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Lichfield District Council Playing Pitch, Tennis and Bowls Strategy February 2012 Neil Allen Associates Registered Office: 20 Brook Road, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 9AH A limited company, registered in England and Wales no. 6165280 Contents Page Section 1 – Introduction 1 Section 2 – Methodology 4 Section 3 – Population and Sports Participation Profile 8 Section 4 – Football 23 Section 5 – Cricket 76 Section 6 – Rugby 100 Section 7 – Hockey 112 Section 8 – Bowls 121 Section 9 – Tennis 133 Section 10 – Strategic Recommended Actions 143 Section 11 – Monitoring and Review 171 Appendices Appendix A – Pitch Audit Appendix B – Teams Audit 1. Introduction Introduction 01 Neil Allen Associates was commissioned in July 2011 to produce a Strategy for Playing Pitches, Tennis and Bowls (PPS) for Lichfield District. The study updates the existing strategy (2006), which identified a series of issues and priorities, including the need to address shortfalls in the amount of junior and mini football pitches, provide a new artificial surface for hockey and support the qualitative improvement of sites across the district. Between 2006 and 2011 there have been many changes, including investment into new and improved facilities, increased use of school sites and changing requirements for different sports. Lichfield DC and its delivery partners aspire to maintain and build participation in sport and physical recreation and ensure that residents in all parts of the district have sustainable and equitable access to appropriate facilities. To achieve this goal, ongoing monitoring and updates of the Playing Pitch Strategy to reflect changing priorities are therefore of paramount importance. Furthermore, as the strategic and policy context for sport and recreation provision continues to evolve, and new sports are introduced to drive participation increases, investment is under close scrutiny and there is significant pressure to achieve more and better services with fewer resources. As well as ensuring that the PPS remains relevant and up to date, this update to the 2006 PPS provides the opportunity to think innovatively about how services are delivered as well as how traditional provision can be adopted to meet changing demands and population profiles. This strategy is therefore required to: inform decision making on the need for new and enhanced pitch provision at a neighbourhood level both now, and as the population grows and the profile of the population changes; support the creation of appropriate policy within the Local Development Framework and facilitate decisions on the protection and disposal of playing fields; provide evidence to inform local standards and developer contributions towards playing fields and outdoor sports facilities; help to maximise the use of existing resources including school facilities; inform the emerging leisure strategy and maximise the role that pitch provision can play in providing high quality opportunities to participate in sport across the district and in maintaining and increasing levels of participation and physical activity; guide a strategic and innovative approach to the delivery of playing pitches in the district linking with local, regional and National Governing Body priorities and in the context of the challenging financial environment; and provide a strategic context for any funding opportunities that arise. Lichfield District Council Playing Pitch Strategy 1 Furthermore national land use policy is changing with the move to a bottom up approach to planning. An understanding of local aspirations and priorities is one of the key drivers for the preparation of this PPS. Sport England has stated, ‘there is a fresh drive for localism, promoting greater accountability for service delivery and improvement and giving more flexibility and responsibility for delivery to both local authorities and their communities’. This strategy therefore provides an understanding of the adequacy of pitch and outdoor sports provision at a local settlement level, as well as district wide. Strategic Vision The strategy seeks to support the Council and its partners in the creation of: 'An accessible, high quality and sustainable network of sports pitches and other outdoor sports facilities, which provides local opportunities for participation by all residents of the district at all levels of play from grassroots to elite'. Objectives The objectives of the strategy link to the achievement of the overarching vision and are as follows: evaluate current trends and needs of different users, as well as the profile of the local population; undertake an audit of all existing pitches, including an evaluation of the quality of pitches and access to existing facilities; identify all current users and potential users of pitches and sports facilities in the district; analyse the adequacy of provision to meet both current and projected need; identify key priorities and actions, including timeframes and responsibilities; and agree a strategy for monitoring and review. Reflecting the contribution that sport and active recreation can make to the achievement of many wider goals and aspirations of Lichfield District Council, it is critical that the strategy is set in the context of the Council’s wider strategic priorities’, which are: Create safe, strong and proud communities Improve health and well-being Help people to realize their potential Involve local people and partners Protect and enhance the environment for future generations Develop towns and cities and tackle issues that are important to the rural communities Provide services that are value for money Attract investment into the district. Lichfield District Council Playing Pitch Strategy 2 This strategy therefore evaluates the adequacy of provision for key sports across Lichfield District and sets out the priorities for action over the coming years. It considers the adequacy of facilities for: Football (including American Football) Cricket Rugby Union Rugby League Hockey Tennis Bowls. These sports have been chosen because they are important in the context of Lichfield District. There is no evidence of demand for lacrosse or polo or any pitches in the area and these sports have therefore been excluded from the strategy. The strategy is set out as follows: Section 2 –Methodology Section 3 - Context and Participation Profile Section 4 – Football Section 5 – Cricket Section 6 – Rugby Section 7 – Hockey Section 8 – Tennis Section 9 – Bowls Section 10 – Strategy and Actions Section 11 – Monitoring and Review. Lichfield District Council Playing Pitch Strategy 3 2. Methodology This section summarises the methodology that has been used. The strategy has been developed 02 in line with 'Towards a Level Playing Field: A Manual for the Production of a Playing Pitch Strategy' (Sport England, 2003) (TaLPF). 4 Figure 2.1 summarises the key stages of this methodology which comprises eight stages. These stages, broadly cover the issues of supply and demand. While stages one to six are largely numerical calculations, designed to evaluate the current supply and demand, it is steps 7 and 8, the evaluation of issues and solutions, which are the essential components of a successful strategy. Figure 2.1 - The key stages of the Playing Pitch Methodology Stage 1 Identifying teams Stage 2 Calculating home games per team per week Stage 3 Assessing total home games per week Stage 4 Establishing temporal demand for games Stage 5 Defining pitches used/required on each day Stage 6 Establishing pitches available (allowance for qualitative issues) Stage 7 Assessing the findings Key components of a successful strategy Stage 8 Finding solutions TaLPF is currently being updated and a revised methodology is likely to be published in early 2012. The revised methodology takes into account the evolving context of sport and builds on changes to the national planning framework. It places a greater emphasis on site specific issues and takes into account trends in the type of facilities, including the growing emphasis on use of Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs). Where possible, these changes have been incorporated into the preparation of this PPS for Lichfield District Council. Lichfield District Council Playing Pitch Strategy 4 TaLPF includes only a methodology for pitch sports and there is no formally adopted approach for an assessment of tennis and bowls. The adequacy of provision for tennis and bowls has been evaluated through the interpretation of supply and demand. The remainder of this section briefly summarises the approach that has been undertaken in the preparation of this strategy. Approach Demand (Steps 1 – 5) A full audit of teams playing or wishing to play within Lichfield District was conducted. This audit process involved: use of data collected by National Governing Bodies (NGBs) on participation; cross referencing of NGB data through analysis of records from the 2006 PPS, local league websites and fixture lists, pitch booking lists and internet research; and clarification telephone calls with clubs and providers. To supplement baseline data, a consultation exercise was carried out to provide full understanding of the issues and challenges currently experienced. This comprised: distribution of a mixture of postal and electronic surveys to clubs playing within or close to the district boundaries and follow up telephone calls to none responding clubs; face to face meetings with key clubs; distribution of surveys to all schools and follow up telephone calls to none responding schools

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