ROBERTSBRIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Robertsbridge Community College
Community Sports Hall
Design Statement
Access Statement
Sensitivity within an area of outstanding natural beauty
Identification of Need
Robertsbridge Community College Page 1
ROBERTSBRIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Contents
1. Design and Access Statement 3 2. Outline 3 3. Location 3 4. Playground and car parking / access 6 5. Size and scale of the building 6 6. Design and sympathy within an area of outstanding natural beauty 7 7. Landscaping 8 8. Visibility 8 9. Access 11 10. Sustainability 11 11. Shadow Analysis 15 12. Opening hours 17 13. Identification of need 17 14. Hastings and Rother Leisure Facility Strategy: Summary 17 15. Other Sources of data 18 16. Impact on Sport 19 17. Community involvement 20
Appendices
Appendix 1 Extract from Hastings and Rother Leisure facility strategy 21
Appendix 2 College research and questionnaire results 34
Appendix 3 Public Consultation results 35
Robertsbridge Community College Page 2
Design and Access Statement
Outline
• Robertsbridge is an old settlement, dating back to around 1176. The village has a population of 2,588. • Lying in the county of East Sussex, the site sits within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and this will be a key consideration in any design decisions. • Robertsbridge Community College (RCC) lies within the picturesque Rother Valley, situated on a hill overlooking Robertsbridge, and adjacent to the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. • RCC is sited to the north of Robertsbridge. The college is situated in a residential and rural area, with the south of the site being bounded by the existing school and local houses, and the north, by fields. • The College has 600 students of mixed gender from the age of 11 to 16, with approximately 120 in each year group. Robertsbridge Community College is the smallest community college in East Sussex. It is a specialist Mathematics and Computing College. • The College has seen a number of extensions since it was constructed in 1955. This latest proposed development will ensure that the Physical Education provision for the students meets current curriculum requirements as well as providing the only community sports facility in the area, the nearest existing being Battle Sports Centre, approximately 10 kilometres away • The Current sportshall is too small and outdated, as specified by the DfE – Building Bulletin 98 – which describes the minimum provision for School sports and hall space to meet the requirements of “ a main hall sufficient for assemblies of at least half the school at one time, examinations, public performances, parents’ evenings and community events” and a “‘four-court’ sports hall, which should be designed to Sport England’s specifications, including the critical minimum dimensions for four badminton courts of 18m x 33m x 7.6m high” This hall will meet both of these requirements. • The proposed hall will provide county standard facilities for a range of sports including cricket, badminton, soccer, stoolball, tennis, basketball and trampolining, and meets both Sport England and BB98 requirements. The College does not have a facility big enough to house the entire School for assembly, and this sports hall is large enough to provide this requirement • The first floor accommodation will provide additional facilities for the College and community by increasing the adult education provision from one managed centre.
Location
• Robertsbridge Community College is located at the end of Knelle Road, off Brightling Road, connecting the villages of Robertsbridge and Brightling. Good transport links are provided. By Road:- located just off the A21 Robertsbridge by pass
Robertsbridge Community College Page 3
By Rail:- Located less than half a mile away – a 5 minute walk to Robertsbridge train station – on the Hastings to London line By Bus:- Access to these services is limited by bus - that is hourly at weekends and finishes by 5.00pm in the evening on weekdays. • The surrounding area is residential comprising of mostly well-spaced two storey housing. Local amenities can be found in the centre of Robertsbridge Village 1 mile away. • Locating it at the rear of the College site and with the provision of car parking adjacent to the new facility, the impact on the locality would be minimised keeping away noise and disturbance that might occur from neighbouring properties. • There is existing vehicular access and footpaths entering the College site. • The majority of the proposed sports hall will be built on an existing playground, minimising any loss of land, towards the rear of the College. The visual impact of the sports hall will be screened by the existing grass bank leading up to the playing fields. • The position and footprint of the proposed hall has been designed to work within the confines of the site, whilst maximising the use of available space. It will not impact on any existing playing fields, or run offs. The replacement playground has been carefully designed to fit in an area that is too small and of a shape that could not be marker out for sports usage.
As can be seen on the Environment Agency Flood Risk Map, below, the site does not lie within a designated flood risk zone.
Source: Environment Agency Flood Risk Plan
Robertsbridge Community College Page 4
Planning considerations
The Rother District Local Plan was adopted in July 2006. This sets out the vision and strategy for land use and development in the Rother District. The site of the college sits outside any areas designated for development in the Local Area Plan, however policy DS4 does allow for existing uses to remain outside policy DS3 – therefore the use as an educational establishment, as an existing School the facility needs to be located on this site.
Planning policy criteria requires that the new facility:
• meets the needs of future occupiers and provides appropriate provisions and means of access for disabled users
• does not detract from the character and appearance of the locality
We believe that the proposed sports hall meets these objectives and is identified in the Rother District Council’s - Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities strategy (2009)
Source: Rother District Council Local area plan map
Robertsbridge Community College Page 5
Playground, car parking and access road
A new playground will be built on an area of un utilised land, that is too small and the wrong shape to be used for any sporting facility. It was an old shot fan which is no longer used. Additional hard playground space is required for students to enjoy fresh air and sporting activity at morning break and lunch times, and ensure that there is enough play space, especially in the winter months when the fields may become inaccessible or waterlogged.
The playground will be shaped in a triangular design on an area of land not currently used for sport, It has been carefully designed not to encroach onto existing pitches, allowing run offs for the grass grid pitches and existing long jump pit. The existing dirt track providing parking for the College will be tarmacked and marked out with parking bays. It is envisaged that the proposed playground area will provide outdoor play during College hours, and then opened up for car parking out of College hours, in addition to the new parking and access road provided to access the new playground.
The existing long jump pit will be relocated to the west of its current location ensuring this sport provision is maintained. The current long jump area is beyond its expected life span, using a cinder track run up. The provision of a new pit and run up area will increase the sports use of this facility.
The playground will be provided with two basketball goals for basketball practice.
Size
The proposed new sports hall will provide a country standard multi-purpose sports facility comprising the hall itself, ground floor changing room accommodation and storage and first floor resource centre, and classrooms with viewing galleries both internally to the sports hall, and externally to the grass soccer pitches.
• Two changing rooms for 32 persons • 80m2 Equipment store • Disabled WC • Disable change, toilet and shower • Two offices • A classroom • An ICT suite • A Research and Resource centre
The proposed sports hall has an external footprint of 980m2, with an eaves height of 6.050m (north),9,4m to the highest point in the centre of the curve and 7.7m (south)by the College buildings. The is not visible from the front of the College buildings.
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Design – sympathetic within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty
It is considered that the appearance and location of the entrance to the building is vital if the building is to be a success and as such the entrance to the new facility has been located to the north - east of the building. It is located closest to the new car park with the particular aim of providing ‘extended use’ visitors with a very visible and easily accessible entrance point. Externally the first floor is clad in timber, giving it a visual difference to the rest of the building, covering all parts of theses elevations visible from the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty. The provision of two canopied entrance for College and community use will focus the attention of visitors, who may be visiting the building for the first time.
The roof structure is proposed to be a curved steel portal frame. This structure provides the opportunity for a curved roof and a more dramatic and contemporary architectural appearance than would a ‘flat roof’ solution. The visual impact internally of such a structure will also be more impressive than a more conventional steel portal frame approach and will align with Sport England guidance - i.e. to steer away from the ‘industrial shed’ appearance. This is vital in order to fulfil the community use aspiration and produce an inspirational building.
The Sports Hall has been designed to be sympathetic to the surrounding High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty to the north, and care has been taken to make it blend into its environment.
The building is designed with a curved roof which will be dark blue, it slopes away from the area of outstanding natural beauty and will mimic the rolling hills of this area.
Colours
Cedar cladding which will be naturally finished and allowed to weather to silver with age will be located on the first floor elevation facing north with brick similar in colour to the existing college bricks to 3m from floor, towards the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty.
For the east and west elevations brick to 3m followed by light grey metal cladding will be used.
Dark Grey soffit, and down pipes will be used to contrast the wall colour
Dark Grey roof will be used to blend in with existing roof structures on site.
Storage / Security
The Southern elevation will be metal clad and fenced off as a storage area, with 3m close board fencing, with gated access. This area will therefore not accessible to students or the public. The light coloured cladding will reflect the natural light back into the college building, as well as blending into the sky.
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Windows
Windows will be white UPVC strip windows, matching existing College windows. The design will mimic existing windows already on site, therefore making it blend into the surrounding buildings.
Signage
Signage comprising the Robertsbridge logo and Robertsbridge Community Sports Hall will be situated adjacent to each entrance.
Canopies
A covered canopy will be provided at both entrance doors indicating entrance areas and providing protection from the weather when entering the facility.
The building has been future proofed for both College and Community use. The first floor provision provides additional facilities for the College and local community.
Landscaping
The Sports hall will be well hidden from view from the area of outstanding natural beauty to the northern elevation of the College
Planting will include a variety of trees and shrubs to shroud the proposed car park and sports hall location from the manor house and area of outstanding natural beauty
Any soil excavated will be reused on site to provide banks capable of sitting a group of 30 students for “team talks” by coaches and PE staff prior to matches and lessons, aiding the theory part of any outdoor sporting activity undertaken. They are positioned in areas that are not used for any sporting use, and will allow spectator viewing for the running track, tennis courts and football pitches (Please see separate landscaping plan)
Views across the site
The site can be viewed from Ockham House, which is an old manor house, which appears to be a dwelling divided into multiple occupation. Ockham house, Bodiam, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5RA. Views from the rear of this property go across the valley of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and will see the College in the distance. We propose a landscaping / planting strategy (see separate document) which includes 120m of shrubs and trees to screen the College site, on the boundary. The map below shows the public rights of way closest to the College site, the areas marked in red show the areas that the existing College buildings are visible, and therefore the new extension. All of these properties have
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been part of the consultation. The visibility was tested in December 2012, which will be at the worst time of the year, due to a lack of leaves on existing trees.
Public Rights of Way closest to Robertsbridge Community College
Source:- East Sussex County Council http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/countryside/rightsofway/rightsofwaymap/LargeMap.htm
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View showing Ockham House in relation to Robertsbridge Community College Source: Google Maps
Access
The site is approached from Knelle Road, and the main vehicular and pedestrian access is from this direction. Access into the College site is controlled by automatic gates which lead into the car park via a one way system.
The new sports hall will not contribute to additional vehicular during the School day, as it will be used only by the College at this time. During the evening and weekend there will be a slight increase in existing evening traffic flow, due to new community sports usage. This will be at worst – if five a side soccer is on (which will have the largest number of users for en evening letting) the possibility of 12 vehicles assuming every team member comes individually and over a three hour period, assuming
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individual lets could see up to 30 cars per evening. Other sports such as badminton would have less number of participants. 30 car parking spaces are being created to cope with a peak demand.
There will be two disabled parking spaces located on the new playground. A footpath takes the users into a mezzanine entrance, where they can go upstairs, to the resource centre rooms and gallery or downstairs into the sports hall and changing rooms. A lift is provided to assist those who have mobility issues from this level which is fully compliant with part M of the building regulations, and a staircase which has been designed to allow ambulant disabled access to the facility.
There is a separate College student entrance located on the eastern elevation. A reception area is provided to manage School and community use of the building with clear views of both doors and the car park area.
An accessible WC is provided on the first floor, in addition to an accessible changing room with shower and WC on the ground floor. Two WC’s for male, one ambulant plus three urinals and three female cubicles including ambulant disabled are provided for use.
The sports hall proposals have been designed in accordance with the following documents and guidance:
• Building Regulations Approved Document M 2004
• BS8300 2009 Design of Buildings to Meet the Needs of Disabled People
The following Sport England guidance has also been referred to:
• Sport England Guidance - Accessible Sports Facilities 2010
• Sport England Guidance - Sport Halls Design and Layouts Feb 2012 • Developing the Right Sports Hall March 2012
• Changing Rooms and Lockers Guidance Note 2005
Inclusive access for educational facilities needs to take account of both the physically disabled and those with special educational needs (SEN) and this may be school use or by the local community. These proposals address these issues as follows:
Car parking
The combined car park playground has 33 spaces, with 3 marked disabled parking bays. The maximum distance for a disabled person from here to the building entrance is approximately 62m. This dual use will be managed by the College, providing use as a student playground during College hours, and then doubling as a car park after College hours.
Building approach
The approach to the building from the combined playground and car park is via a path and lift
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External lighting, will be provided to allow access to and from the hall area from the new playground will be provided. It will be in the form of down-lit bulkhead style, energy efficient lighting to provide suitable lux levels for access and egress. No floodlighting will be used.
The closure of the access between the College and the Sports hall will design out the crime risk, and eliminate unseen nooks and crannies and places to hide.
Building entry and exit
The building is entered via a level threshold, provision will be made for wheelchair access to the building. Power assisted doors are provided on the community entrance
Reception
An office in the foyer provides the reception function via a sliding glass window with a split high and low level counter to accommodate both able bodied and disabled persons.
Horizontal access through the building
The passageway to the changing rooms is 1500mm wide which allows a wheelchair user and an ambulant person to pass.
Passageways into the changing facilities provide are at least 1200mm clear width with a minimum of 800mm clear width at doorways.
Changing, lockers and WC facilities
A single disabled shower with disabled WC, together with a standalone disabled WC are provided in accordance with the minimum requirements advised by Sport England. Ambulant disabled shower cubicles should be provided. Lockers provided in the lobby area include two at low level and for disabled use.
All internal doors have been designed to comply with the appropriate regulations covering their clear opening width. All vision panels and viewing windows are positioned in accordance with the appropriate regulations for use by wheelchair users. All doors are operable with a force of 30N up to 30’ and 22.5N between 30’ and 60’ in accordance with BS 8300.
Internal finishes are designed to distinguish boundaries between walls, floors, doors and ceilings. A variance in brightness and texture forms and integrated system that allows users with sensory impairments to use the facilities independently. Finishes will prevent glare and refection and limit acoustic reverberation.
Low resistance floor coverings will ease the movement of wheelchair users throughout the building. Signage will be provided to indicate accessible facilities.
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Internal Spaces
The main hall has been designed to the Sport England arrangement for a four court sports hall. No natural lighting is proposed within this space, as without black-out blinds this would compromise the suitability for certain sports, such as badminton. Artificial lighting will be arranged between courts as specified in Sport England design guidance. The internal walls of the hall will be sufficiently robust so as not to be damaged by impact from balls and other equipment.
An equipment store has been provided with access directly from the sports hall. This has an area of approximately 12.5% of the sports hall area, as required by Sport England.
Through the main entrance there is a lobby area. This allows a space for visitors to wait.
Lockers for community use are located in the entrance lobby area and meet the Sport England requirements.
A reception area with office are within this entrance lobby. This allows both of the entrances to the sports hall to be monitored, designing out crime
Changing facilities are located off the foyer.
Changing rooms have been designed to accommodate a class size of thirty-two. These will be used for ‘dry’ sports in the new sports hall only. For sports being played outdoors the existing changing facilities within the existing main college building will be used. The changing is split into male and female. Each facility provides space for sixteen to change alongside four open plan showers. Each changing space also contains a curtained ambulant disabled shower and a toilet. The ceiling height of these changing spaces is to be 2.7m above finished floor level. This is recommended by Sport England in order to prevent vandalism to ceiling finishes.
Space for vending machines, and drinking water are provided in the Resource centre
Sustainability
Automatic light sensors will be used throughout the building and an efficient under floor heating system powered by an air source heat pump feed the accommodation area, while the main hall is heated with LPG gas “ambi rad” or similar black tube space heating.
The building is fully insulated to meet building regulations. Extensive glazing to the northern elevation takes advantage of the natural light and passive ventilation, with the added benefit of reduced glare from the north light. This therefore eliminates the requirement for cooling in these rooms.
Storey heights and room sizes have been carefully design around standard material stock sizes to minimise waste.
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The development shall be constructed from a fabricated steel frame with steel panel roof and walls. Foundations are likely to be pad foundations.
Excess topsoil will be produced from the ground works required for the new foundations. The use of pad foundations will reduce the amount of excavation needed. The position of the building on the site has been chosen to minimise the amount of cut required in the ground. This results in the southern end of the hall being built up out of the ground. Recycled granular material will be brought to site to raise the levels sufficiently to fill this end of the building. This process minimises the amount of excavation waste leaving the site. Any further excess materials will be bunded and set aside for future landscaping. Any other waste not appropriate for filling will be sent to a registered tip or re-cycled where possible.
Ordering of materials is kept to exact quantities and building modules are designed around standard material sizes. Pad foundations reduce the amount of excavation needed. Careful and thoughtful approach to the design of the steel structure ensures that the building is not over engineered. Therefore minimising the amount of material on site and the enabling works associated with supporting the steel frames.
Construction waste resulting from this development shall be dealt with by the following means. By following a typical hierarchy of elimination, reduction, re-use, recycle and disposal, and promoting a site culture that has a thoughtful approach to site waste, the amount of construction waste sent to landfill is kept to a minimum.
Eliminate The first and possibly most important process is to eliminate unnecessary materials being brought to site. This is difficult to quantify, but is achieved by careful design before and during construction. By finding the most efficient way to construct the building the amount of materials being sent to site is reduced. For example, if a reduction in the amount of steel required by efficient design, the size of the foundations can also reduce. This means less excavation and therefore reduces the amount of concrete and associated materials being brought to site.
Reduce If elimination is not possible, it is then important to minimise the amount of materials coming to site. This is achieved by designing around standard material sizes to prevent excessive off cuts and by careful scheduling to ensure optimised material usage.
Re-use and Recycle Any waste produced from construction is managed and monitored on site. The waste materials are re-used on or off site where possible i.e. reusing surplus materials on other sites, and using packaging such as timber pallets for shuttering. If this is not appropriate the materials are separated for recycling to be sent to a registered recycling facility. The materials are separated into the following categories, inert, gypsum, metal, hazardous, mixed, packaging and wood. Any surplus materials that
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can be restocked will be sent back to the supplier. Waste materials, particularly packaging, will be compacted before disposal.
Disposal Once separated and compacted, any waste materials not being re-used or recycled will be sent to a registered tip. As mentioned above, hazardous waste such as solvents and paint tins are separated so that they are disposed of appropriately.
Shadow Analysis and impact on the College buildings
Shadow Analysis
At an early stage a shadow analysis study was undertaken to assess the impact of the new sports hall in the preferred location of the playground. The study images opposite show an early concept massing model with shadows at key times in March, June and December. It can be seen that as the building is sited to the north of the existing building that generally the shading impact of the proposed new building on the existing is minimised
The classrooms located to the south elevation of the hall all use modern methods of teaching, including projectors. This requires blinds to be closed for some or all of the day. Therefore any reduction in natural light entering these classrooms will benefit the teaching within these areas.
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Opening Hours
Existing opening hours of the site
• Monday – Friday – open at 6.30am, staff usually arrive 7am onwards • Closed in the evenings from 7.30pm unless adult education classes on. • At present these are only on a Monday & Thursday evening – Mondays they finish at 7.00pm but Thursdays finish at 9.30pm, with the site being clear by 7.30 and 10pm respectively. • Closed at weekends (unless a private let/function booked)
Please note: Times during the week may vary depending on College Parents Evenings, Private Lets, School Productions, FORCC meetings, Awards Evenings etc.
Proposed Opening Hours of the new Community Sports Hall
The College will have use from 8am – 4.30pm. This will allow for curriculum use of the facility and after School clubs and activities every day of the week. The School will manage the bookings of the community use of the facility around its own calendar of requirements.
The sports hall will be open every day for community use.
Community use will be available from 4.30pm until 10.30pm during weekdays – with the site closed by 11pm
From 9am until 7pm Saturdays and 10-7pm Sundays – with the site closed by 7.30pm
Identification of need
Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities Strategy 2009
The Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities Strategy (2009) highlights the need for a 4 court hall at Robertsbridge Community College
Battle (to include the needs of Battle, Robertsbridge and West Rother)
Sports Halls – 4 badminton courts required. This could be linked to
Robertsbridge Community College, which has been identified as having a long standing need. Robertsbridge Community School has aspirations for a four court sports hall which could meet school needs and those of the rural community. The BSF programme has also identified the need for every secondary school to have a four court sports hall. If this were provided under BSF it could satisfy demand for an additional 4 courts to serve Battle and West Rother.
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This planning application would provide a 4 badminton court, Sport England compliant sports hall. The need was highlighted by the current leisure facilities strategy for Hastings and Rother 2009, which identifies the College as being the most appropriate site for these facilities.
Source: Extract from Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities Strategy 2009
Appendix 1 has the for full relevant extract of the Hastings and Rother Facilities Strategy 2009 relating to Rother.
Other Sources of data
There is a community need and demand to provide sporting facilities in this rural area and surrounding villages (population over 30000 - within 120sqm radius) which is currently served by the nearest sports centres in Hastings (15 miles South) and Battle (8 miles South East). Access to these services is limited by bus - which is only hourly at weekends and finishes by 5.00pm in the evening on weekdays. 12.2% of the population do not have access to a car, highlighting the need to provide local sporting opportunities. ( www.eastsussexinfigures.org.uk ). There are good rail links from Robertsbridge itself, but railway stations in both Battle, Bexhill and less so in Hastings are located some distance away from the leisure centres, make the time, taken and access to these locations difficult by train.
Robertsbridge Community College’s (RCC) present sports facilities were built in 1957 when the school’s population was less than half the current roll of 627. The facilities have not been improved indoors in more than 50 years even though the sporting world has changed radically.
Lack of space for provision for ‘young people’ is a major problem in this rural area.
ESCC Children Services 2008-2009 survey sent to families in rural Rother revealed:-
• 65% requested more sporting facilities
• 63% would like the College as a focal point for the community
• 71% would attend after school clubs
Results from 2011questionnaires (stats attached) reveal there is an increase in percentages above.
The Building Bulletin 98, a DfE publication whose guidelines are intended to set realistic, non-statutory recommendations for minimum areas to address the needs of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, the school workforce, and community use outside of school hours) states that a school the size of RCC should be equipped with 795 metres squared of Sports Hall space.
The current facilities are a gymnasium of 260.90metres squared and a school hall of 181.64 metres squared. This is clearly inadequate and represents a shortfall on the
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recommendations of the Building Bulletin 98. The College currently has no indoor space large enough for a whole school gathering.
Local businesses and sporting clubs who have identified there is a “need” for a Sports Hall and many would be interested in using these facilities and offered assistance in a variety of ways with future funding applications
Lack of space for provision for ‘young people’ is a major problem in this rural area.
The Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities strategy of 2009-2020, considering the difference between supply and demand, identified a shortfall of 3-6 badminton courts, identified that there were no indoor tennis facilities in the area and participation rates of local residents and the % of satisfaction with local facilities were all below national averages. (Evidence attached)
Rother District Council Wellbeing Indicators (Oct 2011) reveal that only 22% adults regularly participate in active recreation and 18% of children are obese at age 11, and these percentages are getting worse. We would like to assist in improving these percentages and a new Sports Hall would give more families access to sporting activities thus improving healthy living.
The College’s own surveys have revealed a demand for a local sporting facility (Appendix 2) and the results of this survey have been built into the design for the facility and the sports it will be able to offer.
Impact on sport
Young people in this rural area only have an opportunity for sporting activities within the College’s limited facilities, i.e. on the playing field or in “non-specific” sporting areas such as village halls. Robertsbridge Community College’s gym and Main Hall are also used for external and internal examinations which extend for a period of 14 weeks throughout the academic year; therefore no indoor sporting facilities are available to our students, the young people within the community, families, outside agencies or community members during this prolonged period of time.
There are no Sports Halls in the immediate catchment area (6 miles). Rother has 152 football teams (Adult and junior) ([email protected]), out of this number 48 are based in our catchment area , we have consulted them and most have made a commitment to use our Hall as their base as they currently do not have a dedicated hall elsewhere. Robertsbridge Cricket Club has 16 teams alone and they have also worked with us on this application, they currently have to travel up to 12 miles away to hire venues and again they have no indoor local home for their sport. Sussex Sport stool ball played locally (25 outdoor teams) 10 ladies indoor teams in an established league for winter months, they want to move more central to all teams and have made a solid commitment to use this hall.
Robertsbridge Community College is the only existing secondary educational establishment in East Sussex that does not have either a sports hall or access to
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certain sports activities on site (trampolining, indoor football, cricket and badminton) and our completed questionnaires (650) reveal a high percentage of need and demand for these type of sports. 54.7% interest in trampolining, 41% indoor cricket, 44.3% in badminton and 44.9% in football (Appendix 2)
Sedlescombe Rangers Football Club, who currently run 15 Youth football teams, hoping that we will be able to accommodate them in their winter training programme. They currently hire existing gym facilities but need more space to accommodate all of their teams and they are very keen to support our application for new facilities.
Robertsbridge is the home of modern cricket. In late 1800’s cricket bats and balls and equipment were manufactured by Gray Nichols – their factory is still up and running and in the village. They are very keen to support us in this application as it will provide a training facility and practice net area for their cricket equipment, and as such a partnership can only benefit the College and local community.
Community Involvement
Robertsbridge and Battle Local Partnership for Children Co-ordinator will be actively involved in the promotion of the new sporting facilities and will liaise with all LPC partners (consists mainly of Children’s Services and Agencies for rural Rother area and feeder primary schools) together they will work out ways of continuing to be involved in this project (donations, sponsorship, steering committee, promotion etc. their full support minuted in LPC Minutes – Sept 2011). Successful interschool sports events, limited at present by lack of space, will continue to be coordinated by the SSCO, making full use of the new facilities.
With our plans to have the proposed facilities open for Community use before and after school and all day at weekends and during school holidays, the Community will enjoy 68% usage compared to 32% by the College and feeder primaries. The Darvell Community (a small religious community founded in Germany 1930’s) is less than half a mile away from the College. They fully support this application and would like to assist with promotion, staffing and non-financial contributions of resources where appropriate.
The local autistic/ASD home and they have expressed a lot of interest in working with us on this project. They want to integrate their existing exercise programmes for their residents in the village. At present they have to travel at least 12 miles to access such facilities.
The College will look at ways to publicise the new facilities to the local community by attending a range of local events which will help to bring the brand to the attention of the community. One key question we will need to answer though is ‘How local is local?’ We believe, for instance, that the appeal of the facilities will stretch beyond the village into neighbouring communities such as Etchingham, Staplecross, Hurst Green and as far afield as Beckley and Brede.
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Appendix 1
Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities strategy – relevant extracts
SECTION 5 NEEDS ANALYSIS – ROTHER DISTRICT COUNCIL
Introduction
In order to inform recommendations on the level of future supply and demand of each facility type, the following stages of work were completed during the needs analysis stage. This section relates only to the Rother District Council area.
• Review of demographic information and Sport England’s market segmentation data • Review of Sport England’ s Active People survey results • Completion of an audit of local provision • Completion of transport accessibility mapping (Hastings & Bexhill) • Review of the findings from the, recently completed, Open Space, Sport & Recreation Study (2007) • Quantitative analysis of supply and demand for facilities.
2 Review of Demographic Information & Sport England Market Segmentation Data
General Demographics
2.1 The population of Rother is approximately 88,500 (ONS 2006) spread across an area of over 200 square miles. The main towns in the district, and the respective populations of them, are listed below. The percentage of the total population living in each area is given below:
• Bexhill 42,300 (48% of the population of Rother) • Battle 6,300 (7%) • Rye 4,200 (5%) • Rural Rother 35,700 (40%).
2.2 This is due to increase to approximately 91,536 by 2021 and 92,854 by 2026, one of the highest growth rates in East Sussex (source: East Sussex County Council – eastsussexinfigures.org.uk)
2.3 Rother has an ageing population with a high percentage of residents aged 65 years and above, 11% above the national average. There are a relatively low number of residents aged between 16 and 29 years, the lowest in the region. This is expected to remain constant with projections showing a decline in younger age groups (especially residents aged 15-19 and 25-29 years) and a significant increase (approximately 10,000) in the number of residents aged between 60 and 85 years.
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2.4 East Sussex overall has a low percentage of people who identified themselves as belonging to a non-white ethnic group. Rother is one of the lowest with just 1.9%. This is against a national percentage of over 12.5%.
Sport England Market Segmentation Data
2.5 Sport England market segmentation provides those working in community sport with an insight into the sporting behaviours, barriers and motivations to taking part amongst existing participants and those we wish to be involved in a more active lifestyle.
2.6 Sport England and Experian Business Strategies have analysed data on the English population (18+), producing 19 market segments with distinct sporting behaviours and attitudes. This includes information on specific sports people take part in as well as why people do sport, whether they want to do sport and the barriers to doing more sport.
2.7 The ageing population in Rother means the area is dominated by residents aged 65 years and over. Therefore, ‘Ralph and Phyllis’ or Comfortable Retired Couples make-up 10.54% of the population, almost 7% more than the national average.
Ralph and Phyllis are the most active in their peer group, enjoying a range of activities, particularly low-intensity, individual activities such as swimming, fishing, golf and bowls. They are likely to be members of the local sports or social clubs as they are motivated by a wish to socialise, improve performance and personal enjoyment. As in Hastings, ‘Elsie and Arnold’ (9.9%) and ‘Tim’ (9.8%) are other dominant sporting profiles in the district.
2.8 A summary of these profiles and the sports they are most interested in are contained in Table 25.
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2.9 In summary, the profile includes a significant number of older people with specific needs and interests in lower impact forms of physical activity. There is also a sizable younger profile who are interested in a variety of more active leisure pursuits and who are likely to have families.
2.10 This profile points towards the need to provide a range of flexible facilities to cater for a broad range of sporting interests. Transport accessibility, price and childcare provision are other considerations in encouraging participation by these groups.
3 Review of Sport England Active People Survey Results
3.1 The Active People Survey (December 2006) is the largest ever survey of sport and active recreation to be undertaken in Europe. It is a telephone survey of 363,724 adults in England (aged 16 plus).
3.2 The aim is to provide reliable statistics in the fields of participation, volunteering and satisfaction with local provision for all 354 local authorities in England. A minimum of 1,000 interviews were completed in every authority in England.
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3.3 Detailed figures are available for a Local Authority area but not for wards. Headline figures for Rother District Council are as follows;
• Rother has 19.1% of residents involved in at least 3 days a week x 30 minutes moderate participation (all adults). This compares to the national average of 21% • 5.4% of Rother residents volunteer in sport at least 1 hour a week. This compares to 4.7% nationally • 25.1% of Rother residents are sports club members. This is the same as the • national average of 25.1% • 16.4% for Rother residents received tuition from an instructor or coach in the past 12 months. This compares with the national average 18% • 67.1% of Rother residents were satisfied with local sports provision. This compares with the national average of 69.5%
3.4 Rother is currently performing below the national averages on three of the five Active England indicators. Importantly, participation rates are well below the national average and satisfaction with local sports provision is also low. This indicates a need to provide improved facilities to help increase opportunities for participation.
4 Audit of Local Provision
4.1 An audit of facility provision was conducted to identify the location of various types of sports facilities, to enable the mapping exercise to be completed and to inform the supply and demand modelling. The audit was conducted primarily to identify all facilities within the area.
4.2 Data was collected from the following sources:
• Sport England’s ‘Active Places Power’ database • Active Hastings and Active Rother websites • Stakeholder consultation.
4.3 The audit was desk based and did not involve any site visits or assessment of the quality of facilities. The findings are contained in Appendix 4.
5 Transport Accessibility Mapping (Hastings & Bexhill)
5.1 Capita Symonds used Department for Transport approved software (Accession V 1.5) to complete journey time contour calculations to establish the accessibility of the main Council owned Leisure Centres in Hastings (Summerfields Leisure Centre) and Bexhill (Bexhill Leisure Centre & Bexhill Leisure Pool). The purpose of this modelling is to illustrate the catchment areas of the main Council facilities using different journey times via private car, public transport, walk and cycle. 20-minute drive times have been applied as this represents the likely core catchment for facilities. It is accepted that some people will travel further to use facilities but the majority of users are likely to travel up to 20 minutes for regular physical activity.
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5.2 The results of the accessibility mapping are contained in Appendix 5. Analysis of the maps leads to the following conclusions:
• Drive time accessibility mapping shows that within a 10 minute drive time • Hastings and Bexhill centres have separate catchment areas. Between 15 and 20 minutes there is a significant overlap between the two sites. However, much of this overlap affects rural areas with low population densities. Also, drive times are considerably slower between Hastings and Bexhill during peak travel times.
Map 6: Drive Time Accessibility (Bexhill Leisure Centre & Summerfields Leisure Centre – Hastings)
Public transport accessibility mapping, which includes bus and rail, shows that both towns have separate catchments. The outer limit of the 20 minute catchments do not overlap. This indicates that it is very unlikely that many users would use public transport to travel from one town to the other to access community leisure facilities regularly
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Cycle time accessibility mapping shows that there is little overlap between the two centres. With only minimal overlap in the 15 – 20 minute catchment.
Walk times accessibility shows that there is no overlap in catchments between the two centres.
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5.5.3 The initial transport accessibility mapping was based on the location of Summerfields Leisure Centre and Bexhill Leisure Centre. The population living within each 20 minute catchment area is listed in Table 26. This lists the transport method the, total population within each catchment (e.g. 5,10,15,20 minute) and compares this with the total population of Hastings and Rother.
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5.4 Further drive time mapping was conducted based on Summerfields Leisure Centre (Hastings) and Bexhill Leisure Pool. The key conclusions of this mapping are that there is a greater overlap in accessibility, due to the closer proximity of the two sites. The catchments overlap particularly on the 5 – 10 minute catchments. The 15 – 20 minute drive time catchment does not extend as far east as the alternative site of Bexhill Leisure Centre and does not include users from the western end of Eastbourne.
Sports Halls
6.7 Five sports halls are included in the model and when applying the modelling assumptions regarding accessibility for dual use sites (the capacity for dual use sites is reduced by 25% to reflect the balance of school access and public access), the result is an existing supply level of 14 badminton courts. The results of the model under different scenarios are illustrated in Table 29. The shortfall is equivalent to 2 to 3 new sports halls.
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Table 29: Sports Halls Supply & Demand Analysis
Scenarios Demand Supply Oversupply/shortfall
Current
• Existing 21 badminton courts 18 badminton courts* • Shortfall 3 badminton courts
By2026
• 24 badminton courts 18 badminton courts* • Shortfall 6 badminton courts
Source: PMP Open Space Sport & Recreation Study
* It should be noted that the supply figure from the PMP study has been increased (from 14 courts to 18) by Capita Symonds to include the planned 4 court sports hall at the new Bexhill High School site.
6.2 The recommendations for the remaining facilities were based largely on consultation with over 30 consultees from the relevant local and regional organisations.
6.2 For the purpose of the recommendations Rother has been divided into five main areas (Bexhill, Battle, Rye, East Rother and West Rother). This follows the areas used in Open Space, Sport & Recreation Study in 2007 by PMP. Figure 2 is an illustration of the geographic areas considered by PMP, in their study:
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Battle (to include the needs of Battle, Robertsbridge and West Rother)
• Sports Hall – 4 badminton courts required. This could be linked to Robertsbridge Community College, which has been identified as having a long standing need
Robertsbridge Community School has aspirations for a four court sports hall which could meet school needs and those of the rural community. The BSF programme has also identified the need for every secondary school to have a four court sports hall. If this were provided under BSF it could satisfy demand for an additional 4 courts to serve Battle and West Rother.
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Appendix 2 – Student / parent questionnaire
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PARENTS CARERS and PUPILS 2011-2012
“We at Robertsbridge community college working in collaboration with our partner and feeder Primary Schools would welcome the opportunity to strengthen our existing sporting facilities and to develop new ones that will benefit everyone”.
Question Preferred Suggested
Times Times
What sporting activities would 650 Pre-school you and your family be (P) family interested in taking part in? After replies School (AS) Holiday Examples Periods (H)
Weekends Football 292/650 44.9% (W)
Basketball 267/650 41%
Cricket 210/650 32.3%
Table Tennis 308/650 47.3%
Tennis 272/650 41.8%
Hockey 171/650 26.3%
Rounders 274/650 42.1%
Baseball 181/650 27.8%
Badminton 288/650 44.3%
Stoolball 187/650 28.7%
Rugby 206/650 31.6%
Trampolining 356/650 54.7%
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Dance 240/650 36.9%
Any other suggestions:-
Swimming, Gym/Fitness, Body Pump/Balance, Yoga, Pilates, Netball, Track, Salsa Dancing, Squash, Aerobics, Zumba, Gymnastics, Wall Climbing, Dodgeball, Boxing, Volleyball, Archery, Karate
Question Preferred Suggested
Times Times
Would you like to have access 469/650 72.15 to these sporting activities in % school holidays?
Would you be prepared to pay 354/650 54.4% for the above services?
Do you participate in any Badminton & Squash – Hastings sporting activities at present? Zumba – Helenswood School If so what sport? Swimmimg & Gym – Crowhurst Park
No as the facilities are inconvenient. This facility in Robertsbridge would encourage me to do more fitness and activities 329/650 YES – Participate in sport and need to travel more Table Tennis at St Leonards Academy. than 6 miles to get to Sports Swimming – Bexhill, Zumba – William Parker centres – 50.6% Badminton – Summerfields
Kite Surfing, Yoga – RCC, Stooball, Multi Skills, Gym, Football,
Badminton – Westfield Community Hall, Swimming - And Summerfields. Running, Spinning, Gym – The Fitness Room, Rye. Swimming – Rye, Dance – Beckley School. Swimming - What venue do you use? Claremont. Football – Hurst Green, Cricket – Robertsbridge. Badminton – Hawkhurst Private School. Swimming – Bodiam,
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Football – Claremont. Cheerleading – Summerfields, Swimming – Claremont, Football – Bodiam, Golf – Sedlescombe. Gym – Bannatynes. Stoolball – Battle Sports Centre, Judo – Battle Sports Centre, Cricket – Battle.
If you have younger children and sporting activities not available at Primary School would you be prepared to 87% did not complete this question. travel to Robertsbridge Community College if they were successful in application(s) for new sporting facilities to be built on their existing site?
Appendix 3
Public consultation
70 residents attended the public meetings, most were positive. The three written comment cards returned were all positive
No negative comment cards were received
Two residents fears that It would be used as a floodlit pitch and use for all night parties were allayed with the presentation given.
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