Stoke-on-trent sport and physical activity strategy 2009-2016

also the subject of a parallel project which will be used to guide the detailedcriteria for the retention of school pools as part of the BSF programme.Facilities Planning Model assessment52. The Facilities Planning Model has been used in a number of stages; an initialreview to highlight the key issues, and different scenario tests where pools weretheoretically ‘opened’ and ‘closed’ to assess the potential impact. The keyfindings are summarised below.• Fewer people swim in <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent than compared to the national averagefor swimming, and <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent also has the lowest level of participationcompared to its benchmark authorities;• The total amount of water space available in pools across <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent ishigher than the national average, and more than enough to cater for itscommunity needs (even if the impact of Waterworld is largely excluded);• The relatively poor quality of the existing stock of pools (and their associatedchanging facilities) is the greatest issue;• Almost everyone with access to a car can reach a pool within 20 minutes.86% of people in <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent can reach a pool within 20 minutes walk,however there are some gaps in the network;• If no change is made to the participation rates for swimming in <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent, the overall demand for swimming would decrease as the populationages;• If participation rates in swimming are increased substantially in the future,there will still be sufficient water space for everyone who wanted to swim ifthe amount of water space falls into line with the proposals in this Strategy;• There is no justification for additional water space, so if new pools areproposed, these should be as replacements;• <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent currently has a mix of different types of pool, larger andsmaller, commercial sector and public sector, tanks and leisure pools;• The area with the most acute problems is south <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent where thereare a number of ageing small school pools with limited attraction andavailability to the community.Nortoft Partnerships Ltd <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent Page | 112Sport & Physical Activity Strategy 2009-2016October 2009