Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk on the proposed final version of the City of London Corporation’s (City Corporation) Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2019-2023. The Town Clerk explained that the report was received by the Committee to allow Members the chance to make comments on the Strategy which could be incorporated before it is considered by the Policy and Resources Committee in July.

It was commented by a Member that, while he was supportive of the strategy, it did not properly deal with the issue of student’s physical education particularly with relation to academies and schools outside of the Square Mile whose access to facilities was in certain contexts deeply lacking. Further to this point the Member suggested that a success measure be added to the Strategy for students outside of the Square Mile. A Member stated that they agreed with this point and added that in their role as a governor at a school in Croydon similar issues had been apparent. In addition to these points the Member commented that ‘pupils’ was not an appropriate term and suggested that ‘students’ be used within the Sports Strategy instead. 

A Member noted that the Sports Strategy included a number of aspirations which could well be unachievable given the cost implications and the financial context of the City of London Corporation. Commenting on this the Deputy Chairman noted that a number of organisations had withdrawn from bids to hold major sporting events due to the high costs.

A Member observed that the Sports Strategy had a ‘top-down’ approach and highlighted the lack of engagement with the local community. Further to this point a Member raised that the Strategy placed importance on international status rather than the wellbeing of the local population. In addition, it was commented that the Strategy did not include details of the important role that Open Spaces played in relation to sport. The Deputy Chairman agreed and commented that the strategy needed to reference the twenty-one million visits accessing the City of London Corporation’s open spaces annually. Members agreed that, as there were considerable concerns regarding the Sports Strategy, the Committee would note and not endorse it. 

RESOLVED-That the report be noted.