Knight, Kavanagh & Page (KKP) is currently delivering a detailed Leisure Stock Review for Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council; the new authority created by joining the former Ellesmere Port and Neston, Chester City and Vale Royal districts. Responding to the Council's brief, KKP will

"Identify the strategic needs for leisure facilities in Cheshire West and Chester in order to identify what replacement, refurbished and new facilities are required to meet changing demands over the next 25 years."

Next month, we wave off Tim Roberts as he embarks on his latest charity endeavour. In July 2010, Tim; KKP's lead field researcher is travelling with a team of (self-funding) volunteers to teach Tag Rugby to children at schools in Zambia.

He and his colleagues will also be staging an end of tour tournament and will leave a legacy of trained coaches and kit. To see the joy that his previous tours to developing countries have generated visit the Tag Rugby Development Trust's website at: www.trdt.co.uk  

Following its work on the District's PPG17 assessment of local needs for open space, sport and recreational facilities across Torridge, KKP has been appointed to produce a cultural strategy and an options appraisal for Torridge District Council's cultural and leisure stock.

The Council owns several leisure facilities across Torridge which are presently run under an agreement between the Council and Parkwood Leisure.

The London Borough of Enfield has appointed specialist sports research consultants, Knight, Kavanagh & Page (KKP) to gain a greater understanding of its leisure and culture provision to evaluate whether it meets the needs of residents.

Via a combination of desk and primary research, data analysis and GIS mapping supported by strategic advice and support, the study will incorporate:

KKP is to identify and map community sports clubs which have higher than 50% BME membership (participants and volunteers).This study will help Sporting Equals, the national agency, charged with responsibility to promote ethnic diversity across sport & physical activity, to outline a State of the Sector report. It will detail demographics and findings for each region based on the information collected and will be used to underpin much of its future work.

Data will be captured via surveys of clubs, leaning on our network of contacts within NGBs and CSPs.

Sport is vital to the economy of the Northwest. As a business sector, it employs nearly 100,000 people and generates a turnover of £6.5 billion. The region has an excellent sporting infrastructure, a strong network of professional sport clubs and a stunning environment for outdoor adventure.

A new framework for the development of the sport business sector over the next ten years was launched last week by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Since publication of Sport England's ‘Towards a Level Playing Field' (TALP) at the start of the decade, KKP has delivered over 50 playing pitch assessments and strategies across England. This has been further boosted in recent weeks as KKP secures three new commissions to deliver playing pitch strategies for local authorities covering the length of the Country.

Sport is a driver for a diverse range of businesses; from legal services to construction, media coverage to clothing and nutrition to Information Technology.

Over recent years, KKP has delivered a range of research studies to evaluate the impact of the sports sector on the wider economy, developing strategies to guide further improvements in this area at both a regional and local level.

Back in 2004, KKP delivered one of the earliest PPG17 compliant assessments of open space, sport and recreation provision for Three Rivers District Council to support its local development framework.

KKP undertook a comprehensive audit of all provision in the District and the site visits identified the generally high quality of open spaces in the area. Detailed consultation with local stakeholders and GIS mapping of all sites revealed a number of deficiencies in provision.

KKP has been commissioned to deliver another interesting research assignment, working with the Department of Health (South East) to review providers of, and initiatives designed to increase, physical activity - targeted at improving quality and quantity of life for individuals and communities.

This project, in which the focus is on everyday activity and active recreation rather than purely on sport, is an excellent fit with the Company research portfolio. KKP will be delivering: