KKP has recently received effusive feedback on our work successfully supporting local authority clients in Wirral and Birmingham at planning inquiries. In both cases, KKP colleagues were brought in to support and amplify playing pitch and outdoor sports facilities needs assessments and strategies (PPOSS), which we delivered, to defend the councils’ position opposing the potential loss of playing fields – to unwanted residential development.

One of the planning colleagues with whom we worked, in his feedback to KKP, cited the fact that his Authority had commissioned a comprehensive PPS and that the detail contained therein was thus robust, thorough and difficult to challenge. He went on to praise the way in which my colleague ‘prepared his evidence, defended it in the face of testing cross examination (from the appellant’s KC) and assisted the Council’s KC in his cross examination of the appellant’s equivalent expert witness’.

Sport England’s principal planning manager, who worked on both, weighed in making the point for the first inquiry, that ‘the Inspector clearly references the fact that the PPOSS protects the site and that there was no evidence presented that the appellant had explored bringing it back into use – I do believe that your evidence helped secure this decision’. This was followed up, for the second, by him saying ‘another good appeal decision, well done once again! – this one is particularly helpful as it’s clear that the inspector understood the PPOSS methodology when considering the case being made that the site was surplus’.

While we are rightly proud of our contribution to these planning inquiries, we are equally satisfied with the fact that the needs assessments upon which the defence is built enabled the local authorities (and KKP) to withstand what were described as ‘bruising’ and ‘gladiatorial exchanges’.

A key point, one regularly reinforced by our wider cohort of local authority planner clients, is that ‘PPOSS documents need to be kept up to date and regularly refreshed as both the availability of sites and user profiles are dynamic and subject to change’. This is critical. In another metropolitan authority, the growth in the number of football teams over the five-year period between KKP’s prior and most recent PPOSS delivery equated to circa 70 teams.

From a facility funding perspective, ensuring that such information is fully up to date is critical as, based on this specific example, it can be the difference between being able to secure developer contributions to build a full-sized 3G pitch as opposed to a much smaller and arguably less beneficial facility.

This scenario is, particularly in more densely populated urban areas, not uncommon fuelled by the seemingly inexorable growth of junior football of which a substantial component is the further evolution of the girl’s and women’s game.

The fact that housing is a central Government agenda and that the quest for land for housing development is as relentless as the growth in football means that the value of having an up-to-date, high quality, thorough, robust and regularly refreshed PPOSS is, arguably, higher than it has ever been.

For more information about the above, or if you would like to discuss your upcoming PPOSS requirements contact Steve Wright (steve.wright@kkp.co.uk).

KKP is the UK’s leading authority on, and deliverer of, playing pitch, outdoor sports, indoor sports and open spaces needs assessments and strategies (plus combinations thereof). www.kkp.co.uk

The number, condition and accessibility of grassroots football facilities (natural grass and 3G) have an ongoing impact on participation (among male and female players of all ages) and on the value and effectiveness of the domestic player pathway.

The FA’s 10-year strategy to change the landscape of football facilities in England has, for the last 4-6 years, been underpinned by an action plan for investment in every local authority, referred to as a local football facility plan (LFFP). These are utilised, by the Football Foundation and county FAs as one (among others) of the strategic indicators of facility need (albeit preferably endorsed by an up-to-date PPS generated needs assessment) and thus help to justify Foundation capital investment.

Working closely with the FA and county FAs, the Football Foundation, Sport England and the DCMS, KKP delivered the original LFFP programme. Run over an intensive two-year period, all 318 LFFPs, one for each local authority in England, were completed by between 2018 and mid-2020.

The feedback on existing facilities received at the time as part of the LFFP process mirrored the national strategy painting a picture of poor-quality grass pitches, changing pavilions requiring refurbishment and insufficient club/team access to sports lit, 3G football turf pitches.  Having, as part of that process, spoken directly to over 2,000 grassroots football clubs, 300 local authorities plus a range of other stakeholders, the LFFPs developed by our team and the county FAs identified an excellent portfolio of pipeline projects.

This new round of refreshed LFFPs will update information held at all levels about the extent to which projects listed in the original plans have been implemented and the impact on local supply/demand. The process will also ensure that the new LFFPs reflect the 13% year-on-year growth in levels of participation in the girl’s and women’s game – which necessitates additional consideration in respect of the nature and quality of ancillary provision. Arguably also fuelled by the success of the national team, it is predicted that women and girls will account for 21% of all football demand by 2030.

It also reflects the Government’s desire to see that a wider range of sports benefit from this investment.

The majority (200+ and possibly up to 250) of the LFFPs originally commissioned are being updated. In some instances, local government structural change (resulting in fewer individual local authorities) need now to be accounted for. There is also a need for revised national capital expenditure estimates to inform the FA/ Football Foundation dialogue with the new Government about future investment in playing pitch provision.

Claire Waldron, Senior Facilities Planning Manager at the Football Foundation said ‘we are pleased to have commissioned KKP to update the excellent work delivered on the first round of LFFPs. KKP was commissioned, because of the quality of its submission, its knowledge and understanding of the LFFP process and because of its continued pre-eminence delivering playing pitch strategies – the findings and recommendations from many of which will usefully inform this process’.

Paul Hughes, Senior Consultant at KKP who is leading the national refresh process said ‘we were delighted to have been commissioned to deliver this assignment. In so doing, we are looking to build on the strong stakeholder commitment when we ran the original LFFP process, our own PPS-generated information and the excellent relationships we have with the Foundation, county FAs, NGBs and other partners in the sector’.

Contact: Paul Hughes: Senior Consultant (paul.hughes@kkp.co.uk)

Notes

KKP is a leading UK-based multi-disciplinary national and international sports consultancy practice. It offers specialist advice and impartial, objective and creative support to a wide portfolio of clients.

Full detail about KKP’s work, clients and projects is available at www.kkp.co.uk