The turn of the year saw a number of further planning successes for SPC....
West Kirby Grammar School achieved permission for a new 4-court sports hall, which will herald the delivery of a £2m state of the art facility meeting all technical guidelines and delivering a much needed indoor sports facility for the school, clubs and NGBs on the Wirral. SPC made the case for the development, setting out a planning policy compliant approach under Sport England exception policy E5.
Proposals for residential development of Gatley Golf Course were successful after Appeal in January 2025. SPC undertook the Sports Needs Assessment for Golf (SNA). The SNA made the case under NPPF 104 and the Appeal Inspector concluded, ‘that the loss of the golf course would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the NPPF.’ The decision will see significant investment into sport, golf and open space provision across the area.
Bruntwood were supported by SPC with a retrospective planning application to replace 2 tennis courts with 3 Padel Courts on their Alderley Park site. The SNA prepared by SPC made the case that the loss of the tennis courts was justified, and that the benefits provided by the padel courts far outweighed the loss of the tennis courts. The SNA was supported by the Council and Sport England and Padel is now flourishing on-site, providing significant impact and benefits for sport and physical activity.
Finally the planning committee at Vale of the White Horse Council recently granted planning permission for a local development on a former bowls club site. The SNA prepared by SPC, in-line with NPPF para 104 and local planning policy, successfully made the case that the bowls club was surplus to requirements.
The Council commented:
‘A Bowls Needs Assessment has been provided which evaluates the adequacy of existing facilities for bowls across the Vale of White Horse and within the catchment area of the site. This concluded that the bowling green in East Hendred is surplus to requirements in terms of leisure provision locally with there being sufficient capacity available within other clubs to meet current and future demand.’
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