Agenda item

PLYMOUTH SPORTS FACILITY STRATEGY

The Panel will consider the Plymouth Sports Facility Strategy.

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services presented the draft Plymouth Sports Facility Strategy including mapping, appendices and the consultation leaflet to the Panel for its consideration. The presentation outlined the following main issues –

	?	why a strategy
	?	common themes
	?	challenges
	?	building block 1: Plymouth profile; building block 2: participation; building block 3: audit; building block 4: consultation/demand;
	?	putting it all together
	?	planning towards wider consultation
	?	consultation timeline
	?	purpose of consultation and deliverables
	?	scope (how, where, when)
	?	invitation to view and comment, local press, trade websites and newsletter, document put on line 19 October 2009, road show, poster and consultation leaflet
	?	consultation what next

Members put forward questions to which the following responses were provided –

(i)	the strategy would assist in informing the authority as to how Section 106 monies can be used;
(ii)	schools were involved in this process and work was currently being undertaken to ascertain when schools were open for community use and what facilities and/or clubs were provided;
(iii)	the strategy had been prepared in line with the steering group which comprised of officers of the City Council and external agencies including the Primary Care Trust;
(iv)	consultation would be undertaken bearing in mind Plymouth Compact and relevant codes of practice;
(v)	work was being undertaken alongside the new capital programmes for schools to help maximise sports and leisure facilities for the city;
(vi)	the consultation leaflet would be distributed, resources permitted, to a variety of venues;
(vii)	the ‘standards of provision’ for quality and accessibility of various types of sports facilities assisted the Council to understand the current position and would aid the Council to achieve the overall required level of provision;
(viii)	the Council did not have the powers to enforce schools to permit community use of their sports and leisure facilities, however working with schools and partners would help to deliver this;
(xi)	the omission of providing the consultation leaflet in other languages and formats would be investigated;
(x)	a survey of 1000 people in the area had been undertaken by Sport England in 2005/06.

The panel raised concerns regarding the terminology used by Sport England in their research documentation. Whilst the panel understood the need to use the Sport England information it was uncomfortably with the terminology used and wished to see the stereo typical references removed from the final strategy.

The Chair thanked the officers for their attendance.

Recommended to the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Sport that –

(1)

the consultation leaflet is made available in other languages and formats;

(2)

the terminology used by Sport England and in particular the stereo typical references are removed from the final strategy.

Resolved that –

(1)

the results of the public consultation are brought back to the panel at its meeting scheduled for 25 January 2010;

(2)

the action plan, timelines and budgets are brought back to a future meeting of the panel for scrutiny.

(Councillors Mrs Foster, Mrs Nicholson and Councillor Wildy declared a personal interest in the above item).

Supporting documents: