Playing Pitch Assessment and Strategy

This strategy was undertaken by Strategic Leisure Consultants in partnership with the Council. It looks at pitch provision for football, cricket, rugby union and hockey, as well as other key outdoor sports facilities. The rationale for undertaking the study is to identify current levels of provision in the area, across the public, education, voluntary and commercial sectors, and to compare this with current, and future likely levels of demand. The strategy uses a Sport England methodology which requires extensive community consultation to achieve these aims. The supply and demand analysis will help identify the need for new facilities, help to underpin future planning policy and allocation, and support bids for external funding.

A major driving factor for this assessment and strategy is the need to identify a hierarchy of investment priorities for facility improvements and development, which can inform the development of Local Development Framework policy.

The main body of the report details a number of key findings including:

An indication of the surplus or deficiency in provision for each sport assessed
An indication of the quality of facilities
Recommended local standards for provision
Recommendations for addressing deficiencies and improving facilities

The report makes a number of recommendations which identify a number of solutions to be considered in relation to the findings and issues identified. These can broadly be described as: