Draft Planning Obligations SPD

Sport England seek to influence the land use planning system to protect, enhance and provide new sports facilities to meet existing and future demand, as part of our overall aim to increase participation in sport.

The Government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear about the role that sport plays in delivering sustainable communities through promoting health and well-being. Sport England, working with the provisions of the NPPF, wishes to see local planning policy protect, enhance and provide for sports facilities based on robust and up-to-date assessments of need, as well as helping to realise the wider benefits that participation in sport can bring.

Sport England supports the principle of securing opportunities for sport through both s106 contributions and CIL. We note that Cambridge City Council will seek to provide indoor and outdoor sports facilities primarily through CIL rather than s106, except where new facilities are required to compensate for the loss of existing facilities. We support the inclusion of indoor and outdoor sports facilities on the draft R123 list for sport, though we note that at present there is a lack of detail in terms of the projects that will be funded or the priorities for funding.

We acknowledge that with significant new urban extensions the scale of development will justify on-site provision for sport, particularly outdoor sport. However, we are not sure how revenue contributions will be secured for future management and maintenance if these can no longer be secured through s106 agreements?

We are also concerned that for smaller scale proposals (e.g. 200 new units) this will not generate sufficient demand to justify on-site provision for indoor or outdoor sport, as the number of units would not generate increased population to justify a single sports pitch. However, the scheme would also not benefit from s106 funding under the proposed guidance and would instead theoretically benefit from CIL funding to secure investment into existing facilities in the locality. Sport England's concern is that for these schemes indoor/outdoor sport could fall between the two systems as (a) it would not generate sufficient demand for on-site provision, (b) it would fall outside the scope for s106 funding, and (c) it would not be a priority for CIL funding (there is a concern that transport and education priorities will secure the majority of CIL generated investment).

We would therefore wish to see that if indoor/outdoor sport are not going to benefit from any s106 funding, that these essential requirements are given a high priority in terms of CIL funding, when the R123 infrastructure plan is finalised.

I should add that Sport England are currently looking to provide guidance on the role of sport within CIL. This guidance should be available shortly.