Leisure, recreation and culture

Tourism Hospitality and Visitor Economy Study

A review of Arun’s visitor economy has been undertaken with the objective of providing an understanding of tourism infrastructure provision across the Arun district planning area to support emerging planning policy in the Local Plan Update. Whilst this study has been commissioned for planning purposes, its outputs are far-reaching and need to be shared with a wider audience in order to maximise the up-take of the opportunities identified.

This study is to be presented to the Planning Policy Committee on the 7 June for endorsement as part of the evidence base of the Local Plan Update. The committee report also includes a number of other recommendations.

We will update this page with a copy of the study soon.

Open Space, Playing Pitches and Built Facilities SPD (January 2020)

The Open Space, Playing Pitches and Built Facilities SPD and a combination of calculators mentioned within it were adopted by the Council in January 2020. The document and associated documents can be found on the Supplementary Planning Documents page.

Open Space, Sport and Recreation Study

The Open Space, Sport and Recreation Study [pdf] 9MB (March 2009) was produced by PMP on behalf of Arun District Council. As part of the Study an assessment of open space across the District was carried out in line with Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17): Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation. PPG17 identifies nine types of open space parks and gardens; natural and semi natural open space; amenity green space; outdoor sports facilities; provision for children and teenagers; allotments and community gardens; the beach/coastal areas; green corridors; churchyards and cemeteries and civic spaces. All of the groups of open space were assessed in the study. The Study includes recommendations for the setting of standards for the future delivery of open space and recreational facilities in the District.

Playing Pitch Strategy

The Playing Pitch Strategy (January 2009), was produced by Consultants PMP on behalf of the Council, in conjunction with the Open Space, Sport and Recreation study, shown above.

The Strategy provides further detail on the provision of the pitches in the District, including an assessment of demand and specific priorities for future provision. It has developed following the methodology outlined by Sports England in "Towards a Level Playing Field - a manual for the production of playing pitch strategies".

The key objectives of this playing pitch strategy are to:

Analyse the current level of pitch provision, including the geographical spread and quality of pitches
Assist the Council in meeting the requirements for playing pitches
Identify the demand for pitches in Arun
Complete the playing pitch methodology
Identify how facilities for pitch sports can be improved to meet the needs of residents
Provide strategic options and recommendations
Provide information to help the decision making process and determine future development proposals including the production of specific local standards regarding pitch provision. These standards are integrated within the local standards developed for the Arun District Council Open Space, Sport and Recreation.

Arun Open Space and Sports Assessment

Prior to the Open Space, Sport and Recreation Study (March 2009) a study of open space and sports facilities was undertaken by Atkins (2006). Volume 2 of the report led to an assessment of Sport and Recreation Facilities. Open Space Assessment Chapter 7 [pdf] 1MB included an assessment of indoor sports facilities. For development management purposes this remains in use; the remaining study has been superseded by the PMP study above.