April 2008
DON'T MISS...
- Looking over the neighbour's fence ... an Irish perspective on sports partnerships
- Improving sports facilities - assessing the success of recent projects and looking forward to new assignments
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Improvement, investment, innovation... |
Welcome to the April edition of KKP News, our regular e-zine to keep you up to date with the latest developments at KKP and across the industry.
The Government clearly wishes to be seen to be taking the bull by the horns when it comes to sport and recreation, especially in relation to children and young people... guiding Sport England down a "new" sport focused direction of travel, investing £225m in adventure play alongside the normal array of new and recycled initiatives in and around school sport.
Spin? New dawn? or, as it might be described in the Lion King just part of the ‘Circle of Life'?
While we are at it - a couple of other questions:
- Is it possible to remove the bulb from the light at the end of the tunnel?
- How many beans make five?
- How on earth are the same young people going to fit in 5 hours of sport and 5 hours of culture each week?
Controversial? Maybe but like me I am sure many of you have been there, seen it, done it, and still have the T-shirt to prove it!!
Hakuna Matata!
John
As always - the right to reply is welcomed. Email me at john.eady@kkp.co.uk.
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Taking the lid off... ... a world designed for the needs of children |
There's no mistaking the national commitment to creating and improving children's play facilities. Last year, over £200m was invested in local play spaces for children and young people through the Big Lottery Fund's Children's Play Programme.
This year, following the launch of a new Children's Plan, the Government has announced a £225m investment in the development of new adventure playgrounds and innovative play sites with challenging equipment and natural landscapes
KKP welcomes this recognised need for development and improvement to move away from the "two swings and a slide" mentality.
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Focus on... Get the lowdown on our latest projects |
KKP delivers Open Space Strategy for HyndburnFollowing a successful assessment, we were re-commissioned to produce Hyndburn's open space strategy. |
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Making skate parks workOur business plan for skateboarding in St Ives identified how skateboard provision could be safe, challenging and accessible. Our work was, vitally, successful in securing the buy in of both skaters and local residents. |
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Keep off the grass!!Have you got a robust, defensible playing pitch strategy? Is it up to date? Are you reaping the benefits or is it gathering dust on the shelf? |
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Improving, protecting and investing in sports facilitiesHow local authorities are now realising the benefits of our practical yet challenging PPG17 compliant assessments and strategies... |
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A point of view Looking over the neighbour's fence |
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Many thanks to Fiona Coyne, Participation Manager at the Irish Sports Council who kindly shares with us her views on the similarities and differences between county sports partnerships in England and across the water in Ireland. In 2000, I went on a fact finding mission to England on behalf of the Irish Sports Council to source information on best practice that would assist our new plans to develop Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) across Ireland. The concept was a new one in an Irish sporting context and it was necessary to get a feel for how similar type structures were operating elsewhere. My study visit was facilitated by John Eady of KKP and I was lucky to meet with representatives of four of the County Sports Partnerships to share ideas, projects and issues. Almost eight years on, the Irish Sports Council will complete the network of Local Sports Partnership in Ireland later this year. If you were to take a look across the water you would see some similarities but also some differences in how the structures have been established and are working. |
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In the news Keep up to date with the latest developments at KKP |
Inspiring young people to be more physically active, literate and motivatedIn-depth consultation is currently underway in Blackpool to develop the Borough's PE and School Sport Strategy. |
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Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport committed to facilities developmentKKP is charged with producing a challenging facilities strategy for Leicestershire and Rutland. |
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Is it feasible to develop city centre rowing provision for the students of Leeds?The University of Leeds appoints the experts to assess the feasibility of developing its own boathouse in the City. |
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Taking time out to improve our environmental footprintLast month, the National Trust took advantage of the extra day in February to improve its environmental footprint. KKP followed suit assessing the small changes we can make in everyday life to be more environmentally friendly. |
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| And finally... |