Following the work we detail below, we were asked back (always the biggest compliment you can pay a consultant) by Stafford Borough Council to help them build on the success of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We identified the need for a specialist training centre for disability sport in the county and region. Working alongside specialist leisure architects B3 we developed a scheme for an indoor athletic training “tube” which can also provide facilities for archery, boccia, cricket and netball.
We worked with the council’s leisure team to develop a market case for the proposal, a notional programme and a detailed 5 year business plan. All of these were then used as the basis of a bid to Sport England’s “Iconic Facilities” fund which is intended to ensure a network of top quality facilities as part of the 2012 legacy.
By the nature of the work we do, not every project comes to fruition. Some feasibility studies show that the idea is not feasible; some funding bids are unsucessful; other projects don’t get the necessary planning permission. So it’s gratifying when assignments we’ve been involved in result in new facilities on the ground.
This is the case at Rowley Park in Stafford, where a new 3G synthetic turf pitch has just been finished. Rowley Park is the most popular outdoor sports venue in the borough of Stafford. It is strategically important for a number of sports including atheletics and football. We were appointed by Stafford Brough Council to draft a Football Development Plan to underpin their application for a major grant from the Football Foundation. This application was succesful with the council being awarded £337,000.
The photo shows the new pitch shortly before opening day.
