Draft Bradford District Local Plan - Preferred Options (Regulation 18) February 2021

Comment

Representation ID: 19660

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Sport England welcomes criterion 3 as the policy recognises Active Design.

However, either the policy or the supporting text needs to include more information on the principles of Active Design.

Sport England in partnership with Public Health England, have produced the Active Design Guidance.

The guide features an innovative set of guidelines to get more people moving through suitable design and layout. It includes a series of case studies.

The Active Design Principles are aimed at contributing towards the Government's desire for the planning system to promote healthy communities through good urban design.

The guidance can be viewed on this link:
https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/facilities-and-planning/design-and-cost-guidance/active-design

Wakefield Council have included a detailed section on Active Design in their Development Strategy, Strategic and Local Policies document and a section from this document is appended to these comments.

Comment

Representation ID: 19670

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

We welcome the inclusion of sport facilities in this policy however they are referred to as ‘intensive sports’ facilities. It is not clear what is meant by intensive.

Furthermore, with many traditional town centre uses, such as retail, declining (compounded by the current pandemic), this is creating vacant buildings in many town centres.

Town centres provide opportunities for sporting activities Such uses can assist in contributing to the vitality and viability of centres. Often leisure centres and sport facilities remain open beyond traditional shop opening hours bringing people into to the centres and contributing to an evening economy and contributing towards a sense of a safe community.

Sport England would suggest that the term ‘intensive’ is removed from the policy and that all sport facilities are recognised as a general acceptable town centre use.

Object

Representation ID: 19680

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Some sport facilities are acceptable in the countryside such as changing rooms to serve a rural cricket ground, or an arena to serve an equestrian facility.

This policy should make it specifically clear that appropriate sport and recreation facilities which require a rural location or serve an existing rural sport facility are acceptable in the countryside.

Every year thousands of sports events take place that rely upon the natural environment. Many are the transient, peripatetic events that the organising club sets up, the competition takes place, and afterwards any equipment are dismantled and the land reverts to its original use e.g. equestrian activities, motorsport, cycling, running, canoeing and climbing events.

Occasionally some events do require planning permission and this tends to be where permitted development rights do not apply.

Policies should therefore be positively worded to protect and encourage peripatetic sporting events as well as permanent sport facilities.

Comment

Representation ID: 19690

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Welcomes the principle of this policy in respect of the protection of open spaces that reflects paragraph 97 of the NPPF.

We are also pleased that it cites the Council’s Playing Pitch Strategy that is currently being reviewed and will provide an up to date evidence base.

In respect of the part of the policy that states: ‘Where open space is to be provided, development proposals should ensure that…’

This part of the policy refers to standards. However, there is a move away from a standards approach.

The provision of new sport facilities should be identified by the sports evidence base and this could be either through new provision or enhancements to existing provisions in order to meet the new demand.

We would advise incorporating Sport England’s Sports Facility Calculator into the policy.

Comment

Representation ID: 19691

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Village and community halls are the smallest buildings that can accommodate a sports programme alongside the customary social and arts pursuits. There are a wide variety of types and sizes, all with the following in common – a main activity and assembly space together with ancillary accommodation that might include additional small halls.

Sport England has produced guidance on this and it can be viewed on this link: https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/village-and-community-halls.pdf?NwtRYNuZMMWC5n9LvP_lB4RZ5DNeVUL7

The policy should be amended to include and recognise the sporting use of village halls.

Comment

Representation ID: 19701

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Sport England welcomes this policy; however, we would suggest that it includes reference to Active Design. Please see our comments on SP15 above.

Comment

Representation ID: 19720

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Sport England

Sport England does not have resource to check every site allocation.

Any site allocation that may contains a sport facility such as a playing field or swimming pool, etc. where these facilities will be lost, the allocation needs to be consistent with paragraph 97 of the NPPF.

Simply allocating a site for a non sporting use does not override the requirement to evidence whether any sport facility is surplus or needs to be replaced.

Bradford Council are completing a Playing Pitch Strategy, and this should be used as the evidence base to determine the impact of any allocation on playing fields.

Re built sport facilities, an Indoor Sport Facility Needs Assessment will be required to determine any impact that an allocation may have on a built sport facility.

Impact that allocations may have adjacent to existing sport facilities:

Any allocation that is directly adjacent to a sports ground such as cricket club needs to consider any issues in relation to ball strike. Various case law examples are provided.

Ball stop mitigation needs to be provided as part of an allocation.

This principle also applies to issues such as noise being generated by an existing sports facility whereby the allocation needs to provide suitable noise attenuation mitigation.