Appendix 1 Proposed Installation of Multi‐Use Games Area (MUGA) at Gotham Primary School Combined Design & Access Statement Supporting Statement: Gotham Primary School, Kegworth Road, Gotham, Nottingham, NG11 0JS, propose to install a small MUGA onto the school field to increase the amount of all weather playing surface available at the school to be used as a designated area for sports lessons and to relief the pressure of over‐crowding on the playgrounds, especially during periods of wet weather when the children are unable to use the school field. The proposed MUGA development has been requested by Mrs Sue Lymn‐Brewin, the Head teacher at Gotham Primary School, as she would like to address the issue of the limited amount of all weather play space available with in the school, which leads to over‐crowding in the playgrounds, especially when the children wish to play football. These existing problems will be further exasperated as the number of children within the school increases due to proposed housing developments. The proposed MUGA will also help alleviate the number of accidents occurring in the playground as there will be a designated area for the children to play football, whilst the playgrounds are left free for other forms of play without the risk of being knocked over or hit by balls. The MUGA will be over‐marked for both football and netball and will be used as a designated area for sports lessons and after school football and netball. The MUGA will also be used for the children to learn and practice other sports such as hockey when the field is inaccessible. At present the school has three small playground areas, for keystage 1 and for keystage 2, to use for both breaks and PE lessons, which are too small for the volume of children using them. The playground’s therefore become very congested, which doesn’t allow the children to fully engage in play as they should. Accidents also regularly occur due to the over‐
crowding of the playground and children trying to play football amongst the other children. Although the school has a large field for the children to use, this is inaccessible for large periods of the year due to the unpredictable British weather, which puts further pressure on the playgrounds for both play and sports lessons. Although the proposed MUGA will not be of regulation size for the range of sports it will be used for, it would still provide a valuable area for the children to practice and develop their skills for a range of sports, in a safe fenced off environment with none of the added obstacles found in playgrounds. The proposed development site doesn’t fall within any biological or geological conservation areas. No trees on site have any tree preservation orders and nor will any be removed as part of this project. The proposed MUGA will be installed at the Northern end of the school field. There are a few small trees located along the fence‐line and a selection of trim trail equipment and synthetic grass adjacent to the proposed MUGA. The MUGA will be located at such a distance from any trees so as not to cause any root compaction. The proposed MUGA will be for the school use only and will not be hired out to the public. As already detailed, it will be used predominantly for football and netball during sports lessons, break times and after school clubs. The MUGA will also be used for practicing and developing skills in a range of other sports, for example, hockey & cricket as well as general PE. The MUGA will not be the recommended size for any of the above mentioned sports however; it will provide a valuable area for the children to build up the relevant skill sets for each sport, which can then be transferred to the full sized game. It is proposed to locate the MUGA in the chosen area – see appendix 2 – site location plan – as the MUGA will not interfere with the grass football pitch, although this is only marked out a couple of times per year and usually just has the set of goals left up for the children to use. This area of the field isn’t used for any sports lessons. Due to the size of the field it isn’t feasible to rotate the football pitch, thus the proposed MUGA site will not have any implications on the orientation or location of the grass football pitch. Access Statement: It is proposed to undertake the completion of the development works over the summer holidays 2015 so as to keep any disruptions to the school to a minimum and to reduce any risks associated with the project, however if planning is not granted in time these works will extend in to the Autumn School term. If works do continue into the autumn school term then the work area will be fenced off with Herris Fencing top allow work to progress whilst safe guarding the children. Access to the site will be obtained, via the small lay‐by, off Kegworth Road, located to the North of the site. There are no entrance gates to the school field, so access will be obtained by removing a single post and two weldmesh panels from the perimeter fence. The site will be kept secure by installing 2 – 3 Herris fence panels over the gap and securing to the existing perimeter fence. Vehicles will then travel a short distance over the school field to the work area, following designated traffic routes ‐ See appendix 6 – Site Access Plan. It is proposed to have materials delivered and tipped into the small lay‐by area, so that they are kept off the road and don’t cause any interference with traffic. Materials will then be transported across the site by use of mini‐dumpers, once again following designated routes. All works will be completed by competent, fully accredited NCC approved contractors. Design Statement: It is proposed to install a small 10m x 15m Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), to the Northern end of the school field – See appendix 2 & 3 – Site Location Plan & Aerial Photo. The MUGA is proposed to run approximately parallel to the school playground and grass football pitch, and oriented with the goals running from North to South. There are several small trees located along the Northern boundary fence‐line, as well as a small trim trail with synthetic grass. It is proposed to locate the MUGA 6m from the Northern boundary fence‐line and 3m from the nearest tree, so as not to impede on the root protection zones. The MUGA will be located 2m away from the existing large sail shade, so that it will not interfere on the grounds maintenance and will also be 4m from the existing grass pitch, so as to accommodate grounds maintenance and allow for a safe run‐off zone around the grass football pitch. See appendix 4 – Site Development Plan. The MUGA will be constructed from pre‐cast concrete edging, with a 150mm thick MOT Type 1 stone base, 70mm tarmac surface course and steel Sportogril fencing system (see appendix 7). The area will be excavated by 110mmm, with the excavated material stock piled next to the MUGA development area. This will result in the MUGA base being installed half into the ground and half out, thus saving on the disposal of the soil. The excavated area will then be edged with pre‐cast concrete edging, to form a 15m long x 10m wide MUGA base, with 2.5m wide x 1m deep recessed goal at each end. The maximum length of the MUGA from goal to goal will therefore be 17m long. The excavated area will then be lined with a geo‐textile membrane to prevent weed growth. Once the area has been lined with a geo‐textile membrane, MOT Type 1 stone will be imported from the lay‐by tipping area at the Northern end of the site, spread and levelled to form a 150mm thick, compacted stone base. The stone base will then be topped with a 70mm compacted layer of porous tarmac, comprising of a 50mm compacted layer of 20mm aggregate tarmac base course and 20mm compacted layer of 6mm – 10mm aggregate porous tarmac surface course. The MUGA base will be laid with a minimal gradient to allow natural run off of water to the surrounding field. It is proposed to install a steel, 1.2m high sportogril fence around the MUGA, with recessed panel to form a chicane entrance, plus a 1m deep x 2.5m wide recessed goal at each end, complete with crossbar. The Sportogril fencing is constructed from 25mm x 3mm thick, horizontal flat bars with 5mm diameter vertical bars. The lower panels of the Sportogril fencing system have an aperture of 125mm x 50mm up to 930mm high, to provide maximum rebound for a variety of sports. The upper panels have an aperture of 124mm x 100mm. The panels are installed onto ‘H’ section steel posts. It is proposed to use the Sportogril fencing system as it is a heavy duty fencing system that will be stronger, longer lasting and vibrate less, thus producing less noise than a basic weldmesh fencing system. The fencing will be finished with a green powder coating, RAL 6005. The MUGA will be accessed via a 1m wide x 5m long tarmac path that will run from the school playground to the chicane entrance. This will be constructed using pre‐cast concrete edging, with a 100mm thick compacted MOT Type 1 stone base and 70mm porous tarmac surface course, consisting of 50mm compacted layer of 20mm aggregate tarmac base course and 20mm compacted layer of 6mm – 10mm aggregate tarmac surface course. On completion of the MUGA construction the retained soil will be used to grade around the edges of the MUGA, to produce a gentle slope all around the MUGA, thus removing any trip hazards. The graded soil will then be seeded with grass to finish the project to completion. On completion of the MUGA the perimeter weldmesh fencing will be reinstated to make the site fully secure.