Planning for Sport and Active Recreation Facilities ... - Brent Council

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Sports Halls Run 2 – projected population and provision in 2016
By 2016 it is anticipated that an additional four publicly accessible sports hall sites should be available across Brent,
either through new build or the reopening of facilities that are currently closed. These are at Copland School, Wembley
Academy, Chalk Hill Youth Centre and Moberly Education Centre.
Assuming the existing sports halls remain open, the projected increase in sports hall capacity by 2016 would be an
increase of 48.2% with more than 12,900 visits compared to only 8,700 visits in 2007. Over the same time frame, the
projected demand increase is an additional 3.7% due to the anticipated population increase.
There were an additional 4 sports halls added to the data for 2016 that were over 459 m2 in size, meaning that 66
badminton courts were included in total for run 2.
By 2016 there is a decrease in the percent of people that have no access to a sports hall within the borough by 5%
compared to 2007. However, there is still 14% of the borough that have no access within a 20 minute walk to a sports
hall. However, the FPM confirms that with the location of the proposed facilities and the increase in capacity, will do
very little to eradicate the unmet demand that the previous run identified. This may be down to the poor positioning
of the new facilities in areas already provided for in terms of sports hall space. This, along with an increase in demand,
means that an additional 2 to 3 badminton courts are needed borough-wide by 2016, making it 21 badminton courts
needed in total by 2016. However, it is unrealistic to expect all the unmet demand to be met by provision inside Brent.
Work will need to be done with neighbouring boroughs to increase their supply of community accessible sports halls.
It will also be unrealistic to provide all 21 badminton courts with new sports hall provision, meaning that it is vital
that any sports halls in areas of unmet demand are refurbished to create additional capacity and any sports halls that
don’t have community access are opened up to the general public. It is also vital that any new sports halls allow for
community access.
Health and Fitness
Sport England defines health and fitness suites as those facilities providing fitness stations for both cardiovascular and
strength training, more commonly known as gyms, and excludes spaces for aerobics and dance activities. The number
of health and fitness centres in London has been growing, with London having the largest majority of health and
fitness memberships within the country.
Quantity
There are 20 health and fitness venues providing a total of 1258 health and fitness stations across the borough. Of
these, six are available on a pay and play basis, nine are for registered membership use only and five are for private use
only and are located on school sites.