A report presenting an assessment of the current provision of sports pitches within the Borough and identifying what the anticipated future demand in terms of quality and quantity of pitches will be by 2036 to meet demand using Football Association methodology. The report identifies a long-term level of provision for the Council to work towards.

The Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report which presented an assessment of the current provision of sports pitches within the Borough and identified what the anticipated future demand in terms of quality and quantity of pitches would be by 2036 using Football Association methodology. The report identified a long-term level of provision for the Council to work towards.

The report explained that variation in demand would be experienced throughout the 15-year period, with changing age and gender mixes playing requiring a different mix and number of pitch sizes.  Demand would be accommodated through regular reviews and amendments of the provision of pitches, moving towards the long term identified provision.  The proposals in this strategy did not commit the Council or its partners to the funding, provision or management of sites, but the recommended actions would be used as a guide for investment, including via the Community Infrastructure Levy, other developers’ contributions, and national governing body of sport funding.  The level of provision and proposed action plan were identified in the following documents which were attached to the report:

Appendix 1 – Pitch provision 2020/21;

Appendix 2 – Recommended Site Action Plans 2019-2036.

The Committee considered key issues relating to the provision, allocation, maintenance and management of playing pitches, including:

• Variation in pitch quality across provider sectors;

·      Need for consistent maintenance of pitches especially with regard to drainage and flooding;

·      There would need to be a balance between the need for all-weather pitches and any negative environmental impact that they might have;

·      Car parking at many sites was limited meaning that users would have to park in surrounding roads, thereby having an impact on local residents.

·      Existing pitches were not necessarily located in the optimum places for usage by local communities, although the majority of sites were well-located in respect of public transport, often sited adjacent to key bus routes and stops.

·      The effect on clubs as there would be a need to move clubs ‘home’ locations to meet the proposed 2036 pitch provision model.  The re-allocation of pitches would be required to ensure adequate provision was maintained.  The development of facilities would be dependent on available funding and changing demand over the years leading to 2036.  Many clubs were also responsible for bookings of their own pitches.

Resolved:

(1)      That the Council endeavour to provide sufficient sports pitches, subject to available funding, to accommodate the predicted demand up to 2036 for Football, Cricket, Rugby, Hockey, Lacrosse, Gaelic Football and Australian Rules Football as identified in Table 8 and Table 9 of the report;

(2)      That the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) laid out within the report be adopted, including the updated site action plan in Appendix 2, which was based upon research undertaken by sports provision consultants 4Global in 2019;

(3)      That the action plan in Appendix 2 be reviewed every three years, including consultation with pitch users, to reflect changing demands through to 2036.