ePetition - Indoor Beach Sports Centre

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ePetition details

Indoor Beach Sports Centre

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to actively support the development of a dedicated Indoor Beach Sports Centre in the City as part of its Sports Facilities Investment Plan.  

Brighton has a large and ever-growing beach sports participation base in Beach Volleyball, Beach Tennis, Beach Soccer and Footvolley, but to continue to service the continual increase in demand and deliver on the potential these modern sports are showing in terms of getting more people more active, more often, more facilities are needed, and specifically an indoor facility. 

Whilst the introduction of a new outdoor sand pad being proposed as part of the Kingsway to the Sea project is a very welcome addition to beach sports provision in the city we believe that a dedicated indoor beach sports facility with joining outdoor provision is critical to ensure that beach sports can deliver on the potential they have to re-ignite the sporting imagination of local residents and provide something different to the traditional leisure centre provision we have all come to expect, thus to ensure as many residents as possible can take part in activities that motivate them to keep active. 

With the emergence of other modern sports onto the world stage such as skateboarding, padel tennis and surfing, there is growing evidence that shows that to engage those not already participating in regular sport and exercise we need to offer something different to traditional sport and exercise opportunities. As residents and a group of passionate beach sports providers, we believe an indoor/outdoor beach sports facility which can offer the full range of beach sports, to all sectors of the community, at an affordable price throughout the year, whatever the weather will support the council aims in driving up local engagement levels in sport and physical activity across all age bands and all abilities. 

The Council’s Sports Facilities Investment Plan 2021 - 31 recommends the creation of three modern large hub destination sports facilities, one in the East, one in the North and one in the West of the City and we believe one of those hub facilities should be focused on beach sports opportunities, ensuring residents and visitors have access to outstanding beach sports provision all year round.

The plan recognises that the needs of the city and its residents are changing and existing facilities are ageing and no longer fully representative in the modern sporting context. We would like to therefore challenge the Council to ask themselves if we need another standard sports/leisure centre, offering the same activities as we have always offered or should we look beyond the "usual" and give people the opportunity to play the sports they already know and love but on a different surface, a surface that is easier on the joints, that has a feel-good factor about it and where the sports are generally easier to pick up from a technical perspective. All this in turn has the ability to drive greater participation and ultimately greater satisfaction from playing regardless of age or ability, leading to longer-term engagement. In addition, Brighton and Hove is a beach town. The dynamism and fun of beach sports sits well with the City’s personality and provides a focal point for locals and sports tourism.

Could we please ask the Council to give serious consideration to indoor beach sports provision as part of its deliverable against the Sports Facilities Investment Plan 2021 - 2031.

This ePetition ran from 07/09/2022 to 31/12/2022 and has now finished.

379 people signed this ePetition.

 


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