Development of Sports Hub in North Hertfordshire District

The assignment content discusses the development of a sports hub in East of England and North Hertfordshire District local plan. The sports hub aims to provide sports facilities for nearby schools and colleges, reduce long-term financial obligations, and focus on physical and economic regeneration. To achieve sustainability, the foundation should discuss drivers and risks with stakeholders, upgrade thinking capabilities, review leisure facility strategies, and understand public sector value. The report concludes that the sports hub will offer high-quality facilities, maximize sustainability, and contribute to local economy.

Letchworth garden city sports hub supplementary planning

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Existing sports Context site..........................................................................................................................3
Facilities in Letchworth................................................................................................................................4
Issues & options..........................................................................................................................................6
Facilities provided....................................................................................................................................6
 Population...................................................................................................................................6
 Sports facilities calculator............................................................................................................7
 Facilities planning model.............................................................................................................8
Involvement of private clubs...................................................................................................................8
 Fear hell sports centers................................................................................................................8
 Letchworth settlement................................................................................................................9
 North Hertfordshire Leisure Centre.............................................................................................9
 St. Christopher School.................................................................................................................9
 St. Francis College......................................................................................................................10
 The high field school..................................................................................................................10
Green belt zone & other concern..........................................................................................................10
Accessibility & car parking.....................................................................................................................11
 Medium & long term objectives................................................................................................12
Sustainability of new facility..................................................................................................................12
 Central government policy guidance.........................................................................................12
 East of England plan...................................................................................................................12
 North Hertfordshire District local plan.......................................................................................13
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................................16
Appendix...................................................................................................................................................18

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Introduction
In this present paper, we will discuss the planning report in order to develop the sports club in
the town of Letchworth garden city. There is a strong provision of local sporting facilities in the
town which is located in the Letchworth Garden city. It includes various costs of maintenance
such as open air pool maintenance, poor condition of private clubs facilities, long-term future of
North Herts Leisure center and others. The site for the sports club has been identified at Baldock
road in Letchworth, and the stakeholders will be shortly identified in order to support the
development of sports club in the town. The paper also describes the context site, existing sports
club facilities, issues such as facilities provided, the involvement of private clubs, green belt &
other concern, accessibility and car parking, and sustainability of the new facility. On the basis of
analyzing the current situation, the recommendations and conclusion have been made. The
Letchworth Garden city is one of the new towns which were started in the year 1903 in
Hertfordshire, UK and it is considered as an example for the urban planning with the economic
sustainability and community management. The population of Letchworth town is approximately
33,600, and the name of the town has come from the three villages which are surrounded the city
(Rutherford et al., 2014). The aim of the report is to provide the insight to the foundation in order
to overcome the challenges which came in the development of sports club. The aim of
developing sports club in the town is to provide the sports facilities, and it also contributes
towards the development of the town. The foundation has committed towards the long term
ambition for the sports village which provides the supports of economic development and heath
of the people in the town. The project includes long-term commitment of funds through various
fund agencies, sponsors, and stakeholders who are interested in contributing towards the

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development of sports club in the town. Currently the sports club provides various facilities such
as 75 station fitness gym and studios, sports hub parking provision, grass junior and senior
football pitches, relevant changes provision and others. The new facilities in the sports club
enable to support the long-term future of North Herts Leisure center.
Existing sports Context site
 The location of the sports club has been selected which is at the Baldock road site, and it
is located at the eastern edge of the Letchworth Garden city. The location is surrounded
by the employment area to the north, the School fields, and there is the Quinnway
residential area at the south western area, and its edges are covered by the greenbelt zone.
 According to the North Hertfordshire local plan (2011-2031) the total area of 34.5 acres
of the Baldock road site is mainly for the development of Letchworth Sports club which
includes the sports ground and the North Herts leisure center comes under the district
boundary towards the North Herts leisure center and the remaining area comes under the
greenbelt zone which includes Letchworth Garden city Rugby club (Lewis et al., 2015).
 The principles and policies for the development of particular site are developed by the
North Herefordshire District council (Council et al., 2015).
 All the development sites are explained in the report, and the development foundation in
Letchworth city has determined the capabilities for the development of sports club, and
later the stakeholders are identified in order to provide the funding for the development of
sports club. The sports club will collaborate with the local club, but there are various
challenges which come in the development of sports club such as facilities provided,
impact of sports club development in the greenbelt zone and its acceptance according to

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the policy terms, proposed solution for the various issues for example car parking,
accessibility, and safety methods in order to provide the sustainable development.
Facilities in Letchworth
 The facilities in the North Hertfordshire Leisure Centre on the Baldock road are operated
by the Stevenage Leisure ltd. The conventional facility mix is provided by the leisure
center such as sports hall, leisure pool, four squash court, gym and studios which are used
by the various local community and clubs. In the medium term, the leisure center is
required to be replaced. There are various types of pitches which consist of the leisure
center, namely, six more playing field, recreation ground of Baldock road, and
Letchworth garden city RUFC (Bayulken et al., 2015).
 Leisure center: The total space of the leisure center is approximately 4500 sqm. It
includes the mix of sports facilities.
 Football club: It includes five junior and three full-size pitches. The standard set
includes the maximum provision of eighty-three spaces which includes the reduction of
25% spaces.
 Rugby club: It includes two junior and five full-size pitchers. The standard for the full-
size pitch is thirty spaces, and fifteen for junior pitch and the maximum provision is one
hundred twenty-four spaces.
 Cricket: The plan for the cricket club is one of the earliest plans in the town which is
developed within two years, and the club has moved to the former ICL sports filed in
Whitethorn lean in the year 1996 which moved into the junior section thereafter. The

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growth of the club leads to develop the second ground in the year 2006, and it is the
restored former Fairfield hospital cricket ground in the Arlesey (Falk et al., 2017).
 Hockey
There are adults and women teams which are run by the Letchworth hockey club, and the
women's 1st has entered into the women's national premier league. There are various bowl
clubs which are opened in the town. Namely, Norton bowls club, whitethorn bowl club,
will bowl club, and Howard garden. The home of Letchworth croquet club and tennis
club has its home in the Muddy lane, namely, Letchworth sports and tennis club.
 Rugby
The oldest rugby club was developed in the year 1926, and it is one of the oldest clubs in
the country. The rugby club provides the facility of rugby to the people in the area of
Letchworth.
 Swimming
The first outdoor pool in the town was developed in the year 1908, and it was replaced by
other pool, namely, Lido on Norton Common in the year 1935. The Letchworth Amateur
swimming club was developed in the year 1932, and it was used as the public indoor pool
as well as the lido, and it was opened in the year 1980 as the part of North Herts Leisure
Center. The home of Letchworth, roller hockey club, is leisure center which was the
winner of national division champion in the year 2008-09 (Simon et al., 2016). The
swimming is the outdoor pool activity which enables to provide the health benefits to the
people in the society.
 There are total twelve sites, namely, Baldock road, grange recreation ground, grange
central, hill brow, Howard park and gardens, Jackman's creamery floodlit MUGA,

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Jackman's central, Linnet close, Norton commons, Oak tree close, temple gardens and
Wilbury Recreation ground. There are various facilities which are provided in the sites,
namely, basketball court, football, youth shelter, wheeled sports facility, play area,
Bowling Green, BMX gravel track, exercise zone, archer's way, and others. The existing
facilities need to be improved in order to develop the long-term future of the North Herts
Leisure center. The improvement in the existing facilities enables to contribute towards
the economic development of the town.
Issues & options
Facilities provided
 Population
The total population of the Letchworth Garden city is dividing into five wards. The largest
population is located in the South East ward, and the smallest density of population is in the
Letchworth Wilbury region. The total population comprises of 17.5% in Letchworth east, 22.8%
in Letchworth southeast, 15.7% in Letchworth Wilbury, 21.4% in Letchworth grange sand
22.6% in the Letchworth southwest. A large number of population is aging, and the very little
population lies under the age group of 16-44 years. There is the growing elderly population
which is placing the demand of crematorium and cemetery provision. The average population of
age group (20-45 years) in approximately 30% in England whereas there is less population of 20-
45 years. The population under the age group of 16-64 years is approximately 3.35% (Corte et al.,
2013).

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The above graphical representation of population distribution shows that the majority of a
population is in the age group of 30-44 years. There are more females as a comparison to men in
the total population. The majority of the population lies under the age group of 18-64 years.
 Sports facilities calculator
The sports facilities calculator is developed by the sports England for the convenience of local
planning authorities in order to determine the demand for additional sports facilities according to
the increase in the population. The demand is generated by the regeneration area, new growth,
and development.
The sports facilities calculator is used to determine the whole demand by the North
Herefordshire district council in order to figure out the facilities subsequently used by the

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population. It does not include spatial dimension due to which it cannot be used for strategic gap
analysis. The sports facilities calculator does not reflect the attractiveness of facilities, facility
location as compare to the demand, cross-boundary movement of demand, capacity and
availability of facilities, travel networks and topography and attractiveness of facilities.
 Facilities planning model
The facilities planning model is mainly used by the sports England in order to determine the
demand and supply of sports hall accommodation. The sports England strategic assessment data
is used by the sports England in order to determine the requirement of sports hall provision in
North Hertfordshire. The model is very sensitive, and it includes various factors such as quality,
opening hours, management and others in order to determine the relationship between the
demand and supply. The financial planning model includes sports halls of three courts and small
sports halls. All the facilities are taken into account by the model which fits into the model.
Involvement of private clubs
 Fearhill sports centers
It is the duel site which is used by the Fearhill School as well, The Fearhill school is run by the
Herefordshire country council, and the indoor facilities are managed on the weekends and
evenings by the SLL. The outdoor facilities are not contracted with SLL. The revenue which is
generated from the community is paid to SLL. The school has also paid for the facilities of
breakages and refurbishment to the SLL (Roberts et al., 2016). The sports hall also vanishes, and
new lightings are installed in the year 2012. The nets of crickets are also available at the sports
center.

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 Letchworth settlement
The independent adult education center is the Letchworth settlement which is used by the special
interest groups such as history, poetry, dance, guitar, wine appreciation society, embroidery, and
others. The hall is used for the special events which enable to provide the special activities in the
town.
 North Hertfordshire Leisure Centre
The local facility of the authority is being operated by the SLL since the year 2005. Further, the
floors of the sports hall need a replacement. Also, lightening is also required to be replaced as it
is not present in the courts of the badminton. Moreover, the operator ensures that the 50 percent
of the space is available for the use of casualty. The groups of bowls are operated form the center
of the local community (Culpin, E. G. 2015). These sessions include the courses and the sessions
for gymnastics and trampolining. Furthermore, the sessions for roller hockey are not provided
due to the space of sports hall.
 St. Christopher School
It is the school for the children with age group 3 to 18 years. Furthermore, it is being observed
that the school is showing great commitment to the use of community, but there is not an
agreement for the usage of formal community in the particular place. The school wants the
community because it provides adequate sports facilities to the children in order to explore their
potential and the capabilities. Furthermore, it is essential that the school come up with the
agreement which will help the sports hub to be developed at a faster rate will attain sustainability
and will further help the children to create a better future in sports.

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 St. Francis College
It is the day-boarding college/school for the girls of age group 3 to 18 years which is being
operated by a Trust. Further, the hall is made available, and it is being used by the community at
present. The bookings are operated by the site manager. It is essential for the college to show the
commitment towards the development of sports hub which will help the community to maximize
the profitability by offering high-quality sports services.
 The high field school
It is the school of the local authority. Further, the school requires restructuring under the
development program of the school. But, the existing hall of the sports will be retained.
Furthermore, the community will be available in order to use for the evenings of week days only.
Moreover, the services will be accessed by a caretaker, and the nets of the cricket will be made
available (James, T. 2013). The basketball club if Hitchin and Herts will be adequately used.
Also, the halls of the activity will be demolished and will be restructured again, and the hall of
the sports will remain the same. This school has also not given the agreement for the formal
usage of the community.
Green belt zone & other concern
It is essential to seek the permission for the zone of greenbelt in order to use the land effectively
and further develop the sports hub to accomplish the long term and the medium term goals and
objectives. Furthermore, the permission will help in modernizing the facilities for providing
outdoor facilities of sports, and the green belt's openness will be maintained (Amati, M. (Ed.).
(2016). It is stated that the sports hub will include the development of the buildings after the
demolition and it will will require various elements like lighting in the courts of tennis, adequate

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space for the roller hockey, etc. in order to attain the sustainability by offering high-quality
sports facilities to the children through the formal agreement with the nearby schools and the
colleges. Further, it will be essential for the sports hub in order to ensure that the zone of the
green belt is not being impacted adversely by the speed of the traffic, crossings, safety enclosure,
etc. for the informal use of the leisure by determining the experience of quality to a great extent.
Furthermore, the sports hub will safeguard and will further ensure to improve the network of
parks, heritage and natural characteristics to offer multi-functional integrated open-space with
the distinct opportunities of leisure which will be beneficial for the garden of Letchworth.
Moreover, the permission of the zone of green belt will help the preventing the towns from the
mergers, the unrestricted sprawl of the newly developed areas will be monitored and controlled,
the generation of urbanization will be encouraged, and the country-side will be protected from
the encroachment. Therefore, it is essential for the sports hub to seek the permission of the zone
of green belt in order to attain the competitive advantage and the sustainability by offering
adequate sports facilities to the children.
Accessibility & car parking
It is being suggested that the facility must be relied on the parking space of a single car along
with the 15 sq. external space of the floor. The standards are being applied to the center of
Leisure which shows the maximized provision of approximately 300 spaces. As the site lies
within the lowest zone, it is suggested that the reduction of around 25 percent should be applied
for the overall maximized provision. Furthermore, reducing the space of 300 by 25 percent will
further lead to the provision of approximately 220 spaces for the parking of cars. Currently, 168
spaces for the car parking are available in the center of Leisure which is underneath the
maximized provision. Moreover, Letchworth will maximize the space for cycling and walking by

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reducing the reliance and the usage of the cars for the purpose of traveling locally. Letchworth
will be designed by considering the various principles in order to access the country-side
facilities (Livesey, G. 2017). The facilities will be relatively flat and will include the network of
cycle-ways and the rural-ways.
 Medium & long term objectives
 To provide proposed and high-quality sports facilities.
 To improve the quality of courts and halls and further prioritizing the investment.
 To attain a sustainability and the competitive edge for a longer period of time.
 To improve the provision of sports within the country.
Sustainability of new facility
 Central government policy guidance
The sports hub will be using the various policies like the PPS1 which will help in attaining the
sustainability to accomplish the long-term objectives. PPG 2 will be used in order to seek the
permission to the use the land and further develop the sports hub in the zone of the greenbelt.
The land will be used adequately in order to provide the high-quality services of sports. PPG 13
will help in planning and implement the facility of transport and further increasing the spaces for
car parking along with the sidewalks and the cycling (Grant, J. L. 2014). PPG 17 will help in
seeking permission for the demolition and the re-creation of the building for the sports.
 East of England plan
The sports hub will be using the various policies like the SS7 in order to get the permission to
access the zone of the green belt to develop the sports hub and offer sports facilities to the nearby
schools and the colleges who are not offering such facilities to the students in order to grow in

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this particular field. Further, the SS8 will help in seeking the permission to develop the
community in the urban and rural fringe in order to remain connected with the country and the
town and will be easily reachable by the ones who will wish the avail the sports facilities. Also,
the T14 policy will help in developing the spaces for parking which the management of sports
club is expecting to develop.
 North Hertfordshire District local plan
The sports hub will be using the various policies like the policy-2 in order to get the permission
to access the zone of the green belt to develop the sports hub and offer sports facilities. Further,
the policy-21 will be used to seek the permission to develop the pattern of open space and the
landscape (Sharifi, A. 2016). The policy -39 will help in seeking permission to use the leisure
effectively. Moreover, the policy-51 will help in developing the desirable impacts along with the
gains of planning and further attaining sustainability.
Recommendations
It has been suggested that the foundation of new sports hub should reduce the long-term
obligations of the finances ranging from maintenance, capital expenses, and the subsidies.
Further, it is essential for the foundation of the sports hub to discuss the various characteristics
and the drivers through the potential risks and the benefits with the internal and the external
stakeholders (Bramley, G., & Watkins, D. 2016). It is essential for the foundation of the sports
hub to upgrade the thinking capability along with the latest trends of the industry in relation to
the operation and the appearance of the sports hub. Moreover, the foundation of new sports hub
requires reviewing the strategy of local facilities of leisure. The foundation of new sports hub

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requires understanding the value of the public sector to further enable the effective development
of the hub. Further, the foundation of new sports hub should focus on the physical and the
economic regeneration in order to analyze the deprivation of high level. The foundation of new
sports hub should focus on the actions and the implementation which should be performed as the
catalyst for the complete development of the sports hub (Ball, A., Grubnic, S., & Birchall, J.
2014). Therefore, the management or the foundation of sports hub should consider these factors
in order to attain sustainability and the competitive edge.
Conclusion
From the above report, it can be clearly stated that to maximize the sustainability of the sports
hub, the numerous services are connected together along with the series of the long-term goals
and the objectives in order to attract the wide range of the targeted group for availing the high-
quality facilities of sports. Furthermore, the services will further help the students to maximize
their potential in the field of sports and also succeed in the field of sports by learning the sports
under one roof. The aim of the sports hub is to offer the legacy of the sustainability within the
communities and further provide the broader benefits. Moreover, the sports hub will offer the
stream of rental income which will further support the various factors of the projects such as the
creation of the sports. The financing of the project of the development of sports hub will offer a
challenge to take the desired project further by funding the innovative and the unique ways in
order to provide the desirable facilities of sports and generate revenues to a great extent to attain
the sustainability. Further, the foundation of the sports hub can adapt the business model of
operations along with the existing plans which will be proposed along with the model of dowry

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to further ensure the long-term sustainability and the viability of the community. Also, it is being
observed that the government is more committed in order to be creative and use the positive
approach of planning. By considering the recommendations, the sports hub will be able to
safeguard the rate of the employment and will further contribute greatly to the economy. The
maximized uptake will be used in order to provide the adequate facilities. The sports hub will be
able to maximize the number of participants in order to attend the sessions of sports to a great
extent. Further, the sports hub will be able to maximize the number of participants in order to
gain the qualifications in the field of sports and further serve to the country in this particular
field.

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References
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Bayulken, B., & Huisingh, D. (2015). A literature review of historical trends and emerging
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109, 11-24.
Bramley, G., & Watkins, D. (2016). Housebuilding, demographic change and affordability as
outcomes of local planning decisions: Exploring interactions using a sub-regional model of
housing markets in England. Progress in Planning, 104, 1-35.
Corte, U. (2013). A refinement of collaborative circles theory: Resource mobilization and
innovation in an emerging sport. Social Psychology Quarterly, 76(1), 25-51.
Council, B. G. C. B. (2015). Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council:-Old Women of the
Mountain.
Culpin, E. G. (2015). The Garden city movement up-to-date. Routledge.
Falk, N. (2017). Garden cities for the twenty-first century. URBAN DESIGN International,
22(1), 91-110.
Grant, J. L. (2014). Garden city movement. In Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being
research (pp. 2394-2396). Springer Netherlands.

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James, T. (2013). Out and About in Letchworth: A Social Experiment. Historian, (120), 41.
Lewis, J. (2015). Preserving and maintaining the concept of Letchworth Garden City. Planning
Perspectives, 30(1), 153-163.
Livesey, G. (2017). INNOVATION, THE AGRICULTURAL BELT, AND THE EARLY
GARDEN CITY. Berkeley Planning Journal, 28(1).
Roberts, P., Sykes, H., & Granger, R. (2016). 16 Current Challenges and Future Prospects.
Urban Regeneration, 314.
Rutherford, S. (2014). Garden Cities. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sharifi, A. (2016). From Garden City to Eco-urbanism: The quest for sustainable neighborhood
development. Sustainable Cities and Society, 20, 1-16.
Simon, D. (2016). GREEN CITIES: FROM TOKENISM TO INCREMENTALISM AND
TRANSFORMATION. RETHINKING SUSTAINABLE CITIES, 61.

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Appendix

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