South Northamptonshire Council Playing Pitch Strategy December 2007 Introduction 1.1 During August 2006, South Northamptonshire Council commissioned PMP to review and update the previous countywide playing pitch strategy completed in April 2002, focusing specifically on the district. The strategy has been developed following the methodology outlined in “Towards a Level Playing Field.” 1.2 This strategy builds on the recently completed PPG17 compliant open space, sport and recreation study which considers the provision of open spaces district wide, including a range of outdoor sports facilities. The level of detail within this document provides a bespoke assessment of the supply and demand for different pitch sports and outlines specific priorities for future provision. This is particularly important in light of the population growth within the local area. 1.3 The key objectives of this playing pitch strategy are to: • analyse the current level of pitch provision, including the geographical spread and quality of pitches • assist the Council in meeting the requirements for playing pitches in accordance with the methodology developed by Sport England in conjunction with the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) and the Central Council for Physical Recreation (CCPR) • identify the demand for pitches in the district • run the Playing Pitch Methodology (explained in detail in section five) to ascertain levels of under / over supply • identify how facilities for pitch sports can be improved to meet the needs of the community • provide strategic options and recommendations including - provision to be protected - provision to be enhanced - re-allocation of pitches - proposals for new provision Playing Pitch Strategy 1 • provide information to help the decision making process and determine future development proposals including the production of specific local standards relating to playing pitch provision. These standards will provide a more specific outline of the requirement for grass pitches based on hectares per 1,000 population. 1.4 This playing pitch assessment is primarily concerned with voluntary participation, by adults and young people, in competitive association football (referred to in this document as ‘football’), cricket, rugby union and hockey as recommended in ‘Towards a Level Playing Field’. As a separate piece of work, South Northamptonshire Council have also commissioned a small report, investigating the feasibility of providing an athletics track in the District. This will be provided under separate cover. 1.5 The strategy presents the key findings arising from extensive survey work and consultation, highlighting areas of both concern and opportunity and sets a vision and strategy for the future delivery of sports pitches across the district. 1.6 It is important to emphasise that this document examines the provision of playing pitches (i.e. the playing surface, safety margins and the wider area for repositioning the pitch within the playing field) and not playing fields or open spaces (which include grass or other areas which are not used for sport). This is a key distinction since some of the areas surrounding pitches are not used for sport but are important in terms of open space. The wider use and secondary purpose of outdoor sports facilities is considered within the PPG17 assessment. 1.7 The following key areas are covered within this document: • the current picture – a review of current participation trends and playing pitch provision in England, both at a national level, and specifically within South Northamptonshire • methodology – a summary of the research process • supply and demand – a quantitative and qualitative appraisal of the extent to which existing playing pitch provision meets the current (and future) competitive needs of pitch sports • an application of Sport England’s Playing Pitch Methodology (PPM) • key actions, recommendations and priorities for the future based on the development of the main issues arising from the supply and demand consultation and PPM analysis. An area-by-area-action plan will be provided in section six. 1.8 For the purposes of analysis, the district has been split into five areas, Towcester, Brackley, and North of the M1 motorway, rural area central and rural area west. These are referred to as sub areas in the report. These areas mirror Playing Pitch Strategy 2 those used in the PPG17 assessment. This allows examination of the data at a more detailed local level, especially where there is expected to be larger population increases in some areas of the District. 1.9 These geographical areas are illustrated in Map 1.1 overleaf and a summary of the population within each area, both current and future estimation, is provided in table 1.1 below. These populations are based on 2006 mid-year population estimates. 1.10 All data collected as part of this study has been inputted into a complex excel spreadsheet. This toolkit has also been provided to the Council, enabling analysis of supply and demand issues at a geographical level. This allows detailed in- depth analysis and testing of future scenarios. Table 1.1 – Population of each analysis area 2006 M id- 2021 Population year Future e s tim a te s Population Towcester 9504 16,644 Brackley 15780 16,764 North of M1 11104 11,783 Rural Area Central 32831 35,544 Rural Area W est 15974 17,134 Total 85,193 97,870 Playing Pitch Strategy 3 Map 1.1 – Sub areas in South Northamptonshire Playing Pitch Strategy 4 South Northamptonshire Council 2.1 This section of the strategy assesses the current context for playing pitch provision both nationally and locally within South Northamptonshire. It contains the following information: • context - a review of national, regional and local strategies relevant to sport and recreation in the district • an analysis of demographic and participation trends • playing pitch provision - the national context and the local context • analysis areas - the assumed populations. National context 2.2 Despite the explosion of local authority provision during the 1970’s and recent private health and fitness boom, participation has remained relatively static, with recently released statistics1 highlighting that 21% of the adult population aged 16 and over (8.5 million people) take part in sport and active recreation (a minimum of three times per week for thirty minutes). 2.3 The statistics provide detailed information on the different sports that people are currently participating in. Fitness related activities, often done on an individual basis or in classes, dominate the more traditional sports such as football, rugby, cricket and hockey. However football does feature in the top 10 sporting activities with a total of 2.9 million people participating once a month or more. The findings from the survey reveal that the popularity of different sports varies substantially between men and women and across different regions in England. 2.4 The breakdown of participation by sport is shown in table 2.1 below: 1 Sport England. Active People Survey. 2006 South Northamptonshire Council Playing Pitch Strategy 5 Table 2.1 – Sport by Sport results from the Active People Survey Rank % of the adult Order population (16 plus) Number of adults (16 Sport and recreational (out of taking part at least plus) taking part at activities 74) once a month least once a month Football (all) 5 7.1 2,910,684 Cricket 17 0.9 380,366 Rugby Union 21 0.7 267,817 Hockey 30 0.3 141,351 Rugby League 37 0.3 110,553 Making the case for sport 2.5 Over recent years the role of sport and active recreation in being able to help deliver wider quality of life benefits, has been increasingly recognised at a national level. 2.6 This has been driven by Game Plan: a strategy for delivering Government’s sport and physical activity objectives (DCMS/Strategy Unit, December 2002). This report outlines the Government’s long term vision for increasing participation and high performance in sport, specifically: South Northamptonshire Council Playing Pitch Strategy 6 “by 2020 to increase significantly levels of sport and physical activity, particularly among disadvantaged groups, and to achieve sustained levels of success in international competition” 2.7 The Government wants to encourage the growth of a mass participation culture, with the ambitious target of achieving 70% of the population active by 2020. However it is realised by experts within the field and those delivering sport and recreation that this target is challenging. It has therefore subsequently been recommended by the Government that a lower target of 50% of the population active by 2020 is set, with a 1% increase targeted year-on-year. 2.8 Game Plan’s remit is wider than sport alone and recognises the link between physical activity and improving health and the importance of focussing on young people. In achieving such links and targeted participation increases there is recognition of the need for more innovative solutions to provision. These are currently being explored through public health interventions mainly through local service delivery. 2.9 DfES: Learning through PE and Sport (2003) stresses the importance of PE and sport in schools (curricular and extracurricular) and reinforces the role of schools in serving the community. This is also highlighted through the government Public Service Agreement Targets (PSAs). 2.10 The case is further illustrated in Sport Playing Its Part: The Contribution of Sport to Building Safe, Strong and Sustainable Communities (Sport England, 2005) which is one of a series of documents published by Sport England outlining how sport can enrich people’s quality of life, raise self-esteem and confidence levels and provide enjoyment to individuals. Sport and active recreation also has the potential to contribute to strengthening community involvement, engagement, identity and civic pride. 2.11 Sport and other cultural (or leisure) services can be a powerful tool to engage all sections of the community and break down barriers between them.