Wickham
Residents' Association: Mill Lane Sports Site Survey
SUMMARY
Wickham Residents Association (WRA) presents the results of a
consultative survey it conducted during the period September 22nd
to October 17th, 2021.
Objective of the survey: to establish the views of as many
residents of the village of Wickham as possible regarding the
development of a new sports and recreation site off Mill Lane.
In particular: 1) to gain a quantitative reaction to the approved
Wickham and Knowle Sports and Recreation Development Plan 2021/221
with respect to that site; and (2) to elicit residents' preferences
and priorities regarding facilities that they would like to see
made available on the site. (Note: reference sources used in this
document are to be found in Appendix 1).
Headline Results:
- A total of 653 responses were received, all from Wickham
post code addresses (Knowle residents were not included in the
survey)
- 91% of respondents oppose the use of the site for a Wessex
League football stadium
- The top four preferred choices for inclusion on the site
were: fitness trail; junior and local team football; multi-sports
pitch; bowls
- There was strong support for non-sports, environmentally
positive pursuits: these options were unsolicited
- There was strong correlation between responses of retired
and adult respondents
- Children under 12 preferred a wide range of varied activities
as well as their top choices of basketball and junior and local
team football
- There was too small a response rate from 12-18 year olds
to gain a realistically valid picture of the views of this age
group
With 653 responses received, the Association regards the survey
as a success.
The full statistical analysis and interpretation of the survey results
is contained in the following pages of this report. The leadership of
Wickham Parish Council (WPC) encouraged the Association's efforts and
hopefully the report will inform the Council and Winchester City Council
(WCC) as they develop plans for the site.
BACKGROUND
As part of the planning permission for the 125 Bewley homes to
be built on Winchester Road, Wickham, the developer was required
to give land on Mill Lane to WPC on a long lease for sport and
recreational use. The City Council's Local Plan had reported a
shortfall of sports facilities in the parish.
This sloping site to the east of Mill Lane is 3.5ha (8.6 acres)
and is currently agricultural land which will need levelling and
drainage. The April 2019 WPC Mill Lane Sports Facility Feasibility
Study2 stated that: "The site has the capacity for one adult
sized football pitch with necessary infrastructure including,
fencing, spectator stands, floodlights, changing rooms and parking
plus a floodlit all weather pitch maximum size to be determined.
The aspiration is to meet FA Ground Grading Category H"3
On 3rd September 2019 WPC Recreation Committee invited Wickham
Dynamos, Infinity FC, Whiteley Wanderers FC and Whiteley FC to
join a steering group to oversee development of the new facilities
off Mill Lane4. A panel (consisting of 2 WPC councillors, the
Parish Clerk and a representative each from Infinity FC and Wickham
Dynamos FC) was convened to select and appoint a consultant to
consult with local people, carry out a feasibility study of the
site and take the project through to completion. The panel recommended
Fieldform from the short-list of candidates. Their recommendation
was approved by the Recreation Committee on June 2nd, 20205.
In July 2021, at a series of public consultation meetings relating
to sports and recreation facilities for Wickham, WPC and 'Fieldform'
asked local people, "What is needed? What would you like
to see? How can we help more people to become more active?".
At these public consultation meetings one of the official display
boards stated: 'The planning conditions for the Winchester Road/Bewley
development require the provision of two adult football pitches,
changing rooms, access and parking'. It is evident that the s106
conditions for the site are not so specific and that the two football
pitches shown on illustrations of the site at the consultation
meetings were illustrative only. However, it became apparent at
these public meetings and subsequently that there was a working
assumption that Infinity FC would be the beneficiary of the Category
H football ground. This has been further researched and a summary
of findings is included at Appendix 2.
Inevitably, acting in the interests of its members, WRA became
concerned that, were the football stadium to category H to go
ahead, it might be against the wishes of residents of Wickham.
WRA was further concerned that residents were insufficiently aware
of the nature of the possible developments and the potential consequences.
In September 2021, at a meeting of WRA to discuss WPC's Sports and Recreation
Development Plan as regards Mill Lane, the chairman of WPC, Cllr Alistair
Hayes and the chair of the WPC Recreation Committee, Cllr Lorrae Hayes
encouraged the support of WRA significantly to build a large body of opinions
from residents regarding the use of the site. The need, they said,
was not just to collect meaningful numbers of opinions regarding the
Wessex League stadium aspiration plan but to inform WPC what residents
do want. Further, they wished to obtain opinions from aswide an age
range aspossible. WRA accepted the challenge.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
A steering group of WRA members was formed to carry out the work
(see Appendix 3).
a. Survey form
The steering group first met on September 1st, 2021.
A survey form was agreed (see Appendix 4).
The survey form gave a clear description of what a Wessex League
category H stadium entails and the potential impacts that such
a facility might have on the village and its people. Residents
were asked to decide, yes or no, whether they would support such
a development on the Mill Lane site. They were then asked to choose
their top three choices from a "given-list" of nine
sports facilities that reasonably might be included on the site.
WPC had stated in public meetings that they needed answers to
this question. Respondents were also asked to add, in free text,
any other option that they wished to see that was not on the given-list.
Processes for data collection and analysis were agreed. It was
agreed to deliver a paper copy of the survey to every household
in Wickham (defined by post code and postal address) and also
to host it online. Delivery of the paper copies was by members
of WRA and commenced on September 22nd and specified a closing
date for responses of October 17th. The closing date was chosen
in order to make sure results would be available for upcoming
meetings of WPC. Ten days after September 22nd, a further hard
copy was delivered to addresses from which, to that date, no response
had been received.
To collect hard copy responses, a collection location was needed
and WRA is very grateful to the directors and staff at Axis Architects
in Station Road for providing this service.
Contacts leading other village groups such as Wickham Society
and Wickham History Society were also asked to encourage their
members to respond. Wickham Community Facebook page was used to
raise awareness that the survey was taking place and how to access
it.
To ensure a cross section of ages, respondents were asked to specify
'under 12, 12-18, adult, retired'.
In order to access opinions of under 12's, a link with Wickham
Primary School was established and with the cooperation of the
Head Teacher and his staff, pupils in three of the older classes
discussed and used the survey form to register their opinions.
To comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy
requirements, pupils' recorded their address as "Wickham
Primary School," and it is therefore possible that some respondents
live within the primary school catchment area rather than necessarily
in Wickham.
Attempts were made, through contact with Swanmore College, to
obtain responses only from Wickham resident students but the College
was unable to provide this data. Knowle Residents Association
(KRA) was asked if it wanted to be included in the survey, but
the invitation was declined: it is of interest to note that Infinity
plays at Knowle and residents have successfully resisted the Club's
hopes of building an enclosed football ground there.
The research, then, concentrated solely on the views of Wickham
residents. It is felt that this was appropriate because they would
be most directly affected by the use of the Mill Lane site.
b. Data collection and analysis
Data from the online responses was collected and analysed automatically.
It was then transferred into a master spreadsheet into which the
data from hard copy responses was entered manually. The data once
entered was subject to automatic collection into tables and graphs
to show responses against age groups.
Any response from a non-PO17 post code was rejected unless the
address was definitely a correct Wickham address. A total of 10
responses were rejected.
The data was carefully examined to prevent duplication of responses
that might distort the overall results: only 8 possible duplicates
(i.e. the same person responding twice) were identified, too small
a number to affect the outcomes and on balance it was considered
that there was a high probability that these were in fact bona
fide.
Responses from both the paper and online survey were merged. Totals,
choices and agegroup data were linked so that the master data
set automatically produced tables and graphs for the presentation
of results.
Analysis of the free text "other" options could not be done
via automatic, programmed means and had to be done manually. There were
so many ways of expressing the same or similar things in free text that
these other suggestions had to be distributed into categories by subjective
judgement. However, the use of words to describe the options were usually
sufficiently clear to enable easy categorisation and amalgamation. It
was decided to present this information in table form only because the
numberof categories was high (41 no less!).
SURVEY RESULTS
Response rates
1. Relative to total population
The population of Wickham (including Knowle) in the 2011 census was 4299(6)
and an estimate calculated from the census data of the population of Wickham
including Knowle in 2019 was 4728(7). It has not been possible
to access data to determine the exact distribution of population between
Wickham and Knowle. The Parish Survey(8) conducted on behalf
of the Parish Council in 2019 using data from the Office of National Statistics
estimated that 65% of the parish population was in Wickham and 35% in
Knowle. That delivers a Wickham-only population of 3073.
Applying that population estimate to the results, the survey achieved
a response rate of 21%. If allowance is made for those residents
not able to respond by virtue of age (too young, too old, lacking
capacity) then a reasonable estimate might be close to 25% of
the total eligible and capable population of the village.
2. By channel
Residents were able to respond to the survey online or via hard
copy. The split of response channel between online and hard copy
is shown in Figure 1.
The balance of channel choices demonstrates that although online
is the preferred option of the majority there is still a hard core
of residents who prefer traditional methods. These are probably
the older generation, who, in order to be included in the survey
had to hand deliver their completed forms to a central point, thus
making it more difficult for some to manage.
3. By Age-Group (taken from question 2 of the survey)
In order to make the survey as user friendly as possible respondents
were asked to identify themselves within one of 4 age categories.
It was decided to make these fairly broad so as to avoid capture
of unnecessary personal data and to enable more rapid data analysis.
The analysis is shown in Figure 2.
It was satisfying that the largest group classified themselves
as "Adult", as this group is likely to be the group
with the greatest long-term commitment to the village and its
future. The views of younger age-groups may not be as realistic
as those of the older age groups because they will be less aware
of planning restrictions and traffic issues. Nevertheless it is
disappointing not to have secured a greater level of response
from teenagers.
Lessons learned from the communication channels used and the age
profile of respondents for future exercises of this kind are:
1. Both online and hardcopy routes must be deployed.
2. A longer period of time available to complete the survey would
have been useful as it would have allowed us to introduce a methodology
for securing a larger response from those between the ages of
12-18
Question 1: Do you want a Wessex League stadium in Wickham?
Respondents were given a "yes"/"no" choice
to indicate if they were in favour or against the stadium plan.
The question was emphatically answered "Against" by
the respondents and is illustrated in Figure 3.
91% of respondents voted against the stadium. It is not known why some
respondents failed to answer the question and then went on to complete
the rest of the survey, but as they were only five in number the "no
responses" are not material to the overwhelming judgement that
a Wessex League standard stadium is not supported sufficiently to warrant
any other conclusion. To continue to move in that direction would be
to fly directly in the face of evidence of residents' opinion.
Despite the huge margin between those for and those against the plan,
there is a difference when it comes to looking at the age profiles of
respondents. This is shown in Figures 4 and 5.
These results are interesting for many reasons. The obvious first
conclusion is that those of voting age (18+) are strongly against
the use of the area for a Wessex League stadium. As pointed out
earlier, it is this group who have the greatest long-term vested
interest in the village whereas younger age groups are less likely
to make Wickham their "adult" home and indeed may not
necessarily consider the overall practicality of the scheme. However,
the majority of under 12s (79; 72% of respondents in that age
group) voted against the stadium. They may, of course, have been
influenced by their parents but it is perhaps surprising their
opposition was so strong when one imagines that their vision of
a stadium might be Old Trafford or The Emirates Stadium and all
the glamour that goes with the Premier League. They would be less
concerned with traffic and practical problems producing negative
impacts on the village than their parents.
The situation amongst 12-18s, though is quite different. In this
group 33 (92% of the respondent group) voted in favour of the
stadium. This group may also be considered as being "less
invested" in the long-term future of the village and its
surroundings, together with less appreciation of the practical
impacts of planning decisions. Additionally, the sample base is
very small and so is not as reliable as the other age-groups and,
of course, it is quite likely that this group would have been
less influenced by their parents. Because of the small sample
base it does suggest that it would be worthwhile seeking a larger
cohort to give their views.
The simple question asked in the survey does not give an indication
of the degree of support or dislike of the concept. Respondents
were not encouraged to add free text comments to their forms except
in response to question 3 (see below). But such is the feeling
of negativity towards the plan that many respondents did add their
comments. A selection is added at Appendix 5.
Question 3: which facilities would you most like to see?
Respondents were asked to select their 3 top choices from a list
of 9 options (the "givenlist"). Some selected more than
3 in which case it was decided that the first 3 in the list should
be regarded as the top choices. In all no fewer than 1329 choices
were made.
The "given-list"
The choices made from the given-list are shown in Figure 6.
The top three choices are clear. There is obvious demand for fitness
equipment being provided and such facilities are a common site
in many parks and green spaces around the country.
Football in the survey was specified as "junior pitches for
boys and girls (up to age 15) and our local team". This therefore
gives much support both to local teams playing on a fullsized
pitch and the provision of pitches of different dimensions for
junior play. Junior pitches come in a variety of sizes and can
be suitable for 11 v 11 youth, 9 v 9 youth, mini 7 v 7 and mini
5 v 5. There is ample scope for providing these options on the
Mill Lane site and fostering a genuinely local opportunity for
the youth and adults of the village to develop as a centre of
local excellence. It is also likely that our local team, Wickham
Dynamos, could do with a better playing surface than they currently
enjoy at the recreation ground and youngsters playing there at
the moment have no alternative but to play on a pitch marked out
for adult play.
The multi-sports option is a sound proposition as it can be used
in different weather conditions and be marked out for different
sports - tennis, netball, basketball. These are lower priority
choices from the given-list, but nevertheless a multi sports pitch
dedicated to these sports would encourage participation in a wider
range of options and not be dominated by football.
The surprise package in the responses is bowls. Perhaps this is
less surprising, however, when one considers the age profile of
many of the respondents and the fact that to play outdoor bowls
players have to go out of the village.
Interest in providing cricket at the site is an interesting option
and might be explored with the local cricket club which plays
on a site along Southwick Road and might like to be more central
to the village. Certainly, to encourage young cricketers into
cricket by providing junior cricket as an option at the site would
be good for the game and for the youth of the village, especially
if associated with coaching from local team players.
The responses to the given-list have been analysed by age profile
(see Figure 7).
There is nothing significant in the age profile responses to alter
the conclusions outlined above. Amongst the "retired",
bowls scores well and would be an active option for them whilst
support for junior football and the local adult team presumably
would be the result of a desire to watch or simply that it is
understood that local provision at the moment is not optimum.
Adults most particularly see a fitness trail as a priority while
a multi-sports pitch gets similar support by both adults and retired
groups.
Although not top by any means the level of support for tennis
across the age groups is consistent and may reflect the fact that
the game is recently higher profile in the public's consciousness
than hitherto. It may also be a function of the fact that the
recreation ground lease is due to expire in 40 years' time and
current members of the Wickham Tennis Club may be aware of this
longer-term threat.
Among the under 12s, basketball does as well as football - suggesting
a demand for a multisports pitch.
Free text "other" suggestions
In addition to choosing from the given-list, respondents were
asked to add in free text any other choices (no limit on number)
they thought appropriate. Some respondents, when selecting from
the given list, chose to tick more than 3 options. In these cases
the first three choices named were taken to be the first choices
of the respondent and choices 4, 5 etc were added under "other"
so that their choices were not lost. The number of respondents
ticking more than 3 options from the given-list, however, was
small: only 10 respondents.
Many respondents adding choices under "other" that were
not explicitly stated in the givenlist of nine options expressed
themselves in ways that were variations of options in the given-list.
For example, many stated in the "other" category "outdoor
gym" or "exercise equipment". These responses were
aggregated and included in a single category and can be correlated
across to the answers from the given-list.
In all there were 229 responses given as free text under the "other"
category. The words used to describe suggestions put forward to
supplement the given-list were many and varied and to include
them all would have been an unrewarding task. However, by aggregating
them under common themes/synonymous expressions it was possible
to whittle the list of 229 suggestions down to 41 different categories.
It was felt important not to eliminate any without allocating
them to a category because there may be some nuggets that, on
the face of it, may seem somewhat trifling and not of interest
but which, with imagination, might develop into exciting and novel
ideas that would prove to be highly attractive.
The full list of suggested categories is found at Appendix 6 but
to simplify the output the principal suggestions have been tabulated
to form a group of top-ten choices (see Figure 8).
By far the highest number of responses call for the area of the Mill
Lane site to be left exactly as it is or alternatively devoted to environmentally
friendly active pursuits. None of the younger age-groups called for
this sort of use but it would be surprising if the more environmentally
conscious 12-18s would not suggest these options if the sample size
of that group were to be enlarged. Equally, it is likely that had the
survey not stated that sporting options were looked for but instead
simply asked a generic question "what would you like to see on
that site?", not therefore leading the respondent to a sporting
activity answer, the environmental "lobby" might well have
been much greater. This is something that should be explored more openly
and thoroughly before final decisions are made.
It is assumed (but only assumed) that a swimming pool is not practical,
but the outdoor/indoor gym category and associated entries can be added
to the "Fitness Trail" choice in the given-list, accentuating
the desire to see such facilities introduced.
The adventure playground option would surely be attractive in part of
the site. As one respondent pointed out, this could be achieved in an
environmentally conducive manner, and be attractive to a range of younger
age-groups.
It is interesting to see tennis further supported and derivatives of
tennis that are becoming more popular. Consideration should be given
to the option especially as the current tennis courts in the recreation
group are affected by the expiry of the lease in 40 years and that there
are limited changing/showering/toilet and social facilities there.
The interest of the under 12s in crazy golf may be impractical (upkeep
costs and staffing etc) and perhaps is a result of a recent class
trip or a very persuasive pupil!
CONCLUSIONS
- There is overwhelming opposition to the concept and possibility
of a Wessex League football development at Mill Lane among adult and
retired residents.
- Local sports teams are encouraged, with fitness trail/outdoor gym
equipment, football for junior and local teams and multi-sports pitch
top of the rankings
- Under 12s have some unusual (and possibly impractical) ideas but
junior football and basketball are well-supported
- The sample size of 12-18 year-olds is too small for making any judgements
about the group's preferences as a whole but if any support for a
Wessex League stadium might exist at all it may come from this group.
- A ground swell of support for environmentally positive uses has
been detected that warrants further consideration instead of or alongside
sporting facilities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Further in-depth work on the main choices to determine demand
and cost benefits
- The potential occupation of the site by Infinity FC (or any
other club) with a Wessex League ground requirement should be
rejected at the earliest opportunity
- WRA (if requested by WPC) to develop a process for consulting
more widely in the
12-18 age-group to enhance survey breadth
- WRA and leading local sports and environmental representatives
be asked to participate as members of any WPC steering group that
is set up to take the site project forward
- The Head Teacher of Wickham Primary School to be invited to
contribute to any steering group
- Invite representatives of the local surgery actively to contribute
(if they have time to be involved) to plans as they have a vested
interest in the health and fitness of local residents
WRA Mill Lane Steering Group
October 27th, 2021
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Steering Group wishes to thank WRA members for their support
in ensuring that residents had every opportunity to offer their
opinions.
Grateful thanks are due to Axis Architects for kindly acting a
post box for the hard copy responses.
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