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Playing Pitch Calculator

About the Playing Pitch Calculator

The Playing Pitch Calculator (PPC) helps local authorities estimate the demand that may be generated for the use of playing pitches by a new population.

It’s designed to assist those developing and implementing a playing pitch strategy by giving a consistent starting point to help estimate the demand from a new population. This can then be refined locally as appropriate. 

Access to the PPC is currently restricted to local authorities with an up-to-date assessment of the need for playing pitches in their area, or those in the process of developing or updating such work. This is primarily because, unlike the Sports Facility Calculator, the Playing Pitch Calculator requires certain data to be entered from their local assessment of need to generate results.

Access can be made available to others (e.g. planning and leisure consultancies) where they are supporting a local authority in developing a local assessment of need for pitches and related work.

To request access to the Playing Pitch Calculator, please contact us by email.

Woman dribbling during football game outdoors

Frequently asked questions

What can the calculator be used for? 

The PPC can be used to inform the development and/or update of a playing pitch strategy by helping to estimate the demand from:

  • Overall population growth in an area to feed into the assessment of future demand
  • The population of individual development proposals (e.g. an urban extension) to feed into any scenario testing at the strategy development stage.

It can also be used to aid the implementation of a playing pitch strategy by informing discussion on the demand that may be created by a proposed residential development (at the pre-application and planning application stages).

  • What shouldn’t the calculator be used for?

    We recommend that the calculator shouldn’t be used to do either of the following:

    1. Estimating the demand generated by the total population of an area (e.g. the current or future total population of a local authority area)

    The PPC should only be used to help estimate the demand that may be generated from a new ‘additional’ population.

    For example, if the total population of an area is currently 100,000 and is projected to increase to 110,000 over the period a playing pitch strategy is looking at, the PPC should only be used to help estimate the demand that may be generated from the additional population of 10,000.

    The demand from the existing 100,000 population and the extent to which this is met should be assessed as part of the assessment work which feeds into a playing pitch strategy. This can then be put alongside the demand that may be generated from the additional 10,000 population when informing the development of a playing pitch strategy and action plan.

    2. Informing how the demand generated from an individual development should be met where a robust and up-to-date playing pitch strategy is not in place

    The calculator requires information from a robust and up-to-date playing pitch strategy.

    Furthermore, the calculator only provides an estimate of the likely demand for the use of playing pitches. It does not suggest how the demand should be met or the level and nature of provision that should be provided.

    The results should be looked at alongside a robust and up-to-date playing pitch strategy to determine the most appropriate way of meeting any estimated demand.

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