Agenda item

Report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture seeking approval to the Playing Pitch & Outdoor Sport Strategy (PPOSS) for Coventry, a copy of which was appended to the report, and which is an evidence-based technical document that outlines the City's approach to promoting and enhancing playing pitch and outdoor sports facilities. The Strategy's primary objective is to ensure the provision of high-quality, accessible, and sustainable playing pitches for various sports throughout the City.

Coventry last adopted the PPOSS in October 2014 as part of the first city wide Sports Strategy in over a decade. As part of national guidance, the PPOSS is recommended to be refreshed by local authorities and is an essential document to help understand the demand for playing pitches and outdoor sports across the local authority boundary. The previous PPOSS has been a useful document to help the Council, and its partners such as local community clubs, and education establishments. It has also helped to address the deficit of 3G artificial pitches in the North East of the City with new facilities being installed as part of the Strategy. In addition, the impact on Cricket locally has seen investment in artificial wickets across the city and in cricket nets in Edgwick Park. The drive towards increasing physical activity across the City has also helped with securing investment in fitness equipment and accessible walking/running routes, alongside sporting provision, within local parks.

The Strategy has also helped to secure Section 106 contributions linked to housing developments, to protect against the loss of playing fields, and has helped to guide the investment from national funders such as the Football Association, Football Foundation and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The new PPOSS for Coventry has been developed with specialist sports consultants Knight, Kavanagh & Page (KKP) after extensive research and consultation with relevant local, regional, and national stakeholders. This comprehensive Strategy aims to address the current and future needs of playing pitches and outdoor sports facilities across Coventry.

The PPOSS assesses the existing supply and demand for different types of pitches, such as football, rugby, cricket, and hockey. The assessment identifies any deficiencies or areas of quality improvement required to enhance, secure, and develop the pitches and ancillary facilities. The Strategy outlines the key objectives and priorities for the development, maintenance, and management of playing pitches in Coventry. It includes recommendations for facility upgrades, construction of new pitches, maintenance standards, and partnerships with sports clubs and organisations to enable this to be delivered.

The Strategy is delivered in accordance with Sport England’s National Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) Guidance (for playing pitch sports) and Sport England’s Assessing Needs and Opportunities Guide (for “non-pitch” sports). The study area comprises the whole of the Coventry City Council administrative area.

The new, proposed PPOSS will work towards delivering strategic objectives for the City including:

  A vision for the future protection, improvement and development of provision

  A series of sport-by-sport recommendations and scenarios

  A series of strategic recommendations

  A prioritised area-by-area and site-by-site action plan that prioritises and can address key issues.

The report outlined in detail the extensive consultation undertaken on the PPOSS with a series of stakeholders. This included the establishment of a steering group comprising of national partners from all the appropriate National Governing Bodies of Sport. Consultation was also undertaken with local clubs, groups,  organisations and educational establishments, which is one of the most important parts of PPOSS development, to ensure the local voice of key organisations contributes to the development of the Strategy.

The report indicated that the implementation of the PPOSS will contribute to a healthier, more active population, enhanced community engagement, and a sustainable sports infrastructure.  The Strategy will serve as a blueprint for the development and maintenance of playing pitches and outdoor sport facilities in Coventry, meeting the needs of current and future generations. It will then inform the subsequent refresh of the Coventry Sports and Physical Activity Strategy. The PPOSS has been supported across various Council departments and is supported by Sport England. The adoption of the PPOSS will also support planning decisions to protect playing pitches and outdoor sports facilities and to inform future S106 investments in the City to maintain and develop facilities that enable people to lead active lifestyles in their local communities.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:-

1)  Approves and adopts the Coventry Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (PPOSS) attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

2)  Delegates authority to the Director of Business Investment and Culture, following ongoing consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport, to take all necessary, incidental or ancillary actions deemed appropriate to implement the Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy (PPOSS).