Major changes likely in sports blueprint

Major changes likely in sports blueprint

25 January 2017

MAJOR changes to the way public sports facilities are provided have been unveiled by Newry, Mourne and Down Council.

A 10-year strategy is proposing a move away from small facilities that cater for just one sport, towards large sports hubs catering for several sports on the one site.

Each of the council’s seven district electoral areas (DEA) will have a sports hub which will be centrally located and provide facilities for several sports along with support services for advanced training and for elite athletes. The hubs will work as satellites from the Sports Institute NI, the province’s high performance centre.

The hub proposal is the most radical in the 140-page strategy which is the result of extensive consultation throughout the district and which is closely aligned with Sport NI’s strategy for the development of sport in the province.

Hubs will be developed in partnerships between clubs, the council and Sport NI. For a hub to qualify for approval and funding it will need to involve a partnership of at least three groups/clubs and cater for at least four different sporting codes.

As a result of the publication of Sport NI’s strategy and the recent council consultation, work has already begun on the creation of several partnerships with a view to developing hubs. A total of 14 partnerships are already being worked up across the district, and it is likely more will be proposed once the council’s strategy is published.

Examples of sports hub partnerships currently being considered is one in Downpatrick which would be based at the proposed site of Down High School’s new complex which is likely to be constructed behind the old council offices on the Strangford Road.

In Rowallane two hub partnerships are being worked up — one at the existing Assumption Grammar School site and the other in Saintfield.

In Slieve Croob, Ballynahinch Rugby Club has been identified as the possible site for a sports hub while in the Mournes DEA four potential hubs are in the early stages of consideration — two in Kilkeel and two in Newcastle.

It will eventually be up to the council and Sport NI to decide which partnership proposals are the best and to provide funding for their development.

Sport NI is waiting for all of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils to publish their sports strategies before making funding available so the development of the sports hubs in Newry, Mourne and Down will be a long term project. However, it is hoped the first of the seven local hubs could be open by 2019.2020.

Michael Lipsett, the council Director of Active and Health Communities, said the hubs may not be located on council-owned property.

“They could be in council-owned facilities or in facilities owned by other bodies, such as schools, but it is important they are in the right place catering for the maximum number of people,” he said.

“Some proposals are already underway and some groups have agreed partnerships already in place while other partnership proposals are slightly behind that.”

The wide-ranging strategy also proposes significant upgrades to sports pitches, including providing new grounds and upgrading others. There is also a plan to refurbish existing pavilions and changing rooms or providing new facilities.

The strategy recognises there is a deficiency in the sports facilities available in the Newcastle area and recommends a feasibility study is completed into options for the outdated Newcastle Centre and sports facilities in the town.

However, the likelihood of a swimming pool being developed is unlikely to be considered in the near future. The study says that demographically the development of new leisure centres in Downpatrick and Newry, along with the existing leisure centre in Kilkeel, means the district has enough swimming pools.

But the strategy says another swimming pool will eventually be needed although it could be the early 2030s before this becomes a reality.