Agenda item

10.1

Josh Blunkett and Thea Kerwick, Project Officers in the Sports, Leisure and Events team, provided an update on the PlayZones Project.

10.2

Mr Blunkett advised that the project was still in its infancy, and involved looking at developing outdoors sports facilities, funded by the Football Foundation, which was a collaborative approach from the Football Association, the Premier League and national government. He explained that the overall aim of the project was to increase physical activity and recreation through sport and play via improved multi-game uses rather than the traditional model currently seen in parks. There had been a thorough site identification process to look at where best these might fit, and which areas might benefit most from the first phase. One of those identified was Ecclesfield Park. The current site had been identified as needing improvement, and had not had a lot of use recently due to its low quality, which led to people travelling outside the area to alternative sites. A consultation process had been carried out between July and September 2023, aiming to get as much engagement as possible, and to spread awareness of what a PlayZone could look like. The Football Foundation had carried out some research and discovered areas that were not commonly used and, in order to increase usage, had set some criteria. This included having floodlights to enable year-round usage, having high quality surfacing, having a viewing area and having an activation plan. Work was being carried out with community organisations and providers to see what opportunities they could offer for a mixed-use approach, i.e. some ‘free to use’ time, private ‘pre-paid’ bookings and also activity session bookings. The report was almost finalised, and it was hoped to get the community’s thoughts on design aspects of a PlayZone, and how it might best serve the community. The engagement included an online survey and targeted outreach to provide representative views. The response had been positive and had given the team the confidence to progress the project. A full application for Ecclesfield Park would now be submitted to the Football Foundation by the end of 2023, which would then be subject to feasibility funding and evaluation before progressing n 2024.

10.3

Andrew Towlerton of Ecclesfield Parish Council queried whether there would be any basketball provision, as he knew there were many people who were keen to see this.

10.4

Mr Blunkett confirmed that basketball had been the second highest priority for the area, and he hoped that this could be offered. Engagement had taken place with the national governing body for basketball and local community groups that were able to provide this.

10.5

Adam Hurst asked how the floodlighting would be managed and policed, whilst also preventing anti-social behaviour.

10.6

Ms Kerwick advised that a bat survey would be carried out, and lighting would come on automatically as the site was accessed for a booking, so as to reduce energy costs.

10.7

Mr Blunkett added that as part of the activation plan, different times for preferred usage were being considered. There was anticipated to be management and/or community organisation presence on site, thus reducing the risk of anti-social behaviour.

10.8

Councillor Julie Grocutt noted the need for a bat/ecology survey. She added that Sheffield Sharks carried out community outreach work and that they had some knowledge on dealing with anti-social behaviour at the design stage.

10.9

The Chair thanked Mr Blunkett and Ms Kerwick for the update and noted that it was a very useful pilot scheme for North Sheffield.

10.10

The Chair expressed his thanks to Isabel Male, Local Area Committee Officer, who was leaving her post at the Council. He noted that she had been an excellent team member and had been a valuable asset to the North Local Area Committee.

10.11

David Luck added that Ms Male had always had a very positive approach to her work and had been a huge asset to the team and to the city, and would be hugely missed.