Memorandum submitted by Sport England
1. INTRODUCTION
AND EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Sport England is responsible for leading and
co-ordinating the development of sport in England and is the distributor
of Lottery funds for sport through the Sport England Lottery Fund.
Our work is shaped by the aim to have more people involved in
sport, to provide more places to play sport and to win more medals
through higher standards of performance in sport.
Swimming has a large stock of facilitiescurrently
in excess of 3,000 swimming pools in England alonesplit
between the public (local authorities continue to be the principal
providers), private and education sectors. The facility mix is
diverse, comprising of conventional pools of different lengths,
training pools, leisure pools and diving pools. The most popular
facilities, in terms of participation levels, are multi-sports
venues with provision for swimming.
Swimming pools are among the most expensive
and complex indoor sports buildings to both build and maintain.
In order to ensure that facilities are sustainable, and meet the
needs of the community and competitive swimming, it is essential
to strike the right balance in the number of pools provided across
the Country.
Sport England provides advice and guidance to
local authorities, leisure providers and governing bodies on the
modernisation, refurbishment and new build of facilities for all
sports, including swimming. It also publishes technical guidance
on standards of provision, leads in the production of facility
strategies and monitors and funds National Governing Body performance
and development plans.
Up to September 2001, the Sport England Lottery
Fund has invested £222 million in the development and refurbishment
of capital swimming projects, with £161 million of partnership
funding generating total project development costs of £383
million. This making swimming the largest benefactor of Sport
England Capital Lottery Funding to date.
Based on Sport England's extensive research
and experience, we would make the following key observations and
recommendations concerning swimming facilities in England. There
is:
limited need for additional swimming
pools in England, based on participation levels;
growing need for the modernisation
or rationalisation of existing pools;
significant potential for increasing
participation rates at existing local facilities;
a requirement to balance the listing
of pools against an identified sports development need;
a case for Sport England to be granted
formal consultee status by DTLR for its Demolition Orders for
all sports facilities, including swimming pools;
a case for Sport England to be granted
formal consultee status by English Heritage to advise it on the
listing of sports buildings;
urgent need for extra funding in
addition to Lottery monies (from both central and local government)
to finance the significant investment required to modernise swimming
facilities; and
a need for Government to refocus
its efforts in order to achieve its National Curriculum Key Stage
2 swimming commitment for school children.
2. THE CASE
FOR SWIMMING
Swimming is one of the major sports in the UK
which:
has been consistently shown in national
surveys to be the most popular active indoor sport in the UK;
is a lifelong participation sport
regularly enjoyed by some 40 per cent of adults (GHS figure for
participation in the last 12 months) and 50 per cent of young
people;
is most popular among women and girls,
traditionally an under-represented group within sport;
covers various disciplines, namely;
recreational and competitive swimming, disability swimming, diving,
water polo and synchronised swimming. Each discipline has its
own associated activities and technical facility requirements
which cannot always be satisfied in a single pool; and
is a valuable life skill, reducing
the likelihood of drowning.
But:
ethnic minority groups continue to
be under-represented in their use of swimming pools. Increasing
levels of participation among these groups is a key aim of Sport
England.
3. LIMITED NEED
FOR ADDITIONAL
SWIMMING POOLS
IN ENGLAND
Over a number of years Sport England has developed
management tools, including the Facilities Planning Model (FPM),
to assist with determining the strategic and facility needs of
sport, including swimming. The FPM provides a consistent and objective
assessment of the relationship between the likely demand and the
current supply of sports facilities. The model is extremely important
for profiling swimming across England and in identifying priority
locations. Sport England research suggests that:
there is limited need for additional
water space (on top of that currently provided);
the priority is for the modernisation
of the current facility stock;
providers must ensure that complementary,
not competing, facilities are developed to ensure sustainable
and viable provision; and
consideration must be given to improving
access to facilities currently under utilised and/or unavailable
for community use.
4. A GROWING
NEED FOR
MODERNISATION OR
RATIONALISATION OF
EXISTING POOLS
The leisure building boom experienced in the
1970s and 80s, partly as a result of positive Local Authority
funding agreements, now means that there is a stock of facilities
in need of major modernisation. Research shows that 60 per cent
of pools currently available for community use are between 20
and 40 years old and will soon require modernisation or replacement
(source: ASA National Facilities Strategy, From Arm Bands to Gold
Medals).
The estimated costs of this work, for public
sector pools alone (not accounting for educational sites), stands
at approximately £2 billion. This represents an immense problem
for pool owners, operators and external funding agencies at a
time when budgets are under increasing pressure.
The need to address the ageing stock of swimming
facilities and develop local strategies to modernise and rationalise
provision is therefore clear. Sport England is at the forefront
of this work with its Local Authority partners. Sport England
also recognises the need to preserve critical sites for swimming
and welcomes the Government's desire to amend the Demolition Order,
requiring Planning Permission to be obtained prior to the demolition
of sports buildings. Sport England believes it can play an important
role in considering these applications and seeks statutory consultee
status on the Order.
Building new facilities is not necessarily the
best way to achieve "modernisation". There are a number
of innovative ways that swimming pools, which fail to meet the
current identified standards can be adapted to meet Sport England/ASA
technical guidance, as well as the demands of the user.
Design and technology developments have enabled
old 50 metre pools to provide for both the needs of elite swimmers
and community users. Developments in moveable bulkheads and moveable
floors (which enable the internal pool dimensions to be adjusted),
as well as booms (which can divide the water space) mean that
for some eight lane 50 metre pools, a full four lane 50 metre
lane stretch can be provided for elite training as well as two
25 metre water areas for recreational/community based swimming.
Sport England Lottery Fund grant aided the innovative "split
boom" at Gurnel Leisure Centre in Ealing, London which enabled
exactly this provision to be provided.
The Best Value requirements placed upon all
Local Authorities will also impact on future provision and the
decisions made about investing in the current swimming facility
stock. Sport England advocate that any decision to modernise or
replace facilities should ensure that the potential investment
represents efficient and effective use of the budget and meets
both the identified needs of the consulted community and sport.
Alongside the need for modernising the current
swimming facility stock, there is also considerable potential
for opening up many facilitiesparticularly those in the
educational sectorthat traditionally have been unavailable
or inaccessible to community users.
5. SWIMMING IN
SCHOOLS
The importance of swimming is recognised within
the National Curriculum for Physical Education, which recommends
that all children should be able to swim 25 metres by the end
of Key Stage 2. There are a number of issues facing schools aiming
to achieve this. The costs associated with hiring pools, lifeguards,
ensuring the safe transportation of children to and from the site,
health and safety and insurance requirements has led to some schools
opting out of providing swimming. This has resulted in a large
number of young people leaving school that have not been taught
the recommended swimming activities and water safety. According
to the 1999 Young People Survey:
only 51 per cent of primary schools
had at least one member of staff with a specialist PE qualification
compared to 100 per cent of secondary schools surveyed;
72 per cent of surveyed primary schools
stated that they had access to an indoor pool, yet primary school
children are swimming less (43 per cent in 1999 compared to 47
per cent in 1994);
30 per cent of surveyed school children
had participated frequently in swimming within school lessons
in 1999, a decline of 2 per cent since 1994; and
only 4 per cent of primary schools
identified that pools were inadequate for the school's teaching
requirements.
Schools in urban areas that are generally well
catered for in terms of proximity to swimming pools are less likely
to offer swimming if a pool is not within walking distance. In
rural areas this does not appear to be the case with schools already
providing transport to and from school.
Sport England urges the Government to ensure
that every child is given the opportunity to achieve Key Stage
2 swimming targets.
6. A REQUIREMENT
TO BALANCE
THE LISTING
OF POOLS
WITH IDENTIFIED
NEED
The most pertinent issue for any sport facility,
but in particular for swimming pools, is that a clear rationale
for listing is presented. Sport England is keen to ensure that
any future listing is judged on the basis of a sports development
need, and not purely on architectural or aesthetic quality. Swimming
pools require significant on-going maintenance and investment.
Without a clear rationale based on demand and supply, local authorities
are often left with obsolete and expensive facilities which no
longer meet the needs of the community.
The development and potential funding for long-standing
and listed buildings is an increasing issue for Local Authorities.
For example, in 1992 it was estimated that just under 10 per cent
of the UK's swimming provision dated back in excess of 60 years
(source: Provision for Swimming, Sports Council 1992). However,
Sport England advocates that the following FPM criteria must be
met for listing/refurbishment to take place:
Locationis the facility in
the most effective location to provide for the local community?;
Fit for purposeis the facility
appropriately designed and managed to meet modern day standards?;
and
Value for moneywill the proposed
capital and revenue (lifecycle costs) investment result in more
swimmers at that facility?
There are a number of historic pools across
the county that have met the above criteria and have been successful
in refurbishing the facility to meet modern standardssuch
as the Arches Pool in Greenwich.
In order to ensure these criteria are taken
into account, it is important that Sport England is granted formal
consultee status by English Heritage to advise on the listing
of sports buildings.
7. FUNDING PRESSURES
The amount of funding required to modernise
the current facility stock for swimming is beyond the scope of
any one of the current sources of finance available for sport.
The Sport England Lottery Fund has witnessed
a decline in available funding for community capital projects
(available to everyone) in recent years. This is due to a decrease
in the number of lottery ticket sales, the creation of NOF as
the sixth good cause and increased pressure on the fund due to
the funding of major national sports facilities, such as the Commonwealth
Games.
The Sport England Lottery Fund is unable to
meet the needs of swimming in isolation from other funding agencies.
Sport England is continually looking to maximise alternative funding
opportunities for sport to help redress this situation. Through
the guidance of DCMS, Sport England is currently in the process
of bidding for a share of Treasury revenues to channel into much
needed community provision for sportincluding swimming
facilities. The wider social inclusion and health value of sport
to the community is clear and we look to Government to support
this agenda through additional Sport England funding in the forthcoming
Comprehensive Spending Round.
8. STRATEGIC
PLANNING
Sport England is playing a key role in the strategic
planning process, working with the ASA, LAs and other leisure
providers to identify the needs for swimming provision across
the country. As with any project, and notably for swimming, it
is crucial that the Location/Fit for Purpose/Value for Money criteria
outlined in section six are addressed before listing/modernisation/new
build takes place. All modernisation and new projects should be
seen in the context of the overall facility and sports development
needs in a particular area.
As the availability of public monies come under
greater strain, capital project developments are likely to be
increasingly influenced by other sources of funding. Three notable
sources that Sport England is continuing to develop links and
influence with include:
The New Opportunities Fund and the
PE and Sport in Schools Programme;
Private Finance Initiative (school
facilities); and
It is important that LAs are encouraged to actively
pursue these other funding avenues. It is also imperative that
Sport England's strategic planning expertise and knowledge is
used to advise other agencies, including Government Departments,
on the need for community facilities nationally, regionally and
locally. This can best be achieved by joining up Central Government
thinking and then using Sport England's strong regional infrastructure
arm to joint up local delivery.
9. WORLD CLASS
SWIMMING
Between May 1997 and September 2001, world-class
swimming received revenue and subsistence from the Sport England
Lottery Fund totalling £2,874,608.
This has helped fund:
113 swimmers on World Class Start
and Potential Programmes for swimming in England;
35 swimmers on the World Class Performance
Programme for British Swimming;
45 swimmers on the World Class Performance
Programme in Disability swimming;
Five swimmers on the World Class
Potential Interim Programme for British Disability Swimming; and
15 swimmers named on the World Class
Potential and Start Programmes for Diving.
With the exception of disability squads, the
overall gap between the best British swimmers and the best in
the world has narrowed only marginally since the 1970s. In the
2000 Sydney Olympics, the British swimming team predicted 10 medals
and failed to obtain any. However, it should be remembered that
Sydney was Britain's best overall Olympic performance since 1920many
other Lottery funded sports excelledwith Britain winning
11 Gold medals. The Disability swimming team also exceeded their
expectations, having predicted around 60 medals and achieved 15
Gold, 24 Silver, 23 Bronze medals.
Sport England research into the success of the
world's leading swimming nations suggests that there are four
underlying components for the development of excellence:
A highly structured and systematic
approach in relation to the identification and development of
talent;
Comprehensive support services for
the best swimmers throughout their career;
Participation in appropriate competitions;
and
Access to training facilities.
A particular issue for the ASA in relation to
the training of elite athletes is a lack of access to 50 metre
pools. In order to improve the current situation, Sport England
is:
working to an agreed strategy with
the ASA;
developing a network of identified
High Performance Centres and support facilities, in association
with the ASA, for all disciplines of swimming as part of the English
Institute of Sport;
supporting the subsistence and development
programmes for elite swimmers through the World Class Start, Potential
and Performance programmes (in conjunction with UK Sport); and
agreed in principle to fund a limited
number of 50 metre pools across major cities in England, providing
for both elite and community use.
27 November 2001
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