Memorandum by the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) (PGS 49)
PLANNING-GAIN SUPPLEMENT INQUIRY—FURTHER
INFORMATION ON SPORT AND LEISURE
When I gave evidence to your inquiry on the
Planning-gain Supplement on 18 June, 1 said that I would write
to you about whether leisure and sports facilities should be included
in regional and local development plans and also about whether
it would be appropriate to apply Sport England's methodology to
planning decisions. This was in response to a question from Lyn
Brown (nos. 312 and 313)
Having further considered the question, I believe
that our national planning guidance is clear that the provision
of sports and recreation facilities should be properly addressed
through the development plan system. I would expect the matter
of proper provision of facilities to be addressed in both regional
spatial strategies (RSS) and local development frameworks (LDFs).
It is a key principle of RSS that, as set out
in our Planning Policy Statement 11, they should both shape and
be shaped by other regional strategies such as those for culture
and sport. The regional plans for sport, prepared for each region
by Sport England will inform the emerging RSS to ensure it contains
an appropriate framework for provision of sport and recreation
facilities in the region.
Our guidance on Planning for Open Space, Sport
and Recreation (PPGI 7), requires planning authorities to set
locally derived standards for the provision of open space, sports
and recreation. These standards should be based upon robust assessments
of the existing and future needs of their communities.
The companion guide to PPG17 advises authorities
on how to undertake this work. It refers to Sport England's facilities
planning model, which has subsequently become the "sports
facility calculator". Planning authorities can use this as
part of their work to assess the demand for particular sports
facilities and to set standards of provision for particular facilities.
These standards can then be applied in practice to ensure that
new developments contain the level and type of sports and recreational
facilities that communities require, or that they make suitable
contributions towards them.
I hope that this letter helps in clarifying
the important role of the planning system in providing an appropriate
framework to meet new communities' sport and recreation needs.
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