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Environment
and Community Committee
12 June 2018
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Investment
into sport field lighting at Pulman Park
File No.: CP2018/09866
Te take mō te pūrongo / Purpose of the report
1. To
approve the allocation of $200,000 from the Parks, Sport and Recreation
partnerships budget to the Pulman Park Trust for the installation of permanent
floodlights on two sports fields at Pulman Park.
Whakarāpopototanga matua / Executive summary
2. Pulman
Park is a sports park in the Papakura Local Board Area which has been developed
in partnership between council and the Pulman Park Trust. The Pulman Park Trust
operates the park and facilities.
3. The
park currently has floodlighting which provides lit training capacity on sports
fields, this capacity is primarily utilised by the Ardmore Marist Rugby Club.
4. The
2017 Sports Field Needs Assessment identified that the Local Board had lower
shortfalls of lit weekday training capacity than other southern local board
areas, however this analysis does not consider the quality or risk associated
with the lighting solution.
5. The
lighting capacity at Pulman Park is provided via portable floodlights which do
not meet the council service levels and could potentially pose a safety concern
as they are not placed in permanent foundations.
6. The
lights do not provide the required lux levels or throw of light over the
training resulting in training being undertaken in localised areas on the
fields causing damage and increasing repair costs
7. The
Pulman Park Trust put in an LTP submission requesting support the project to install
permanent floodlighting solutions at the park.
8. The
Local Board are to consider a grant of Locally-driven initiative (LDI) funding
toward the development of the project, this will be considered at a local board
meeting on 27 June.
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Ngā tūtohunga / Recommendation/s
That the Environment and
Community Committee:
a) approve
a partnership grant of $200,000 from the Parks, Sport and Recreation
partnership budget to the Pulman Park Trust as council’s contribution
towards the floodlighting of up to two sports fields at Pulman Park
b) request
staff to develop a funding agreement with appropriate requirements including
requirements to: construct floodlighting to Council specifications; ensure
community access to lit sports fields; and report annually on performance
against KPI’s
c) delegate
the approval of the terms and conditions within the Partnership Agreement to
the General Manager Parks, Sport and Recreation.
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Horopaki / Context
Pulman Park sport field lighting
9. Pulman
Park is located within the Papakura Local Board area.
10. Pulman Park
has been developed in partnership between the council and the Pulman Park
Trust. The land is leased by council to the trust; the trust manages and
maintains the park.
11. In
conjunction with council the Pulman Park Trust has developed fourteen high
quality full-sized sports fields, including eight sand-carpet fields.
Although they are managed by the trust, the fields provide a vital contribution
to the sport field capacity network.
12. The sports
fields at Pulman Park are supported with temporary floodlighting considered to
be below council specification and service levelsbecause of insufficient
lighting levels and inadequate foundations.
13. Through the
2018 LTP submission process the Pulman Park Trust Board requested funding to
support the development of higher quality sports field lighting at Pulman Park.
14. The
submission states that player retention is trending down in the Ardmore Marist
Rugby Club and feedback points to lack of fit for purpose well‐lit training space as
the lead indicator in membership and volunteer disengagement. They also state
that, it is becoming more difficult to retain coaches, motivate players and
their care givers as well as provide safe conditions for our members to train.
This is severely affecting the club’s sustainability.
Sports fields supply and demand
analysis
15. Auckland
Council has undertaken a sports fields supply and demand analysis in 2011, 2014
and 2017.
16. The study
recognises the role that lighting of sports fields plays in creating useable
hours for participation, especially for mid-week training in winter codes.
17. In 2011 and
2014 the study was called “Quantifying the Supply and Demand studies for
winter Sports fields in the Auckland Region”. These studies were
undertaken to reduce weather related closures to 90% of the available capacity
of the sports fields.
18. Council has
invested in the development and improvement of sports fields across the region
with the goal of improving the rate of weather related closures.
19. In 2015 the
funding model was changed to be growth based, funded by development
contributions. Population growth became the primary driver for sports field development,
as opposed to weather-related closures. The budget was made up of 75% growth
funding and 25% rates funding.
20. In 2017 the
studies where expanded to include summer codes to provide needs data for summer
sports to assist in the determination for the provision of outdoor sporting
facilities across the Auckland region.
Tātaritanga me ngā tohutohu / Analysis and advice
21. The Papakura
Local Board area is forecast to undergo significant population growth
(population growth based on figures from RIMU I11 v3 population projections) in
the next 10 years as is demonstrated by the chart below.
22. In 2017 the
Papakura Local Board area has a shortfall of lit training for rugby of 18 hour
per week shortfall this will increase to a 35 hours shortfall for rugby in
2028. Football needs are catered for and league has an oversupply as per table
below.
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Football Allocation
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Rugby Allocation
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League Allocation
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Papakura
LB
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W'End
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W'Day
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W'Day Lit
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W'End
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W'Day
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W'Day Lit
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W'End
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W'Day
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W'Day Lit
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2017
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30
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38
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8
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33
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58
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-18
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12
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23
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22.5
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2028
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20
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18
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0
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19
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29
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-35
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9
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16
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18
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23. Some of the
lit capacity demonstrated in the Papakura Local Board area, however is of a low
quality. The flood lighting at Pulman Park is substandard compared to Council
service levels and specification.
24. The lights do
not provide the required ‘lux levels’ or ‘throw over’
the training area. As a result, training is undertaken in localised areas on
the fields causing damage and increasing repair costs. The reduced lux also has
a safety concern for players on the field.
25. There is also
a potential safety risk with the lights being portable and not permanently
installed in the ground with certified foundations. Storm events can
cause damage to the current temporary foundations and they could topple when
being used for training.
Council
outdoor sporting provision levels – service standards
26. Council has a
floodlighting programme to provide approximately 18m poles with LED lighting
which provide 100lux across the field for training and 200lux for competition
games. This is the standard as requested by the 3 main winter regional sporting
organisations.
27. Flood lit
capacity needs are determined on the assumption that the current flood lighting
that is provided is at the required Council standard for training region wide
the Council does not have a lux condition rating on the existing flood lights
or the capacity of the lights. Due to condition and capacity issues there could
there could be disparity in lighting quality across the region.
28. Council
provides flood lighting for sports across the region from 11 year-old age
grades and up. This is required as it is becoming difficult for players,
parents and coaches to travel across the city to attend training within
daylight hours.
Council’s
funding model
29. Council
development contributions funds are collected only to meet the growth of the
city and can only be used for projects linked and justified by population
growth. The replacement or upgrade of assets on leased or private land cannot
be funded by the growth fund.
30. Council does
have renewal funds, but this can only be provided for Council assets where
depreciation has been accounted for.
31. Where council
intends to provide financial support for non-council assets which contribute to
the wider council network, the appropriate funding mechanism, is to use a
grant. Grants may be made, for example, from sport and recreation facility
investment funding or local board LDI’s.
Lighting
proposal
32. The lighting
of up to two of the existing fields at Pulman Park would remove the Ardmore
Marist Rugby Club shortfall, provide a safe environment and meet the Council
standards for night training. Although this is a Trust managed site the fields
provide a vital contribution to the sport field capacity network.
33. The proposal
from the Pulman Park Trust Board presents an opportunity for Auckland Council
to invest into the replacement of lights at the park with an increase in
service outcome for the users of this facility. Additionally, through the use
of a grant, council can leverage the independent nature of the trust board and
Ardmore Marist Rugby club to create a value for money outcome for council.
Ngā whakaaweawe ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te
poari ā-rohe /
Local impacts and local board views
34. The Local
Board commissioned a Papakura Local Board Sports Needs of sports field related
facilities. The Board wished to undertake a comprehensive needs assessment to
help inform future planning within the district, including the development of
and use of Bruce Pulman Park, Opaheke and Hingaia sports grounds.
35. The
assessment identified the upgrade of the lights at Bruce Pulman Park as a short
to medium term priority. The Local Board consider this an important priority
that has fallen out of the Papakura Sports and Recreation Needs Assessment
report and are considering committing upwards of $150,000 at their business
meeting on Wednesday, 27 June 2018.
Tauākī whakaaweawe Māori / Māori impact
statement
36. In the
Papakura Local Board area approximately 11.3% of Maori participate in Rugby,
which would be the primary code utilising lit sport field capacity. This
participation rate is over representative of the overall local board
participation rate in Rugby which is at 7.1%.
Ngā ritenga ā-pūtea / Financial implications
37. The Parks,
Sport and Recreation partnership budget line for FY18 has the required budget
available for Auckland Council to grant Pulman Park Trust $200,000.
38. The Local
Board will consider allocating upwards of $150,000 of LDI funding at the Local
Board meeting on 27 June 2018.
39. The Pulman
Park Trust and Ardmore Marist Rugby Club have already set aside some funding
for this project and committed to funding the balance required to successfully
complete this project.
Ngā raru tūpono / Risks
40. The total
value of the upgrade is estimated to be $400,000.
41. If council
does not support the higher quality lighting at Pulman Park there is a risk of
a health and safety related event associated with the current portable lighting
solutions.
42. A funding
agreement will be developed with Pulman Park Trust to mitigate risk around
approved council investment and to ensure that the floodlighting provides
capacity to the Auckland sport field network, and available/utilised for other
community access.
43. A minimum
frequency of annual reporting will be required to ensure this accountability.
Ngā koringa ā-muri / Next steps
44. Following the
funding decisions by this Committee, the Pulman Park Trust will be notified of
the outcome.
45. If the Committee
agree to a partnership grant, then funding agreements and key performance
indicators (KPI’s) will be developed between Council and the Trust.
Ngā
tāpirihanga / Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
Ngā kaihaina / Signatories
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Author
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Dave Stewart - Manager Sport & Recreation
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Authorisers
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Mace Ward - General Manager Parks, Sports and
Recreation
Koro Dickinson – Lead Officer
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