PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT GREATER NORWICH AREA FINAL REPORT OCTOBER 2014 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 2 Section 3 – Population and Sports Participation Profile 6 Section 4 – Football 18 Section 5 – Cricket 107 Section 6 – Rugby 143 Section 7 – Hockey 164 Section 8 – Bowls 185 Section 9 – Tennis 197 Section 10 – Netball 211 Section 11 – Other Sports 220 Appendix 1 (others in separate reports) 227 Glossary 229 Maps 233 1: Introduction Introduction and Scope 1.1 naa was commissioned by the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) in October 2013 to produce a Playing Pitch Assessment, Strategy and Action Plans for the Greater Norwich area, comprising the districts of Broadland, Norwich and South Norfolk. Subsequently the GNDP has been dissolved although the partner authorities of Broadland, Norwich, South Norfolk and Norfolk County Councils continue to work together as the Greater Norwich Growth Board. For the purposes of this report the partners will be referred to collectively as the ‘Greater Norwich authorities’ and the area covered by the strategy as the ‘Greater Norwich area’. 1.2 The new strategy will update existing documents, and set out the strategic direction and site-specific priorities for the future delivery of facilities for football, cricket, rugby and, hockey, with supplementary studies for bowls, tennis, netball and some other outdoor sports and activities. 1.3 The aims of the Strategy and Action Plan, and the key drivers for the study, are to inform the Greater Norwich authorities on: sporting and recreational infrastructure that will be required to serve existing and new development, covering both the demand for and use of existing facilities and identifying priority locations for future provision; the funding available from Sport England and other bodies to assist in the delivery of the strategy and action plan to ensure the area has good quality local and regional/national level sports facilities; prioritisation of any funding for sport and recreation from local authority budgets, including from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL); measures to promote greater physical activity locally; the longer term sustainability of facilities and on-going funding and management; and the potential for community use of private and educational establishment playing pitches. 1.4 This document sets out the key issues arising from the assessment and informs the preparation of the strategy document (under separate cover). It aims to; summarise the current supply of playing pitches in the Greater Norwich area; outline current demand for facilities and evaluate projected demand up to 2026; evaluate the overall adequacy of provision to meet current and projected future demand; and identify the key issues for the Greater Norwich Playing Pitch Strategy to address. 1.5 The strategy will build on the issues identified and set out strategic priorities and actions for delivery. Playing Pitch Assessment: Greater Norwich Area 1 2: Methodology 2.1 This section describes the methodology that has been used. The methodology is based upon that set out in ‘Playing Pitch Guidance, An approach to Developing and Delivering a Playing Pitch Strategy (Sport England 2013). 2.2 Figure 2.1 summarises the stages of this methodology. This assessment report represents steps 1 – 6 while the strategy document will include recommendations and action plans for each local authority. Figure 2.1: Developing and Delivering a Playing Pitch Strategy – The 10 Step Approach 10. Keep the 1. Prepare & tailor the strategy robust approach & up to date 9. Apply & deliver the 2. Gather strategy supply information and views Developing and Delivering 8. Write & a Playing Pitch Strategy adopt the The 10 Step Approach strategy 3. Gather demand information and views 7. Develop the 4. Understand the recommendations situation at & action plan individual sites 5. Develop the 6. Identify the current & future key findings pictures of & issues provision 2.3 The remainder of this section briefly highlights the approach that has been undertaken in the preparation of this assessment and strategy. Geographical Analysis 2.4 Given the large and complex nature of the Greater Norwich area, and the close relationship in particular between Norwich and the most populated parts of the other two LA areas, the adequacy of facilities is analysed throughout this assessment at an area- Playing Pitch Assessment: Greater Norwich Area 2 wide level. Wherever appropriate, however, data has been further analysed for the constituent LAs for comparison – in many ways the situation in the rural parts of the area is different from the Norwich situation. Patterns of pitch usage, and the sheer amount and complexity of the data mean that it is not appropriate to subdivide the area further. Steps 2 and 3 – Gather Supply and Demand Information and Views Supply 2.5 The data collection process included a full audit of pitches across the Greater Norwich area. For each site, the following information was collected; Site name, location, ownership and management type Number and type of pitches Accessibility of pitches to the community Overall quality of pitches and ancillary facilities Level of protection and security of tenure Views of users and providers. Demand 2.6 To evaluate the demand for playing pitches in the area, the following information was collated; Number of sports clubs and teams and their match and training requirements Casual and other demand Educational demand Displaced demand (i.e. teams wishing to play within the area but unable to) Latent demand (i.e. demand that might be generated if better facilities were available) Future demand (including club and team aspirations for development as well as National Governing Body priorities and targets) User views and experiences, including trends and changes in demand. 2.7 The following tasks were undertaken to compile the supply and demand information; Analysing the audit of playing fields and open space (existing strategies and other studies), Sport England’s Active Places tool, and other sources of information Reviewing NGB data on pitches and local participation Full review of local league websites, fixture lists and pitch booking records (where available) Use of available technical quality assessment reports Undertaking non-technical site visits Undertaking a detailed survey to all high (and some other) schools and consultation with other playing pitch providers A full programme of consultation with sports clubs and league secretaries Engagement with providers of playing pitches Face to face and telephone discussions with NGBs to discuss key issues and priorities. 2.8 A high proportion of teams within the Greater Norwich area successfully engaged with the process (in part due to the efforts of local NGBs and other volunteers) as follows: Football – 72% Cricket – 89% Playing Pitch Assessment: Greater Norwich Area 3 Rugby Union – 76% Hockey – 97%. A more limited response was gained from the non-pitch sports. 2.9 Given the large number of clubs and teams across all sports and three LA areas, this is considered an acceptable and significant response and allows a robust assessment to be undertaken. Steps 4, 5 and 6 – Assessing the Supply and Demand Information and Views 2.10 The supply and demand information collated has been used to; understand the situation at individual sites; develop the current and projected future pictures of provision; and identify the key findings and issues that need to be addressed. 2.11 Figure 2.2 overleaf, extracted directly from the guidance (Sport England 2013), provides further detail of the issues explored during the analysis of the adequacy of provision. Steps 7 - 10 Develop the Strategy and Deliver the Strategy and Keep it Up to Date and Robust 2.12 The strategy document for the Greater Norwich area will use the issues identified to set out a strategic framework for the provision of pitches across area. This will include detailed action plans for each LA which will be developed in collaboration with key providers and deliverers. This Assessment 2.13 The remainder of this assessment therefore provides an overview of each sport in the Greater Norwich area, and summarises the issues identified. 2.14 Section 3 highlights the context for the study, demographic and participation profile in sport and physical activity of residents, as well as their propensity to participate in sport and physical activity. Key population trends that may influence demand for pitch provision in future years are also considered. Playing Pitch Assessment: Greater Norwich Area 4 Figure 2.2 – Overview of the Assessment Process An overview for each site available to the community Understand the situation at should be developed consisting of: individual sites 1. A comparison between the amount of play a site can accommodate with how much play takes place there; 2. Whether there is any spare capacity during the peak period for relevant pitch types; 3. The key issues with, and views of, the provision at the site. Develop the current Site overviews should be used to help understand: picture of provision 1. The situation across all sites available to the community; 2. The situation across only those sites with secured community use; 3. The nature and extent of play taking place at sites with unsecured community use; 4. The nature and extent of any displaced, unmet and latent demand; 5. Key issues raised with the adequacy of provision; 6. The situation at any priority sites. Develop the future The current picture of provision and the future demand picture of provision information from Stage B should be used to help understand: 1. How population change will affect the demand for provision; 2. How participation targets and current/future trends may affect the demand for provision; 3. Whether there are any particular sports clubs or sites where demand is likely to increase; 4.