Playing Pitch Assessment and Strategy

Salford City Council is a major provider of sports pitches. This provision is complemented by facilities in the education, voluntary and private sectors. Current provision and access to facilities is uneven across the city, and the quality of pitches and ancillary facilities has a significant bearing on their level of use.

The population of Salford is expected to stabilise and grow over the next few years, which is likely to increase pressures for the development of land in and around urban areas and green spaces (including playing fields).

The city's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) and Salford Greenspace Strategy Supplementary Planning Document establish the planning policy framework. In order to gain a more detailed understanding of the supply (quantity and quality) and demand for playing pitches the city council appointed planning consultants Knight Kavanagh & Page (KKP) in 2007 to produce a Playing Pitch Assessment and Strategy for the city focusing on:

• Football pitches (senior, junior and mini)
• Rugby pitches (league and union)
• Cricket pitches
• Hockey pitches
• Tennis courts
• Bowling greens

Through in-depth community consultation and fieldwork assessment KKP have identified new local standards and recommended strategic opportunities for improvement, investment and protection of Salford's playing pitch facilities. The assessment and subsequent action plan and strategy are based on Sport England guidance (Towards a Level Playing Field).

Sport England have provided the following written endorsement:

"The report is a good example of a comprehensive assessment of playing fields in the authority and as such we wish to endorse the document"

Salford Playing Pitch Assessment has now been adopted as council policy and will be a material consideration for planning applications, particularly those that would lead to the loss of playing fields. The full version of Salford Playing Pitch Assessment is available to download below.

Who to contact

Name

Planning and Transport Futures

Address

Sustainable Regeneration
Salford City Council
Civic Centre
Chorley Road
Swinton
Salford
M27 5BY
Map to this location

Telephone

0161 793 3782

Email

plans.consultation@salford.gov.uk

This page was last updated on 9 September 2011