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

37. The importance of events is recognised by the City Council which has adedicated officer supporting events across the City.38. The City Council is developing its events calendar and for 2009 the wideranging events include the Cycle Tour of Britain, Triathlon at Trentham Estate,Football Action Spring Tournament, the West Midlands Street GamesFestival, the Staffordshire Youth Games, and the South <strong>Stoke</strong> Dance Festival.Facilities39. The facility section of this report identifies the aspirations of the key clubs andnational governing bodies of sport in relation to specialist sports provision.Some of these use/propose to use specially developed facilities such asgymnastics centres. Others will use ‘standard’ sports facilities such as hallswhich also serve the general community need.40. Where facilities are multi-purpose i.e. are regularly used by the community inaddition to being a hub facility or above for the sport, the site is likely torequire some specialist design features, such as improved lighting, interiorcolour, timing facilities for swimming, or specialist flooring. However, asimportant will be the programming and management of the facility to enablesufficient and appropriate access for club/squad training. A facility can onlybe a ‘performance hub’ or above if sufficient time is allocated to training, tomeet the needs of the governing body of the sport. A good example isFenton Manor, where the proposed pressures on sports hall and swimmingpool space from school and college/FE use may restrict its use for squadtraining.41. Ensuring that the City’s sports facilities are as effective as possible inproviding opportunities to promote participation is very important. Easy accessto a range of quality facilities is one of the fundamental building blocks inproviding the opportunity for getting people active and improving their health.For sport and physical activity, facilities extend beyond built facilities such asswimming pools and sports halls to include parks, open spaces, walking andcycling routes and allotments.Quality and management of facilities42. There are a number of factors that are integral to the successful delivery ofhigh quality sport and recreation. Quality extends beyond the physicalenvironment to also include the management, the range and appropriatenessof the programme(s) offered and the staff who deliver the service.43. There are various mechanisms to measure and benchmark service andmanagement quality. These range from formally recognised accreditationschemes to more informal measures like resident satisfaction surveys. WhilstNortoft Partnerships Ltd <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent Page | 47Sport & Physical Activity Strategy 2009 – 2016October 2009