• The Nest chosen to operate new Brundall Sports Hub

    The Nest chosen to operate new Brundall Sports Hub

    Brundall Parish Council is delighted to reveal that following a successful tender process, The Nest – a trading subsidiary of the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation – has been selected by Brundall Parish Council to manage and run Brundall Sports Hub based on their commitment to affordability for residents and community engagement experience.

    Named the Brundall Sports Hub, the first phase of development will open on Wednesday and comprises a multi-sport 3G pitch with floodlights and on-site parking.

    Future development plans for the site, located near the A47 Brundall roundabout, will see the construction of a community building complete with changing rooms and a multi-use indoor studio/community space.

    Brundall Sports Hub will play host to various sports clubs, teams and coaching sessions within the local community and surrounding villages.

    A proportion of any surplus income generated by The Nest from paid bookings will be reinvested into free or part-funded projects run by the Community Sports Foundation to benefit local residents.

    Such initiatives already run by the charity include free school holiday and after-school sports, running and walking football groups focused on mental wellbeing, and classes aimed specifically at over-55s and those with disabilities.

    Local schools in Brundall, Blofield and Hemblington will be able to access the facilities at specific times during the day to improve recreation and wellbeing opportunities for children; The Nest will work with them to maximise the value of this new local facility.

    Jackie Thornton, Head of Development at the Community Sports Foundation, said:

    “We’re delighted to have been chosen to run the Brundall Sports Hub by the Parish Council. The plans for the site are impressive, and we can’t wait to bring the facilities to life.

    “It’ll be a wonderful addition to the local area, offering affordable and inclusive sport and recreational opportunities for a number of local sports clubs, schools and local residents.

    “As a charity, we currently operate two sports hubs – Carrow Park, located next to Carrow Road stadium and The Nest, our 22-acre sports hub located in Horsford.

    “The Nest welcomes over 15,000 individuals per year, and while the Brundall Sports Hub is smaller in scale, we hope to bring the same welcoming and inclusive energy that we are known for to the site, as well as providing excellent customer service and support for bookers.

    “The Parish Council has already had an overwhelming response from groups keen to use the venue; our team will be making contact with all interested groups very soon.”

    Kevin Wilkins, Chairman of Brundall Parish Council said:

    “We are delighted to partner with an organisation of the calibre of the Community Sports Foundation to run Brundall Sports Hub.

    “This project has been a number of years in the making and the Parish Council cannot wait to see local residents of all ages and abilities using the facility for years to come.

    “Our focus now moves to completing the community building to further improve the facilities and to enable the Community Sports Foundation to grow the number of users and benefit residents of Brundall and the wider community.”

  • Invitation to Tender to Brundall Sports Pavillion

    20230519 R628 Instructions to Tenderers
  • Brundall Sports Hub Update February 2023

     

    Brundall Parish Council are delighted to share the latest quarterly update on Brundall Sports Hub.

    Read more below or you can download as a PDF Here…

    Brundall Sports Hub Brundall Sports Hub Brundall Sports Hub Brundall Sports Hub

    Brundall Sports Hub – Quarterly Update February 2023
  • Operator for Brundall Sports Hub

    Brundall Parish Council is seeking an Operator for Brundall Sports Hub.
    Please see link below to our website with information on the Sports Hub. Expressions of interest to the Clerk of Brundall Parish Council by midday 18th January 2023 on 07809 144342 or email [email protected]:
  • Brundall Sports Hub Update December 2022

    Brundall Parish Council are delighted to bring forward the third Quarterly update on the progress of The Sports Hub.  You can read the update below.

     

       

     

    Brundall Sports Hub – Quarterly Update December 2022 (1)
  • Brundall Sports Hub Update September 2022

    Brundall Parish Council are delighted to bring forward the second Quarterly update on the progress of The Sports Hub.  This update was due next month but with the exciting news that this morning work has begun on site, the Council has been able to bring this announcement forward.

    Sports Hub First Day Sports Hub First Day Sports Hub First Day Sports Hub First Day Sports Hub First Day Sports Hub First Day

    Brundall Sports Hub – Quarterly Update Sept 2022.docx

    You can download the update here…

     

  • Brundall Sports Hub Update July 2022

    Back in November Brundall Parish Council announced the beginning of construction of Brundall Sports Hub.  At that time we promised to keep residents of Brundall up-to-date regularly as the project progressed.

    In the following six months the project was slowed slightly due to some external factors so there was not much to update you with.  Now that most of those external issues have been tied up we are in a place to start updating the village regularly.

    We have decided to produce a quarterly update document which will communicate the progress and any more detailed information but will also keep you informed with milestones as they are reached.

    Please find below the first exciting update. Or Download it here…

    Brundall Sports HubQuarterly Update July
  • Brundall Parish Council Village Survey 2021

    Results of the Village Survey 2021 – Recreation in Brundall.

    In 2021 Brundall Parish Council commissioned a survey to establish village opinion on the future of recreation in Brundall.

    This report is the summary of the results and will be used to create a plan for the future of recreation in Brundall.  Below is a video that summarises the findings as well as the full report.

    This report was due to be presented to councillors and residents in December 2021 but was delayed due to a restricted Parish Council Meeting in December 2021 as a result of revised government guidance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    All recommendations within this report will be reviewed as part of the design and costings process of any new land that comes into Parish Council ownership.

    Download the Report as a PDF

    Brundall Parish Council would like to thank all the respondents to the survey for their time in providing feedback.

     

     

    Brundall Parish Council

    VILLAGE SURVEY 2021

    RECREATION IN BRUNDALL

    Introduction

    Situated in Norfolk, approximately 7 miles to the East of Norwich the village of Brundall overlooks the River Yare, neighboured by the parishes of Blofield and Postwick with Witton.  

    The civil parish has an area of 4.39 km2 and had a population of 4,019 in 1,765 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Broadland. As in other broadland villages, the land lying directly adjacent to the river falls into the executive area of the Broads Authority.

    Over recent years several housing developments have taken place or are planned to take place in the village.  This has left the village with a need to review its recreational facilities on behalf of its residents.  With the upcoming Hopkins Homes development in the centre of the village on the land east of the Memorial Hall, some land and funds will become available.  

    The Parish Council, keen to hear local residents’ views, created a survey to help understand the residents’ aspirations in planning the future recreational offering in the village. 

    On the following pages, you will find details on the methodology applied and the responses analysed. 

    survey statistics

    The Need

    The last survey carried out by Brundall Parish Council was in 2013 and covered a wide variety of subjects including health, education, the environment and others.  Recreation and Sport was one small section of that survey with 52% of the 353 responders feeling that the facilities on offer in the village were acceptable.

     

    Quantum Land applied for planning permission to build on the Land East of the Memorial Hall which was approved on appeal in 2020.  As part of that application, there would be two pieces of land offered as a gift.  Both of these pieces of land would be allocated with a pot of money, each pot split into design, delivery and upkeep.

    It is important to note at this stage that Brundall Parish Council objected at all stages to the development of this land along with Broadland District Council, however planning permission was granted on appeal by the Secretary of State.

    The first piece of land designated “The Village Green”  is ~3 hectares of land adjacent to Brundall Memorial Hall.  It resides in the village of Brundall.  The second piece of land designated “The Country Park” is known locally as The Witton Run and runs along what will be the north end of the development.  This piece of land resides in the village of Blofield and is ~7 hectares in size.

    With this land becoming available, Brundall Parish Council felt it was important to gain an up to date opinion from the residents of Brundall.

    The Method

    The Recreation and Wellbeing Committee for Brundall, a sub-group of Brundall Parish Council which includes councillors and other stakeholders, set up a working party to design a survey outline and the means for delivering this online.  The previous village survey was reviewed and it was agreed that this survey needed to be targeted just to recreational land.  From there questions were devised to obtain the resident’s opinions on four areas.

    Planning Application & Current Recreation Offering

    The first section of the survey asked questions about the planning application and the gifted land that was linked to it.  Included within this section was a question in regards to the current recreational offering in Brundall and if it needed improvement.  This is a key part of the current neighbourhood plan.

    Country Park & Village Green

    Secondly, the land that has been offered as a gift from the planning application.  The Witton Run area was discussed which is the location of the proposed “Country Park” and is based in the village of Blofield.  The survey also investigated the parcel of land designated The “Village Green” which is the Land to the East of the Memorial Hall.  Obtaining feedback for the makeup and potential facilities for each location.

    The Memorial Hall

    The survey then moved on to discuss The Memorial Hall and local feelings towards the facilities at the Hall.  Responders were asked how satisfied they are with those facilities.

    The Sports Hub

    The Parish Council has been planning a sports facility called The Sports Hub on Yarmouth Road.  Phase 1 is proposed to include a 3G pitch, changing rooms and a community room.  When completing the survey residents were asked if they felt The Sports Hub was a positive development for the village. 

    To obtain the responder’s opinions on specific recreational opportunities, many of the questions utilised a 1-5 score.  This is a well-known technique for splitting the responses into Fans, Neutral and Critics.  Scoring 1 or 2 would suggest you are against the suggestion and 4 or 5 that you are in favour.  This metric is utilised in this report to outline its recommendations.

    One of the first things the council was keen to improve based on the last survey was to increase the completion rate.  

    It was decided early on that utilising online technology to host the survey would make it easy for many to complete the survey.  To ensure that those who were not online were able to complete it was agreed that the Parish Clerks would be available at set times to help residents complete it from the office.

    To promote the survey the Recreation and Wellbeing Committee for Brundall decided to utilise the Village Book which is delivered to every household in the village.  A full-page advert was designed and included in the book.  There were also printed copies of the advert placed in local shops and the Post Office as central hubs of the village to ensure residents were aware.  Online, the survey links were added to the Brundall Parish Council Website and also the Facebook Page, as well as shared with other key community groups online.  The church was also engaged to help support promotion to younger residents as part of their youth programme, along with leaders of key local groups (e.g. Scouts etc.)

    The survey ran from 1st October 2021 to 12th November 2021 to allow as many residents as possible to complete it and if unable to complete it themselves attend the office to ask for assistance from the Parish Clerks.

    people jumping

    The Turnout

    At the closing of the survey, we had received 761 responses. This is an increase of 115.6% when compared to the previous survey from 2013.  

    The 761 can be split down by age and each age group’s responses individually reviewed.  Of all the residents who responded to the survey, only 3% were under the age of 25, with the 40-59 year olds being the largest group to complete the survey.

    According to Norfolk Insights, The Brundall ward predicted population in 2020 was 6315, while not all of those people reside in Brundall the demographics can be used to make some assumptions of the demographic of the village.  The breakdown of this is shown in the below graph. (Source https://b.link/drz5xm)

    Comparing the age range of those completing the survey, the splits are roughly in line with what you would expect to see compared to the above demographic.  Where it differs is in the lower ages (under 24) where fewer residents completed the survey.  This could be for several reasons.  It is worth noting that  9.8% of the residents in Brundall are predicted to be under 10 years of age.

    While noting a smaller than expected response rate among the Under 25s it is important to recognise the remaining breakdown of responses to be equally balanced and gives a good insight into feelings within Brundall.

    The Planning Application For Houses On The Land East of The Memorial Hall.

    The planning application for the Land East of the Memorial Hall has been one of the biggest news topics in Brundall in recent times which has polarised opinion.  This question was asked to understand how many residents in the village have been keeping up to date with the developments.

    Part of the planning application gives the parcel of land as mentioned earlier in this report so it is important to understand how many residents in Brundall are aware of the plans.  Residents were asked to rank between 1 and 5 with 5 being Very aware.  The average score was 3.5 with a large proportion (34.9%) answering with a 5.

    Residents aged 16-24 were found to be least aware with 21% scoring the question 4 or 5 whilst those residents aged 60+ were most aware of the plans with 68%.

    How Important Is It That The Parish Council Improves Recreational Facilities in the Village?

    In the 2013 survey, 48% of residents stated that the sports and recreational facilities in Brundall needed improvement.  In the village’s current Neighbourhood Plan (adopted 2016) it was stated that the Parish Council “seeks to support enhanced provision of recreation facilities in the village in the future.”  It was key to understand if opinions had changed.

    It is very clear from this response that since the 2013 survey the importance of improving the recreational offering within the village has increased by a large margin.  

    This may be in part due to the change in needs and perceptions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of various lockdowns where residents have spent more time than ever in the village.

    The average score for this question was 4.4 out of 5.  With 85% of responses to the survey scoring this question either  4 or 5, this suggests that there has been a change of opinion in the last few years.

     


    Is the gift of recreational land an important opportunity for the village?

    To follow on from the question in regards to improving the recreational offering.  This question was to obtain the feeling of the importance of the gifted land.

    81.4% of residents who responded to the survey recognised the gifted land as important to the village. The support in answer to the question suggests it is of key importance for the village to deliver this area of land as a high-quality recreational offering.

    Breaking the responses down by age shows that in those Under 16, 57% felt it was important.  All other age brackets were 79% or above.

    The “Country Park”

    The first area of land the survey discussed was the proposed “Country Park” which is known locally as the Witton Run. The “Country Park” area is a piece of low land that will separate the new development and the golf course (light green). This land is wholly in the parish of Blofield and is offered as a country park in the plans for the housing development.

    Whilst the land is in the parish of Blofield, geographically this parcel of land is surrounded by the parish of Brundall, and residents of Brundall will be key users of this area once it has been designed and made available.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The survey asked questions about this parcel of land to see what residents would like to see the land utilised for.  It is earmarked as a country park and would offer limited options for viable development.  With that in mind questions revolved around footpaths, a cycle path and pond dipping platforms.

    After those questions, responders were asked if there was something else they would like to see included in the “Country Park”  by responding yes they were able to enter in a suggestion.

    Cycling

    Safe cycling in Brundall is something that is high on the agenda, The “Country Park” would connect one side of Brundall to the other.  This question was added to investigate the possibility of adding a cycle path across the land to link both sides of the village. Cycle paths tend to be solid bases which can also help with disabled access.

    The average score was 3.4 which shows there is some support for a cycle path.  More people scored this option as 5 out of 5 than any other score and by adding the scores of 4 and 5 together to ascertain those in favour we receive a score of 50.1%.  By the same means adding those who scored 1 or 2 as being against gives a score of 27.8%.

    100% of Under 16s who filled in the survey were in support of cycle paths with 79% of 16-24 year olds.  This number then fell in the older categories with 45% of those 60+ in favour of a cycle path.

     

    Footpaths

    Footpaths open up the countryside to be used by residents.  As part of a country park, being able to add in some footpaths would allow for walkers to enjoy the area as well as possibly improve connectivity within the village.

    Emphatically residents in Brundall would like to see footpaths added to the area of land designated The “Country Park”.  The average score of those completing the survey was 4.5 out of 5.

    Approximately 72% of those asked voted this as 5 out of 5 with that rising to over 88% if you count 4 and 5 together.

    This high score was solid across the age groups with the lowest being 84% in the 40-59 category.

     

     

    Pond Dipping

    As described earlier, the country park doesn’t open itself up to much development.  One suggested idea was to place a pond dipping platform to allow children to experience the local wildlife.  This was added as a question to see if there was support for this.

    As with cycle paths, the average score came in as 3.5 out of 5.  If you break this down to those in favour (4 & 5) those against (1 & 2) and those neutral, 51.8% are in favour with 23.8% against and 24.4% neutral.

    This is fairly balanced when split amongst the age categories with the Under 16’s scoring this the lowest at 42%.  It is worth noting one comment at this point made on the survey about a pond dipping platform, one responder stated that it is important any pond dipping platform must be kept in good working order and safe.

    There is an opportunity for further engagement with local schools to see if this could provide a facility to support education and engagement for environmental challenges.

     

     

    Other Suggestions

    Residents were then asked if there was anything else they would like to see included in the “Country Park.”  If they said yes they were then offered the chance to suggest anything they might like to see added.

    By far the trend of comments in the suggestions was to keep the land as natural as possible.  Including sympathetic planting, a possible wildflower meadow and upkeep of the natural beauty of the land as it is today.  With added suggestions of a bird hide, bug hotels and nature trail for children.

    As shown previously there is an appetite for paths and a cycle path, several commenters suggested that a path that is added must be suitable for those who are disabled with wheelchair and pushchair access also being mentioned several times.  To build on that there were multiple suggestions for seating areas of either benches or a picnic area to be included on the site.

    There was a lot of mention of dogs, both positively and negatively.  There were calls for dog walks, a dog agility course, a potential penned off area for dogs off a lead and lots of comments in regards to providing enough dog bins.  It is worth mentioning at this point that there were also several calls to ban dogs from The “Country Park” which was as popular as having a dog exercise area.

    Also, there were a lot of calls to use part of the land for an area families could enjoy.  Wooden play equipment to be sympathetic to the landscape came up a lot and could be linked with a nature walk.  There was also mention of Outdoor Gym Equipment and a Skate/BMX/Scooter park.

     

    What do residents think of the facilities at The Memorial Hall?

    Brundall Memorial Hall first opened in 1948 on land donated to the village in 1946 by Mr William Thurgar of Saxlingham; the wooden hut was a former Red Cross or Army wooden hut.  In 1962 the hall was extended to include a stage, toilets, kitchen and a committee room.  The original hut was replaced by a new sports hall in 1971.  During the 1990s the hall was recognised as being overdue for refurbishment, this was completed in 2001.

    The Recreation and Wellbeing Committee worked with the trustees of Brundall Memorial Hall to ask residents their opinion of the hall.

    The average score of 3.1 suggests that residents rate the facilities at Brundall Memorial Hall as around average.  When breaking these scores down it shows that 29% of those who filled in the survey rated the hall’s facilities as satisfactory with the largest proportion (49%) having a neutral opinion and 22% as unsatisfactory.

    The age group that had the lowest satisfaction rating of the hall was 25-59 year olds.  

     

     

    The survey took those who scored the Memorial Hall’s facilities as unsatisfactory (score 1 or 2) and asked them how these facilities could be improved.

     

    There was a large proportion of those who responded negatively to the facilities at Brundall Memorial Hall who would either like to see the old building knocked down and replaced, or modernised and or extended.  This was a common theme through the responses.

    The second most common area raised was the children’s play area with many calling it “outdated” “inadequate” or even in some cases “dangerous”.

    It was recognised that some of the other facilities the Memorial Hall includes are in need of improvement with the Tennis Court and Skate Park both being brought up as areas to improve.  It is worth noting that while there were some calls to remove the skate park these were less than those who wanted it improved.

    There seems to be a desire to improve the sports facilities at the Memorial Hall with some comments in regards to the sports hall not being big enough and there being no Football or Cricket Pitches. It is noted that The Sports Hub will potentially answer some of the sports questions but not all.

    The other area mentioned within improvements would be the opening of either a social club or café.  There was some mention of public toilets that are not inside the hall that could be used by those enjoying the area.

    Finally, The survey asked if the Memorial Hall and The proposed “Village Green” should be developed together making a joined-up offering.

     

    On the whole, those who responded were positive that Brundall Memorial Hall and The “Village Green” should be developed to produce a joined-up offering.

    53% of responders said it was a good idea with 33.9% saying they were unsure.  The age breakdown shows that roughly the age groups are similar with 16-24s being the lowest at 43% and 23-39s being the highest at 58%.

    The Sports Hub

    Brundall Sports Hub is a proposed facility on land gifted as part of The Church Mead development adjacent to Berryfields.  This facility is designed to help improve the formal offering of recreation in Brundall. It will include a 3G pitch to allow a variety of sports to be played all year round.  Residents were asked if they think this is a positive development for the village.

     

     

     

    Overwhelmingly those who responded to the village survey were in favour of The Sports Hub with 74.5% of those responding Yes to it being a positive development for the village.  15% were not sure with only 10.5% voting no.

    Breaking that down by age 100% of those under the age of 24 said yes while the lowest score was in the 60+ group where support still remained strong at 69%.

    It is worth discussing that Brundall Parish Council announced on 10th November 2021 more details about The Sports Hub and several members of the public voiced concerns about the project.  These concerns varied from the use of a 3G pitch, the viability of the project, the need for the village, the impact on the environment and the potential impact on the village from a traffic point of view.

    The Parish Council responded to several of the queries by adding the link to the survey.  It is possible that if there was a negative feeling towards the project this would come through in the last few days responses to the survey so this was investigated.

    Following on from the feedback on social media, the numbers were examined from those who filled in the survey on the 10th, 11th and 12th November to see if the announcement had any bearing on the approval rating of The Sports Hub.

    The question specifically mentioned the location and the fact it would be a 3G pitch so it is possible the score could decrease after the announcement.

     

    What actually appears to have happened is the approval rating of The Sports Hub in those three days stayed around the same but actually went up a couple of percentage points. With those saying No remaining around the same.

    50 people completed the survey within those three days after the announcement was made.

    The “Village Green”

    The proposed “Village Green” is a 3-hectare area of land next to Brundall Memorial Hall that resides in the village of Brundall and has been gifted as part of the Hopkins Homes development to the East of The Memorial Hall (dark green on the map).

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The survey looked to gather opinion from the village as to the potential makeup of that land.  Firstly those completing were asked on a scale of 1-10 how much they wanted the land to either be informal parkland or more formal recreational facilities.

    With this area of land there is potentially more scope to develop so a series of potential activities were discussed before asking residents if there were any other suggestions they had.

    The Layout of The Land

    The first question of this section of the survey was to get a feel for how residents wanted The “Village Green” land to be approached.  The Recreation and Wellbeing Committee had heard previously from a local representative group that there was a feeling that it should be majority open parkland.  This question could be used to help set a blueprint for plans when the land comes into village ownership.

     

    From the responses received it is possible to see that there is a feeling to keep the land to roughly a third formal and 2 thirds open parkland.

    This varies between the age groups with Under 16’s with a 56-44 split informal-formal split and 40-59s a 68-32 split. 

     It is noted that those under 39 lean towards closer to a 60-40 split while those 40 and above are closer to a 70-30.

    Multi-Use Games Area

    A multi-use games area is a sports surface that is suitable for multiple different activities.  They usually have different sets of sports line-markings.  The Memorial Hall currently has an old tennis court that is often used for football and a basketball net.  A MUGA could be used to improve these facilities.

    The average score from responders was 3.5 which is above halfway and suggests there is an appetite for one to be built on the “Village Green” this could be incorporated into the formal section of the area as it is developed.

    When broken down the results give a result of 52.4% of responders are in favour of a MUGA on The “Village Green”  with 25.8% being neutral and 21.8% against.

    By age this is most popular with 16-24 year olds followed by the Under 16s with 79% and 71% respectively.  The lowest score came from 40-59 year olds at 45%.

     

    Improved Skate Park

    Brundall currently has a very small skate park with two ramps at either end and a raised section in between.  This is used regularly by local children with Skateboards, Scooters and also Bikes.

    The average score for an improved skate park on The “Village Green” was 2.9.  This is just below the middle line of 3 so shows there is some interest in an improved skate park but less than other suggestions.

    When reviewing the responses only 36.5% of those who completed the survey were in support of an improved skate park with 23.0% neutral and 40.5% against.  This is quite possibly the most complicated of the responses to analyze due to the differences within the age brackets.

    Those under 24 who filled in the survey were more in favour of a skate park with 57% of Under 16s and 79% of 16-24year olds answering in favour of an improved skate park on The “Village Green”.  On the opposite side of the equation, we have 31% of the 60+ group and 36% of 40-59 year olds.  With only 3% of the survey responses being from the Under 25 year olds it makes it a borderline case.

    Picnic Area With Benches

    There is currently no designated picnic area and facilities in the village of Brundall.  The grass areas at The Memorial Hall and the Countryside Park offer locations for families to take a blanket and have an informal picnic.  This question was to see if residents wanted to see an area with benches and picnic tables.

    The average score of 3.7 is over the halfway mark of 3.0 and shows that there is support for a picnic area to be included on The “Village Green.”  On the whole 61.9% of those who completed the survey answered in favour of a picnic area with benches, 20.7% were neutral and 17.3% were against.

    Breaking this down by age there is support across all age brackets with the lowest score being 60% from those over the age of 40.

     

    Trim Trail

    A Trim Trail is a series of equipment which when used together can form part of an exercise or assault course. This can sometimes be in a straight line or is often seen around the edge of a recreational area.

    With an average score of 3.6, there is support for a Trim Trail on The “Village Green.”  58.9% of those who were surveyed said they were in favour with 21.5% neutral and 19.6% against.

    All age groups showed support of over 50% with the lowest being 54% in the over 60s.  The average score for those under the age of 40 was 71% which shows a large level of support within this age group.

     

    Open Park Land

    As discussed previously, the suggested layout for the land from the survey is approximately a third formal and two thirds informal open parkland.  So it is no surprise that this scores highly here.

    The average score of 4.5 with 69.5% of all responders rating this as 5 out of 5 means there is large support for open park land to be included in the plan for The Village Green.  The overall support from those who completed the survey is 88.1% in support, 7.6% neutral and 4.3% against.

    This strong support is spread right across the age spectrum with Under 16s and 25-39 year olds being the lowest at 86% and 16-24year olds scoring 93%.

    Within the final section it asks residents for suggestions for The “Village Green” there is some mention of dog walking, seating, footpaths and cycle paths to complement the open park land.

     

     

    Band Stand

    A Band Stand could be used for local musical performers to perform to the village as well as giving a central point for school performances and other events.

    The average score of just 2 out of 5 shows there is very little appetite for a band stand in Brundall.  Only 12.7% of responses were for the inclusion of one with 17.0% neutral and 70.3% against.

    The age range to support the building of a band stand was 16-24 year olds where 36% were in favour.  None of the Under 16s were in favour and only 12% of over 40 year olds were positive about the suggestion.

     

    Formal Sports Pitches

    The village currently only has two football goals on the land designated as the spare cemetery field.  It is currently planning to build a facility called The Sports Hub which will bring some formal sports facilities to Brundall.

    The average score of 2.9 is just below the middle of 3.0 which suggests some support for sports pitches.  When looking at the responses 33.3% of those who completed the survey were in favour with 27.9% neutral and 39.0% against.

    When looking at the age breakdown Under 16s and 16-24 year olds were both 50% or above with those over the age of 25 then being between 32% and 34%.

    Children’s Play Area

    The children’s play area at The Memorial Hall has been in place for some years now and there is a possibility this could be improved within The “Village Green.”

    An Improved children’s Play Area scores an average of 3.9 out of 5 which shows good support for incorporating an improved play area into The “Village Green.”

    66.3% of responders were in favour of seeing improved facilities with 17.2% neutral and 16.6% against.  All age ranges showed a greater than 50% support for a play area with the highest being in the Under 16 category of 86% followed by the 25-39 range with 81%.  The lowest response was from the 40-59 year range where 59% were still in support.

    Lots of comments were made in all the open sections of the survey about offering an improved play area and play equipment for children.

     

     

    Outdoor Fitness Equipment

    Including outdoor fitness equipment into The “Village Green” could give locations for people to be able to exercise in the village.  These are often seen on the outskirts of larger parks and there is a good example in Lingwood.

    The average score of 3.3 says there is some support for Outdoor Fitness Equipment to be included on The “Village Green”.  From a support point of view 49.3% were in favour with 21.1% Neutral and 29.6% against.

    Outdoor Gym Equipment was most popular in the Under 16s and 16-24 year olds and least popular in the 25-39 year olds.

     

     

    Tennis

    Brundall Memorial Hall currently has an old tennis court which could be brought up to date and improved.  This question was to see if there was village support for improved Tennis Facilities.  

    An average score of 2.9% puts it just below the middle mark of 3.0.  The village appears split on the benefits of improved tennis facilities with 34.8% in favour, 27.7% neutral and 37.5% against.

    Looking at these responses by age categories only the Under 16s and 16-24 year olds rated this over 50% with the lowest score being 28% from the 40-59 range.

    There is also the potential that tennis courts, among other facilities, could form a later phase of the development of The Sports Hub.

     

    Other Suggestions

    As with The “Country Park” , responders were asked if there were any other suggestions they had for The “Village Green”.  Only 28% of responders said there was so the number of suggestions is relatively small compared to the total responses for the other questions.


    Dog areas were discussed again, as well as some comments to say dogs should be banned.  Either way, there is a clear message that if dog areas are included there must be enough dog bins to encourage walkers to clear up after themselves.

    There was some support for a swimming pool and one commenter added to that a community gym.  From the document released by the Parish Council, a Gym is a potential option for phase two of The Sports Hub.

    Toilet facilities were mentioned on all three of the open sections of the survey but mostly in this section.  It was commented that public toilets would be there for residents as they used any new facilities.

    A Running Track or linking in with Park Run was mentioned on both The “Village Green” and “Country Park” suggestions.

    A few suggested that the land should be partly used to extend the Memorial Hall with one adding that an extension could support a nursery.

    The final suggestion in the top 7 was a Bowls Green.

    Conclusions

    Brundall is a village that has faced the impact of housing development over the previous few years and this will continue with the completion of Norfolk Homes development Church Mead and the new Hopkins Homes development on The Land East of The Memorial Hall.

     

    With the two large housing developments, there are offers of recreational land and finance.  Linked to The Church Mead development, The Sports Hub has been in the planning stage by the Parish Council for several years.  On 10th November 2021, the Parish Council made an announcement that they were now owners of the land and ready to move to the next stage and appoint contractors.

    This announcement was met by a mixed response however, the village survey shows that 74.5% of those who completed the survey feel The Sports Hub is a positive development for Brundall.  In response to some of the reaction, the Parish Council advised residents of the village survey.  It was possible that this may have an impact on the approval rating of The Sports Hub.  In the three days that followed the announcement of those who filled in the survey, 78% felt The Sports Hub is a positive development for the village. 

    The Hopkins Homes development sees two distinct pieces of land.  The “Country Park” is known locally as The Witton Run, this piece of land is in the Parish of Blofield however it is noted that the land forms a corridor between the East and West sides of Brundall and residents in Brundall will no doubt be users of any facilities provided on this site.  The “Village Green” is the Land directly to the East of The Memorial Hall.  At ~3 hectares this area of land is entirely in the Parish of Brundall.

    Residents were asked for their opinions on both these pieces of land.  With suggestions for potential directions for each of these areas, it was hoped that a consensus in the responses could be found.

    It is important at this point to touch on a few comments that were made in the survey that haven’t been discussed so far in the report.  The housing development in the Land East of the Memorial Hall was approved on appeal.  Brundall Parish Council opposed this application and did everything possible for a Parish Council to attempt to stop it from being approved.  Unfortunately, the decision to approve it was out of the Parish Council’s hands and now it is important for the council to focus on getting the best possible outcome from the land on offer.

    Within the open sections of the survey where it asked for suggestions for the recreational land, it was mentioned by a number of responders that they are against the houses, stop the houses or disagreed with the planned development.  The Parish Council thanks all the residents who took the time to complete the survey however comments regarding the building of housing by Hopkins Homes on this site are outside of the remit of this survey and have not been included in the analysis.

    For The “Country Park” the responses suggested that the village is keen for this area of land to be kept as natural as possible.  With footpaths to open up areas of the park and a cycle path to allow safe cycling across the village and allow disabled access.  There were multiple mentions of dog walking and how it is important there are enough dog bins on the site.

    Residents are keen to see ways to encourage children to get closer to nature with the possibility of pond dipping, a bird hide, bug hotel and nature trail mentioned alongside possible wooden play equipment to help the area be family-friendly while remaining natural.

    Alongside the footpaths, many responders mentioned seating so some bench locations could be located in any plan for the site.  There is also an appetite for a picnic area to allow families to come with a picnic and enjoy the natural surroundings.

    On The “Village Green”  the average response for the layout suggests splitting the land roughly into two pieces.  Approximately one-third of the land could be turned into formal recreational facilities with an improved Children’s Play Area and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) being popular alongside a Trim Trail and Picnic area.  It is worth noting that there is some appetite for an improved Skate Park and Tennis Facilities, however, these both didn’t receive a majority response on the survey.

    The other two-thirds of the land is suggested to be left as Open Park Land with sympathetic planting and some paths and seating.  Again there is mention of dog walking and ensuring enough Dog Bins to serve the area.

    Some other suggestions from residents included a community cafe and public toilets.

    The final area for discussion is Brundall Memorial Hall.  Those who completed the survey were neutral about the current status of the Hall.  There were multiple comments to support either the renovation, extension or demolition and rebuilding of the Hall.

    Other suggestions for improvements for the Memorial Hall area are an improved Children’s Play Area, Sports Facilities, Skatepark and the introduction of a cafe or Social Club.

    Whatever the actions The Parish Council and other stakeholders choose to take in the coming years will be informed by the responses received, and it is clear from the village survey that residents of Brundall see the gifted land and the opportunities they present as very important for the future of Brundall.

    Report Author: Mike Savory
    Report Editor: Phil Gabillia
    Published: 30/11/2021
    Written on behalf of of Brundall Parish Council

    (Image for illustrative purposes only)

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