack of floodlit facilities.
• The need to improve the quality of pitches and changing facilities.
• The need to establish a mechanism to monitor changes in use and demand.
• The issue of accessibility, particularly for young people, and price.
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