Village Clusters Housing Allocations Plan - Alternative Sites & Focused Changes (Reg. 18)

Thank you for inviting Sport England to comment on the above document.

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS

Sport England is the Government agency responsible for delivering the Government’s sporting objectives. Maximising the investment into sport and recreation through the land use planning system is one of our priorities. You will also be aware that Sport England is a statutory consultee on planning applications affecting playing fields.

Sport England has assessed this consultation in the light of Sport England’s Planning for Sport: Planning for Sport Guidance (‘Guidance’).

The overall thrust of the Guidance is that a planned approach to the provision of facilities and opportunities for sport is necessary, new sports facilities should be fit for purpose, and they should be available for community sport. To achieve this, our objectives are to:

PROTECT the right opportunities in the right places
ENHANCE opportunities through better use of existing provision
PROVIDE new opportunities to meet the needs of current and future generations.

Sport England’s aim in working with the planning system is to help provide active environments that maximise opportunities for sport and physical activity for all, enabling the already active to be more so and the inactive to become active. The importance of sport should be recognised as a key component of local plans, housing allocations and should not be considered in isolation.

The following comments are provided within the context of:

• National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG, 2023).
• Sport England’s Planning for Sport webpages including Planning for Sport Guidance https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/facilities-and-planning/planning-for-sport

COMMENTS ON THE 2021 SOUTH NORFOLK VILLAGE CLUSTERS HOUSING ALLOCATIONS PLAN

Site Allocation

Sport England have reviewed the proposed land allocations and have the following comments:

• SN6000, Land north of Chapel Street, Barford

Within this strategic site there are playing pitches, car parking and a village hall. The village hall would provide ancillary facilities for the playing field. Mitigation is proposed to relocate the playing field and village hall to the field located to the north of the existing site. Sport England requests that the policy refers to the loss of the playing field and ancillary facilities (village hall and any associated car parking) re-location and that they should be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location to the north of the site, in accordance with criteria b of paragraph 103 in the National Planning Policy Framework. To ensure sufficient mitigation is delivered wording in the policy should be included to the affect of ‘the loss of playing field and ancillary facilities (car parking and a village hall) resulting from the proposed development shall be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location to the north of the existing site.’

Closing Comments on Site Allocations

Sport England would like to highlight that any allocation that does not clearly indicate the protection or replacement of a sports facility would be contrary to the NPPF, paragraph 103, and Sport England’s Planning Policy unless the specific facility is identified as surplus within a robust borough wide sport facility strategy. Sport England, therefore, advise that the allocations are clear that sports facilities are protected or replaced in advance of any development in accordance with the criteria in paragraph 103 of the NPPF.

Where on-site or off-site replacement provision is required to facilitate the development of a site, the replacement site should be referenced in the policy and if appropriate a related site allocation should be made in the plan to provide certainty that the facility can be replaced in practice.

Please note that if Sport England has missed any sport facility that falls within any land allocation, then this does not mean the facility is surplus to current or future need. As stated in the NPPF, sport facilities should be protected unless they are surplus to current or future needs, replaced or lost to another sport facility the benefits of which outweighs the harm caused by the loss.

Any new housing developments will generate additional demand for sport. If existing sports facilities do not have the capacity to absorb the additional demand, then planning policies should look to ensure that new sports facilities, or improvements to existing sports facilities, are secured and delivered through planning obligations or CIL. Proposed actions to meet the demand should accord with any approved local plan or neighbourhood plan policy for social infrastructure, along with priorities resulting from any assessment of need, or set out in any playing pitch or other indoor and/or outdoor sports facility strategy that the local authority has or will have in place.

In line with the Government’s NPPF (including Section 8) and its Planning Practice Guidance (Health and wellbeing section), consideration should also be given to how any new development, especially for new housing, will provide opportunities for people to lead healthy lifestyles and create healthy communities. Sport England’s Active Design guidance can be used to help with this when developing planning policies and developing or assessing individual proposals.

Thank you for inviting Sport England to comment on the above document.

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS

Sport England is the Government agency responsible for delivering the Government’s sporting objectives. Maximising the investment into sport and recreation through the land use planning system is one of our priorities. You will also be aware that Sport England is a statutory consultee on planning applications affecting playing fields.

Sport England has assessed this consultation in the light of Sport England’s Planning for Sport: Planning for Sport Guidance (‘Guidance’).

The overall thrust of the Guidance is that a planned approach to the provision of facilities and opportunities for sport is necessary, new sports facilities should be fit for purpose, and they should be available for community sport. To achieve this, our objectives are to:

PROTECT the right opportunities in the right places
ENHANCE opportunities through better use of existing provision
PROVIDE new opportunities to meet the needs of current and future generations.

Sport England’s aim in working with the planning system is to help provide active environments that maximise opportunities for sport and physical activity for all, enabling the already active to be more so and the inactive to become active. The importance of sport should be recognised as a key component of local plans, housing allocations and should not be considered in isolation.

The following comments are provided within the context of:

• National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG, 2023).
• Sport England’s Planning for Sport webpages including Planning for Sport Guidance https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/facilities-and-planning/planning-for-sport

COMMENTS ON THE 2021 SOUTH NORFOLK VILLAGE CLUSTERS HOUSING ALLOCATIONS PLAN

Site Allocation

Sport England have reviewed the proposed land allocations and have the following comments:

• SN6000, Land north of Chapel Street, Barford

Within this strategic site there are playing pitches, car parking and a village hall. The village hall would provide ancillary facilities for the playing field. Mitigation is proposed to relocate the playing field and village hall to the field located to the north of the existing site. Sport England requests that the policy refers to the loss of the playing field and ancillary facilities (village hall and any associated car parking) re-location and that they should be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location to the north of the site, in accordance with criteria b of paragraph 103 in the National Planning Policy Framework. To ensure sufficient mitigation is delivered wording in the policy should be included to the affect of ‘the loss of playing field and ancillary facilities (car parking and a village hall) resulting from the proposed development shall be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location to the north of the existing site.’

Closing Comments on Site Allocations

Sport England would like to highlight that any allocation that does not clearly indicate the protection or replacement of a sports facility would be contrary to the NPPF, paragraph 103, and Sport England’s Planning Policy unless the specific facility is identified as surplus within a robust borough wide sport facility strategy. Sport England, therefore, advise that the allocations are clear that sports facilities are protected or replaced in advance of any development in accordance with the criteria in paragraph 103 of the NPPF.

Where on-site or off-site replacement provision is required to facilitate the development of a site, the replacement site should be referenced in the policy and if appropriate a related site allocation should be made in the plan to provide certainty that the facility can be replaced in practice.

Please note that if Sport England has missed any sport facility that falls within any land allocation, then this does not mean the facility is surplus to current or future need. As stated in the NPPF, sport facilities should be protected unless they are surplus to current or future needs, replaced or lost to another sport facility the benefits of which outweighs the harm caused by the loss.

Any new housing developments will generate additional demand for sport. If existing sports facilities do not have the capacity to absorb the additional demand, then planning policies should look to ensure that new sports facilities, or improvements to existing sports facilities, are secured and delivered through planning obligations or CIL. Proposed actions to meet the demand should accord with any approved local plan or neighbourhood plan policy for social infrastructure, along with priorities resulting from any assessment of need, or set out in any playing pitch or other indoor and/or outdoor sports facility strategy that the local authority has or will have in place.

In line with the Government’s NPPF (including Section 8) and its Planning Practice Guidance (Health and wellbeing section), consideration should also be given to how any new development, especially for new housing, will provide opportunities for people to lead healthy lifestyles and create healthy communities. Sport England’s Active Design guidance can be used to help with this when developing planning policies and developing or assessing individual proposals.