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OXYLANE VILLAGE: BROXTOWE

OPERATION AND ENGAGEMENT PLAN: SEPTEMBER 2013

Quality assurance Name Date

Origination John Eady / David McHendry / Peter Millward March 2012

Quality control Peter Millward / John Eady May 2012

Review/update (1) John Eady / Peter Millward August 2012

Review/update (2) John Eady / Peter Millward September 2012

Client comments (1) Luke Fillingham/Alex Abbott October 2012

Review/update (3) John Eady/Peter Millward November 2012

Review/update (4) Peter Millward/ John Eady September 2013

Client comments (2) Luke Fillingham/Alex Abbott September 2013

OXYLANE VILLAGE – BROXTOWE: OPERATION & ENGAGEMENT PLAN

Knight, Kavanagh & Page: September 2013

Contents:

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1

2. THE UNIQUE OXYLANE PROPOSITION .............................................................. 2

3. WHY IT WORKS .................................................................................................. 14

4. THE BUSINESS PLAN ......................................................................................... 31

5. OVERALL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................... 40

Appendix 1: Sports and activities – Oxylane village ........................................................ 43

Appendix 2: Corporate full day (typical offer) ................................................................... 44

Appendix 3: Layout plans: Proposed Broxtowe Leisure Centre and swimming pool(s) .... 45

Appendix 4: Oxylane Case studies.................................................................................. 47

Appendix 5: NGB endorsements ..................................................................................... 53


Knight, Kavanagh & Page: September 2013 1

1. INTRODUCTION

This Operation and Engagement Plan supports the planning strategy for the proposed

Oxylane Village at J26 of the M1 and is to be submitted in tandem with the Development

Viability Appraisal which demonstrates an 'enabling' case for the Decathlon store and

partner building. This document describes how the Village will operate; it demonstrates that:

1. The sports facilities within the Oxylane Village are self-sustaining; and

2. The Oxylane Village will deliver significant and sustained growth in participation.

The following plan provides an evidence base for these assertions as it:

Draws on industry expertise and experience to highlight the outcomes achieved by established Oxylane Village sites in France.

Illustrates the impact and achievement of Decathlon events in the UK and known best

practice, demonstrating the wider benefits to be realised through this development.

Explains the Oxylane Village concept, and how it will deliver significant and sustained

growth in participation (i.e. how the operation of the site and the associated activities,

coaching and support will facilitate participation).

Describes management and organisational arrangements and inter-relationships; this

includes an explanation of the role and structure of the Oxylane Sports Trust.

Outlines a newly proposed leisure centre, swimming pool, fitness, gym and pitch

facilities for Broxtowe Borough Council (BBC) as key and integral components of the

overall development package.

Sets out estimated visitor, user and participant numbers and the assumptions that

underpin these figures and predicted growth forecasts.

Demonstrates, based on the predicted visitor numbers and likely operational income/

costs, how the sports facilities will be self-sustaining within the current model, how the

development will prove sustainable and lead to greater integration of BBC services.

Subsequently examines the potential viability of the scheme’s sports facilities in the

event that the commercial activities were to ‘fall away’.

Details the wider economic, social and health benefits of the Oxylane Sports Village

including jobs, apprenticeships, skills development and its ability to deliver across a

wide range of agendas already identified as priorities for Central Government.

Explains how the Village’s management and operation will complement existing

facilities and activities in the locality and thus help to deliver a range of Broxtowe

Borough Council‘s Sustainable Communities and Corporate strategy objectives.

Incorporates business models appertaining to how development of the Village might

also assist Broxtowe Borough Council in addressing some of the longer-term issues it

faces, in particular with reference to the delivery of sport and leisure facilities

appropriate to meet the needs of the local community in the west of the authority area.

Operating in over 20 countries, employing c.59,000 people, with significant capital reserves

and a global turnover in excess of €6.5 billion per annum, the Oxylane Group is one of the

World's leading sports development companies. Although commercially driven, its

ownership structure and philosophy can help deliver a step change in levels of participation

whilst at the same time generating company profits. It does things differently, as a highly

successful network of companies dedicated to health and well-being it offers desirable

products which make sport enjoyable and accessible whilst delivering wider cross-cutting

benefits for individuals and communities, all driven by a passion for sport, health and well-

being.



2. THE UNIQUE OXYLANE PROPOSITION

The Oxylane Village model is a completely new concept in the UK; it has already proven

particularly successful in generating very high levels of interest and participation on the 10

sites operating in France. The model has been adapted via direct work with GB and England

national governing bodies of sport (NGBs), Sport Nottinghamshire and Broxtowe Borough

Council (BBC) [where appropriate Broxtowe Sport]; supplemented by ongoing dialogue with

Sport England and interaction with innovative UK-based providers of various forms of sport

and physical activity. The result draws upon:

The scale, quality, co-location and physical juxtaposition of facilities.

The on-site availability of free equipment and resources.

A wide variety of independent but inter-linked sport, recreational and play spaces

across an extended free to access site.

The breadth and flexibility of store opening hours, this allows for excellent site

supervision and management throughout each day and across the week.

Site animation capacity; this includes a minimum of five full time staff from the

Mysporteezy team working closely with and complementing the BS team and further

supplemented by specialist coaches, instructors and leaders.

This range of physical and human resources enable it to link effectively with, for example:

Local authority sports development staff – the BBC sports team are currently based at

several locations throughout Broxtowe. As part of these proposals, they will operate

from a new single base at the site. Whilst continuing to deliver services locally this

revision will increase efficiency and coherence through greater co-ordination.

National governing bodies of sport (NGBs) – with which existing and new versions of

sports, designed to drive up participation, will be delivered, and

Local health and community practitioners - in-principle support has been agreed and a

co-ordinated series of health and well-being initiatives linked to exercise referral,

obesity reduction and other related programmes are already delivered through the

BBC team and are expected to feature prominently thus increasing footfall and easing

transition into mainstream participation.

This combination means that Oxylane Villages consistently reach out to new people and

groups. It applies an outstanding combination of informal sport, play and physical recreation

to promote participation in activities and use of amenities. They are linked directly in a

positive yet unpressurised way to stimulate taster sessions and sustained participation.

The overall package works commercially as it brings footfall to the site, attracts people of all

ages and sport and physical activity orientations to purchase goods and services. It caters

for all ages and abilities across the sport and physical activity participation continuum.

Philosophy

The primary focus is on delivery of grass-roots formal and informal sport, recreation, physical

activity and arts and cultural opportunities. Having fun is the key driver for an all-age, family-

focused package to drive up participation levels; the bonus is that improved health/well-

being and economic viability are natural outcomes from the approach. It is not, however,

enough to simply provide facilities; it is vital for them to be marketed, promoted, made

accessible to the local community and linked to existing providers and networks if the model

is to realise its full potential.



The Company’s

commercial and

philosophical

drivers are fully

matched in this

respect. Oxylane

has a

fundamental

belief in enabling

people to access

healthy outdoor

lifestyles,

exercise and

sport irrespective

of the level at

which they start.

The result is the

incorporation of

physical activity

and positive

lifestyle behaviours into their daily lives.

Inexperience, lack of equipment or inability to find out about locally available opportunities

are all barriers that the Oxylane Village approach overcomes. The essence of the

Company’s promise is that, through staged events and the site’s regular and intermittent

provision, local residents will have the opportunity to sample just about every form of healthy

outdoor lifestyle based activity imaginable (given realistic site limitations). The participation

continuum model (see above) shows how the Village, in its simplest form, takes an individual

from inactivity, through a range of participation levels, to being a potential club member. By

removing barriers to ‘entry’ and creating a welcoming, non-threatening environment in which

to participate. As previously referenced, the BBC team already provide an effective pathway

for people who are entering the participation continuum via exercise referral programmes

and thus may lack a significant pre-disposition to and/or level of confidence in a sporting and

physical activity environment – this will be further enhanced via the Oxylane Viallage

proposals. The village will help facilitate an inclusive programme for all which delivers

continued and sustained growth in participation in sports and activities in Broxtowe.

Why here?

The Village will become a primary and core venue serving the west of the borough while also

providing an excellent central venue for a range of programmes. In real terms, equally

accessible from all parts of the borough, it will be the central, multi-activity/sport hub through

which information about, and participation in, formal and informal sport will flow and to which

any or all residents and visitors will be able to come; it will not in any sense have the feeling

that it belongs to any one part of the borough at the exclusion of others; it will form a natural

bridge / meeting point between the north and south of the borough.

Figure 1: The Oxylane participation continuum: a level for everyone.



The proposition is not based on a standard needs assessment or team generation model as

a means of assessing demand. Although the first of its kind (within England), it adopts a long

established alternative logic model whereby, for the ‘right sort of offer’, leisure demand is

considered to be a function of supply. Consequently, a high quality offer, that is distinct from

others within a given catchment, will attract people from a relatively wide area. This can be

seen for a variety of leisure attractions, whether a restaurant, nightclub, theme park, concert

hall or sports activity. Key factors include the venue’s individuality, mix of activities,

opportunity to ‘try something different’, capacity to handle large numbers without feeling

overrun and, for families in particular, its potential to satisfy a range of different types of user

at a single venue and at the same time. An ability to service local schools, sports teams,

families, specialist groups, commercial concerns and others without conflict or capacity

problems, on-site or in the surrounding transport network, will critically ensure that the

factors which typically prevent or limit engagement are removed from the equation. In short,

Oxylane Village has the potential to satisfy all of the necessary criteria, from quality to

capacity, to ensure its success.

The engagement plan

The Oxylane Village operation and engagement plan sets out:

What it will do;

Who it will work (and has already consulted extensively) with; and

How its local impact will be measured.

An essential part of this is the Village Management Board which will balance its function to

both drive Village animation and innovation and be its ‘community conscience’ ensuring that

its relationships with and relevance to the local community are maintained.

Village management

Each of the respective stakeholders will quite naturally wish to have a say in plans for and

activities at the Village. One option to facilitate this process could be through the

development of a Village Management Board. This could, for example, comprise Decathlon,

Oxylane Sports Foundation, Broxtowe Sport / Broxtowe Borough Council and

representatives of partner businesses (eg: garden centre and food outlet). The status of

each would be defined by such a Board and reflect their respective responsibilities while at

the same time promoting a shared series of objectives.

It could also comprise representatives of the local community, plus co-opted expertise

encompassing health, the arts and related interest groups. It may incorporate additional

safeguards to ensure the integrity of its delivery by building in a link to a national Oxylane

charitable trust upon which it is anticipated Sport England and/or key NGBs will be

represented.

This approach embodies Oxylane’s commitment to the project, inasmuch as it will:

Oversee site and animation management.

Ensure that regular and intermittent programmes, events, new, derivative and

experimental activities are of high quality, welcoming and inclusive.

Proactively present and promote all initiatives both on the site and in the local

community.



Addressing key barriers to participation

The Oxylane Village model takes the notion of tackling barriers and the reach of ‘come and

try it’ far further than any other organisation or environment.

It directly confronts and assists other agencies to address the key issues associated with

behaviour change, specifically in relation to the take up of exercise. The Village’s set up,

availability of opportunity, equipment, environment, ease of access and low (or no) cost

provision aligned to a high awareness and low pressure environment will combine to directly

counteract many of ‘the usual’ key barriers to participation.

Figure 2: The transtheoretical model of change

It is built around the best practice

tenets of the well-known and

widely used ‘transtheoretical

model of change; as used by the

Improvement and Development

Agency (IDeA) and its work on

health. It thus caters for and

stimulates action with reference to

the five stages of the change

process:

1. Pre-contemplation: You

have no real intention of

making changes in the

foreseeable future. You may

not be aware of the

consequences of not making

change, or perhaps you’ve

tried to change in the past

without success.

Even for those at this stage, Oxylane is an effective catalyst. They visit the village, take

advantage of the retail offer, enjoy the open parkland, attend informal events and

accompany other family members. It also works closely with agencies developing health

activities, promoting better diet, organising walking activity and links to GP

recommendation and referral providers.

2. Contemplation: You are planning to make changes within the next six months, but you

may be ambivalent. If you spend time weighing the pros and cons, you might get stuck at

this stage for a while.

The Oxylane village is an excellent and key ‘tipping point’ for people whose perspectives

have started to change. Bringing them into a supportive environment and ensuring that

they can, in an unpressurised and positive context, get sight of the range of alternatives

available to them and providing options to ‘sample’ various activities is a powerful

incentive to maintain ‘forward progress’.



3. Preparation: You are actively planning to make changes within the next month. In fact,

you’ve started to take small steps toward change, such as gathering information,

locating resources, or wrapping-up loose ends so you can focus on the future.

The Oxylane Village really comes into its own at this point, low cost high quality clothing

and equipment (which people are able to try out on site) is available alongside the full

menu of options to participate at every level from introductory to returner. It is also an

information hub both in and of itself and via the link to the BBC team which could be

based at the proposed site, it will be a central point for all activity taking place across

Broxtowe.

4. Action: There are tangible, observable changes in process.

Everything the new participant might conceivably wish to do will either be directly

available on site or be signposted from it. Options to join in at every level will be set out

and clearly visible across a weekly menu that, throughout the year, will encompass

more than 100 different types of sport and activity.

5. Maintenance: Your change efforts have been successful and you are actively working

toward not slipping back into old patterns.

The Oxylane Village allows people to continue to participate at the same level or be

signposted to progression opportunities. It also allows people who have come back to

keep interest levels high by sampling different sports, doing different things at different

time of year and, again, by ensuring that the clothing and equipment they may need, to

do this, is easily available.

The winning combination, that makes an Oxylane Village the optimum participation driving

venue, is that:

Not only can you turn up and try an activity when it is organised by a specific club or

interest group but you can do it anytime.

You don’t need to have the clothing or equipment before you try it.

It can cope with people of all ages and abilities.

At the one site, people will be able to ‘sample’ more than 70 different forms of activity

or sport, plus a range of arts, cultural and health related activities.

It represents the ultimate ‘at a loose end’ venue where young people, adults, older

people, single people and families with mixed interests can all turn up and be sure that

they will be able to join-in with an activity they already enjoy or try something different.

By working in partnership with the Local Authority and local sports clubs and groups

the Village concept will ensure that, once interested and participating, individuals are

able to maintain new participation habits and be active outside of the Village, joining

local clubs or using local sports facilities.

The Village will, thus, drive up participation across the full range of community groups

through a variety of mechanisms and an extensive directly managed, delivered and

facilitated animation programme. The table on page 9 onwards describes just some of the

elements of Oxylane Village planning, operation and management that enable it to deliver

on its participation promise.



Strategic fit

The Oxylane Village espouses the same message as major Government health campaigns

such as Play4Life. The company philosophy reflects the notion that children and young

people do not need a gym to be active and have fun – all they need is a place to play and a

few ideas for games. It is evident, from the Oxylane Villages in France that the same is true

for adults and from the number of visitors to a site such as Bouc Bel Air, at Marseille, that the

approach appears to work (see appendices).

Oxylane knows that young people love to play, and that play is the best way to get them up

and about, have fun and stay healthy. The Village is set up so that, as the Play4Life

campaign states ‘from football in the park to building dens with cardboard boxes’; it can

provide opportunities because, put simply, ‘play is great for the emotional, social and

physical development of kids’. These views are reflected in Play England’s report ‘A world

without play’ (January 2012) in which it states

‘Play is fundamental to children’s happiness and well-being, and the evidence shows that it

is also influential in their health and future life chances. If children’s opportunities for play

are restricted there are likely to be profound effects on their life experience in general and

more specifically on their physical and mental health. For example, obesity, rickets and

attention deficit disorder are just some of the growing problems experienced by children,

that health experts have recently linked to a lack of particular forms of play’.

In meeting the need to promote play, in addition to sport and physical activity, the site

incorporates a specifically designed play area for young children, set at the hub of the

development’s built elements. It also includes a large open activity area (the prairie/park) for

informal sport/play, urban/community sports, tree climbing activities and a wide range of in-

store ’taster’ sessions. All of these have the potential to promote play and recreational

activity thereby leading on to sport for children and young adults.

Taking this one step further, Oxylane knows that playing together as a family is a great way

to be active. This is a key facet of Village successes in France where the reality of families

playing together has become one of the enduring legacies of the concept. Playing active

games helps young people to develop more imagination about how and when they play and

by sharing activity with others to make new friends in the process. It also enhances self-

confidence, improves communication skills and ultimately develops self-esteem. This is all

facilitated by taking part in a wide range of games and activities that are essentially safe but

involve a (perceived) degree of risk.

Co-locating agencies and events at the Oxylane Village means that messages with regard to

the need to burn energy and maintain a healthy weight can be set alongside information

about calorie intake and consumption of fruit and vegetables. Operating with the support of

the Mysporteezy and BBC teams or independently, young people and families will be able to

take part in a range of active outdoor games including many of those recommended by

Play4Life such as tag, ‘chainey’, various formal and informal ball games, skipping and other

‘playground’ games and activities such as den building – in the main without charge.

The proposal is also consistent with the work of the Youth Sport Trust. As an independent

charity the YST is devoted to changing young people’s lives through high quality physical

education and sport opportunities. Its stated aims are to:



Give every child a sporting start in life through high quality PE/sport in primary schools;

Ensure all young people have a sporting chance by developing opportunities for those

with special educational needs and disabilities; and

Support all young people to achieve their sporting best in school and their personal

best in life.

The Oxylane Village proposal is thus consistent with the YST’s ambitions. It has the

potential, by linking with local schools and offering attractions for young adults and families,

to create an environment which genuinely serves all parts of the wider community and, in

this capacity, meets a wider social need.

Free changing rooms and showers on site ensure that people can (taking account of the

British weather) also get wet and muddy and still be able to clean themselves off in modern,

carefully supervised facilities before going home. Site animation will play an important role,

from the outset by addressing safety elements associated with such provision while also

tackling negative factors that can adversely affect propensity to play (and related parental

attitudes). These typically include hard surfaces, rubbish, dog fouling and traffic hazards – all

of these limiters will be taken out of the equation.

The Village is also a superb, effectively custom designed, venue for activities associated

with the Bike4Life and Bike your way to fitness initiatives. It will be completely in tune with

Play4Life approaches to parenting and is set up to encourage young people to:

Get outdoors.

Have fun solving problems themselves.

Take the lead.

Be imaginative and indulge in make-believe games.

Not be over-protected – it offers opportunity for play and adventure allowing them to

learn about risk in an appropriately designed and managed environment.

Broxtowe Sport: Strategic context

Broxtowe Borough Council has, within its current work plan, a requirement to assess the

condition of current facilities, consider needs for the future and develop plans to address any

mismatch. While such a plan could be written it would, prior to this opportunity, have been a

largely theoretical exercise. Oxylane Sports Village will provide the necessary foundation

upon which a Council (Sports) Facilities Strategy can be based. The range of facilities

present at the Village, in particular the associated leisure centre, swimming pool, fitness,

gym and pitch facilities, will provide the conviction that the strategy will be delivered. It will

enhance the offer for all of Broxtowe’s residents and improve the delivery of services across

the borough by including a central base for all of BBC staff thereby making it easier to co-

ordinate sport and leisure services.



Local impact

In the course of any given year, Broxtowe’s Oxylane Village will, working with a

comprehensive range of partners, drive up engagement and physical activity participation

levels among people new to physical activity, sport returners and those referred for health

reasons. It’s unpressurised but visible provision of attractive new options and/or exciting new

versions of activities, with which people already have a degree of familiarity and via which

confidence levels can be built, will prove inspirational in its delivery and/or support for:

100+ types of activity – providing access to an extensive range of sport, physical,

recreational and relaxation activities; effectively providing ‘something for everyone’.

Free / low cost access - the majority of this will be without charge in the introductory

stages and in the case of some activities, they will be permanently free.

Active support for main NGBs – in their promotion of existing mainstream and new

participation initiatives including, for example, ‘stepping stone’ variants to generate

adult participation such as ‘Rush Hockey’, ‘Back to Netball’ and ‘No Strings

Badminton’.

Non-standard activities and ‘free-range’ sports – from den building to ‘Ultimate

Frisbee’.

Inclusivity – in addition to ‘introductory level’ and ‘on-going development’ for people of

all ages, sites are orientated to ensure that all of the amenities are easy to access and

use for people with disabilities, parents with young children, pushchairs etc.

The Oxylane mantra is that locating interesting, attractive, high quality products alongside

excellent places to play, underpinned by first class programming and management will

naturally, organically and, most vitally, sustainably drive up participation. This is why the

new Oxylane Village approach will succeed and why supporting and investing in this site is

essential.

Table 1: Engagement plan elements, plans and partners

Element Plans/activities Partners

Early engagement

As early as the site design and development phase, Oxylane involves local people and groups in the planning, specification and location of facilities. From its more formalised provision such as tennis courts through to planting tree-climbing areas and green gyms.

This both enhances Village design and ensures that awareness is high throughout the community. The process is accompanied by a series of roadshows to schools and community groups early in the development phase followed by site previews and related activities as preparatory work nears completion.

The result is a venue with high local recognition, ownership, buy in and a high community visit propensity.

Once outline consent has been obtained, a detailed engagement plan will be prepared, and agreed with BBC, setting out which groups, activities and priorities in the local area are to be targeted.

BBC

Schools

Community groups NGBs

Local clubs

TARAs

Community centres

Disability Access Group

Additional wider partners will be identified at the engagement plan stage.




Health: physical activity

Oxylane Village offers a wide array of opportunities to tackle health inequalities locally. The Health & Wellbeing Impact Assessment that has been prepared and submitted in respect of the proposal provides an outline summary of key areas to be addressed via the facilities.

In essence, much of the Village is a large, informal exercise area. The prairie (park) offers way-marked opportunities to walk, jog, skate, cycle, cross-country ski and other options.

It is a perfect venue to both learn to ride a bike and to cycle individually, with groups of friends or family. Because of the links with the store, you won’t even have to own a bike to come to the Village and enjoy cycling.

Similarly, if young people, older people or families wish to ‘have a go’ at skating, equipment will be available.

The one/two kilometre track allows for a range of individual and group circuit based training options

BBC

Local Authority Health Commissioning Group Community groups

NGBs

Local clubs

TARAs

Community centres

Healthy eating, diet and nutrition

Oxylane Village is a perfect medium both for the presentation of key messages and the delivery of a range of drop-in, structured, regular and occasional events and activities associated with healthy lifestyles.

In-store activity will link to village-square based fairs, demonstrations and ‘stands’. The intention is for the Village to be a regular venue for health promotion unit activity, blood donation, displays by various purveyors of organic foods, innovative diet and exercise regimes etc.

This will be closely linked to the work undertaken with young people by Mysporteezy, store based promotions, the in situ relationship with Broxtowe Sport and extensive off-site links to GPs, Broxtowe College etc. The intention is to also provide a community allotment and garden, This will regularly host demonstrations, workshops and ‘drop-in’ sessions covering topics such as ‘how to grow and cook fresh food’. This will link people to the environment, the ecosystem in which they live and will offer a natural fit to the Oxylane Village key partner/garden centre.

BBC

Local Authority Health Commissioning Group

Sport

The Village will be a Broxtowe/Greater Nottingham sub-regional festival/competition venue for ‘casual’ sports and a key location for the introduction and development of new derivative sports and participation-focused variations. Oxylane has consulted and works closely with over 40 established NGBs looking at opportunities to showcase and develop their sports. It also embraces a range of more informal and highly attractive ‘non-standard’ sports and activities. As a consequence, the annual activity menu will include activities as varied as, for example:

Ultimate frisbee In-line skating Cross country skiing Try golf Rounders Baseball/softball Touch rugby Rush hockey No Strings’ badminton Walking and jogging

BBC / Broxtowe Sport

Notts CSP

Schools

Broxtowe College

FA

RFU

British Cycling

England Hockey

RFL

England Badminton

GB Baseball/Softball

England Rounders

Local clubs including:

Football

Archery

Cricket

Running

Cycling




Sport (continued)

These will be available in a variety of formats: Coached/structured Led/facilitated Multi-ability level festivals Turn up and try’ – for beginners and returners ‘Don’t give up yet’ – for players nearing the end of

careers in mainstream sports; and More structured leagues and competitions

Various NGBs are committed to investing either capital in specific facilities or revenue (coaching, leadership and activity organisation and promotion) both on-site and in the community, to drive up participation and site use.

At the events end of the sports development continuum, the Village will cater for sports such as triathlon for which it will form part of an event loop – offering an attractive, scale-able and safe start and finish point.

Arts & drama The Village will provide a centre for arts development bringing people out of their community to a central venue. This is a strong facet of the Company’s operation in France and encourages the types of cross-disciplinary engagement which are so effective in reaching a wide cross-section of people and raising participation levels. The activities to be put on will include, for example, employing/providing space for

Freelance story tellers.

Community Plays/theatres – enabling teams of people to run theatre workshops, and related drama and self-exploratory activity on site (the Village will boost some of the excellent work already being delivered locally improving its visibility and expanding the market for it)

Physical arts on the Village site – linked to the creation and reinforcement of local identity

Community arts projects i.e., bespoke railings, seating, flags, mosaics, paving, pavement artistry, graffiti walls; all with professional artists managing the process.

Workshops in willow sculpture and related activity making the most of the site’s natural landscape/form.

BBC

Literacy Following consultation and reflecting locally identified needs, the animation team will organise, working in tandem with local library services, sessions encouraging reading for young people and (where the opportunity offers itself) adults.

This will be linked to the booking of local freelance poets and storytellers who will, for example, use the location of the Village to reach and create interest for new audiences.

The Oxylane Village will, in this context, serve an outreach function, referring people onto local library services.

With the support of Nottinghamshire County Council, the possibility of developing an on-site library service and/or on-site promotional activities linked to on-line materials and booking services could also be explored.

BBC




Play and adventure

The Village contains a plethora of options for play, from equipped play areas to adventure provision that stimulates physical activity for very young children right through to tree climbing, high ropes, zip wires, BMX, skateboarding and in-line skating.

In addition to an open offer for families or young people to use the site independently for play, the animation team, plus other partners, will run a range of outdoor activities as diverse as making dens and dancing; there will, for example, be: Playday events Play forums VOX hosting opportunity for different partners. Family fun days, joint junior sports and arts events,

etc.

Local day nurseries &

Schools

Agency relationships

Oxylane has consulted and developed outline protocols and working relationships.

The plan is to provide a base for the BBC’s Sports and Arts Development Unit plus, as feasible, a temporary or occasional base for NGBs’ staff, coaches and instructors. The principle being to attract and offer the widest possible variety of sporting and physical activity opportunity, much of it on a free or a low-cost basis.

The Unit will also have a base at the Village enabling it to further cement / build upon the practical operating partnership envisaged.

BBC

Various NGBs (as cited above)

Events Oxylane sports villages excel in both the direct planning and delivery of events and in catalysing and enabling others to organise and deliver events both on, and making extensive use of the resource available at, their sites.

On average, Oxylane sites in France deliver or accommodate approximately 40 events each year. Broxtowe Village will support/deliver: Parades onto the site: cheerleaders to brass bands The Eastwood Carnival The Eastwood Arts Festival Christmas events and parades Easter events and parades

Oxylane is adept at picking up what is already happening in the community and working with organisers either to enhance these via additional publicity, feeder and pre-date tasters and, in many instances by bringing them onto the site and adding to the dimension and timeframe over which they are delivered.

All this is done with a view to responsive, responsible community engagement, using events to cross-fertilise between agencies. Most importantly, it will enable people to see the full range of activity already available to them bringing it together on one site.

BBC

Nottinghamshire CSP

FA

ECB

England Hockey

RFU

British Cycling

Schools

Local clubs including:

Football

Archery

Cycling




Outreach In addition to orchestrating a menu of over 100 different sports activities across the indoor, outdoor, village square, prairie and store-based activity locations, the animation team’s work will stretch off site. Working closely with Broxtowe Sport with whom substantial dialogue has already taken place, they will be actively involved in a range of promotional activity in schools, local communities and working with and through key partners such as the Police, in youth and community services, tenants and residents associations. This work will be devised and delivered primarily to ensure that participants once ‘recruited’ come on to the Village site to take part in their initial chosen activity.

Nottinghamshire Police

BBC

Community groups

Walking and cycling

Oxylane has an unrivalled track record with regard to the promotion and development of walking and cycling both in respect of the excellent range of formal and informal activities run on-site and to how people access the Village.

Access for people with disabilities is also first class: all areas of the store, sports facilities and wider prairie are fully wheelchair accessible while signposting and way-marking navigation is enhanced via both audio signage and tactile devices.

British Cycling

Nottinghamshire County Council Child Cycle Training

Flexible and responsive operation

Oxylane has a reputation for innovation and for using sites and stores flexibly. As part of the ‘Big Splash’ initiative, Decathlon UK, Speedo and (Steve Parry’s) Total Swimming combined to, over a six week period, attract more than 22,000 people to swim free.

It also enabled the orchestration of a process whereby adults and young people visiting the site who were unable to swim – and might otherwise, by their own admission, never have gone near a pool - signed up for lessons.

As part of a wider active campaign to drive up sports participation, in particular swimming, this is an excellent example of the demand that a facility can create if it is placed in the correct location, effectively promoted and well serviced. It highlights the fact that, at the outset, there was often no apparent demand before the provision was temporarily imported to the area. This is an excellent example of how Oxylane Village will drive up participation in a situation whereby latent demand for the facility is somewhat less than obvious.

Total Swimming

High ropes operator

FA approved football centre operator

Rugger-eds

Local self-employed coaches/trainers

Once outline consent has been

obtained, a more detailed engagement

plan will be developed setting out the

key groups and priorities to be targeted

in the local area. This will be developed

in partnership with Broxtowe Sport so

that it addresses all of the key areas

identified above.

Figure 3: The Big Splash – individual swims, water polo, swimming lessons etc.



3. WHY IT WORKS

Broxtowe’s Oxylane Village is envisaged as the first of 30 such developments in a high

profile national programme offering a new ‘destination concept’ for the UK. The core

premise is that unless sport and physical activity is promoted, presented and delivered

differently, little or no impact will be made on presently relatively static levels of participation.

Increased participation is a fundamental component of the nation’s health, social and

personal development agenda and of Oxylane’s company philosophy and business model.

Figure 4: Conceptual site layout: Oxylane Village – Broxtowe

A critical mass of retail, sports

and informal open space at the

village will offer free/low cost

access to high quality facilities.

This professionally animated

package with coached

activities has already proven

successful across France. A

reported eight million people

visit the nine Oxylane villages

in France each year and they

are cited as European best

practice models for delivery of

sustainable sport development

and increased participation.

For example, the Oxylane Village in Merignac, France attracts over 1 million visitors per

annum. Approximately 25% of the people visiting the village just come to take part in

sporting activities and do not even visit the store, such is the draw of the venue, with a wide

range of activities available on site plus free access, free showers, free changing and a safe

environment in which to take part (for further details see pg 23)

The Oxylane approach allows individuals to progress from interest to interaction in a single

visit; it provides the equipment to use, coaches to teach and an environment to ‘play’ in.

This is demonstrated by the ‘graduation pathway’ model shown below.

This combination has proven to be particularly effective in attracting and stimulating the

interest of fringe and non-participants and in extending the ‘family offer’. The principle behind

the model is that the resultant growth in participation in healthy outdoor activity and sport will

be sustainable, lead to more physical activity and ultimately better health for local

populations.

It is designed to strengthen links between delivery partners, develop participation and

promote subsequent pathways to membership of local clubs. It is an exemplar version of

Sport England’s 'community sports hub' model, consequently it has SE’s in principle support

while several of sport’s national governing bodies (NGBs) are keen to partner with Oxylane

to drive this project.



These NGBs have been extensively consulted as part of the development process.

Furthermore, the proposal exemplifies the aspirations for a long-term legacy from the

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Figure 5: Oxylane ‘graduation pathway’

While it is recognised that the approach does not conform to the normally used facilities

planning model as to how many pitches etc there should be within a given area it is seen to

offer a more flexible and accessible response which offers a mix of facilities that are

designed to be fully inclusive for all ages. This is particularly important for longer term

sustainability at a time when, for example, for the remainder of the current and into the next

decade there will be a decline in the number of 14-24 year olds, the primary participation

group for many sports. There will, at the same time, be a general increase in numbers within

older age groups according to ONS projections. This will be followed, into the 2020’s, by

growth in the number of 14-24 year olds as higher current birth rates feed into this age

group. This reinforces the need for a flexible offer that is able to cater for all age groups,

families etc.



Links to Legacy plan

Embracing the ideology of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Oxylane Village is a

match for many of the key tenets of the Governments’ 2012 Legacy Plan. It will:

Complement the plan to bring 20 major

sporting events to UK by 2019 by

accommodating a range of community

driven and spin-off events over the

period.

Provide physical facilities, partnership

support and a base from which the

Broxtowe Sport, Events and Arts Teams

can help community agencies in the

borough to deliver Sport England’s

Places People Play legacy programme

assisting in the training of volunteers

and providing facilities to support

planned participation programmes.

Provide a venue for festivals and other

mechanisms designed to deliver the

Youth Sport Strategy objective of linking

schools with sports clubs and

encouraging sporting habits for life.

Promote itself as a venue for volunteer

training, development and specific

volunteer activity via the Join In

programme which builds upon the spirit

of volunteering seen at the 2012 Games

and by encouraging people to volunteer

at local sports clubs.

Accommodate county sports festivals

(or derivatives thereof) linked to the

School Games programme and

designed to boost school sport.

Make its excellent disability friendly

indoor and outdoor facilities and

amenities available to support the

English Federation of Disability Sport

programme to increase levels of

participation in sport and physical activity

by disabled people.



The key ingredients, summarised in terms of Product, Place, Programming and

Participation; are founded on the following principles:

Best products - equipment, services and

high quality sports facilities.

High quality environments - to encourage

the inactive, already active, their families

and those identified by health

professionals as suitable for exercise

referral programmes to try new things.

Flexibility - an environment capable of

adaptation and continually refreshed to

offer new opportunities/ activities and thus

to develop and sustain interest.

Affordability - free access to the site, an

opportunity to take part in many informal

and structured activities at no cost, with

others at low and accessible cost.

Variety – greater choice of activities and

ready access to the ‘destination’ should

substantially widen the breadth of the

market and increase penetration into it.

Family friendly - where people of all ages

and levels of ability can try new (and fun)

physical activities, sports and recreational

pursuits in a completely unpressured

setting, at the same time enabling

different members of the ‘family’ to try

different things or to participate together.

Adjacency – focusing a full range of

sporting and leisure activities in the same

location, alongside available equipment

will enable people to try activities, making

the Village a ‘one stop shop’ for sport.

Inclusivity – offering an ‘access all areas’ DDA compliant facility.

Accommodating – set up to remove many of the usual barriers and attract people

normally deterred from and/or lacking the confidence to take part in physical activity.

Reach – through the above package, to service the needs and wishes of progressively

greater proportions and wider cross-sections of the community.

Expertise - advice and instruction to enable people to ‘try, buy and progress’ in

immediately accessible, safe and appropriate environments.

Signposting and support - following introduction to a new sport or activity, people will be

individually supported and directed towards routes to continue participation locally.



Why Broxtowe?

Broxtowe is an ideal fit for an Oxylane Sports Village. Consultation undertaken to inform the

Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy 2010-2020 (SCS) confirms the strongly felt

community need to ‘provide young people with more access to a range of activities to make

the most of their free time’ and makes it clear that ‘local people want good quality parks and

open spaces’. This links closely with the County Council’s strategic ambition to ensure that it

is a ‘place where Nottinghamshire’s children achieve their full potential’ – Oxylane Village

has what it takes to satisfy all of these key requirements:

Employment: the SCS notes ‘the scope for further employment growth to cater for the

needs of the population’ and references the fact that the length of time that people aged

over 50 and under 24 spend seeking work is rising while the number of jobs available in

the area is lower than British or East Midlands averages.

Employment: where success means increasing skills levels in the local community and

reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training. Inputs

with which the Oxylane Village will assist include work experience and apprenticeship

opportunities and improving personal skills by making access to training available. (This

would, as the Village is implemented be the subject of a specific agreement between

Oxylane and the Borough Council).

Oxylane would, as per arrangements associated with its sports village in Warrington,

expect to make specific commitments with regard to the provision of full and part time

jobs, apprenticeships, training and programmes run on site to support those seeking

work.

Health: reference is made to health issues, in particular citing the example of Eastwood

South where men have 10 years less life expectancy than the East Midlands average.

Healthy living: where success means Broxtowe being a healthy place to live and

whereby improving health enhances people’s quality of life. Furthermore, increasing

levels of adult participation in healthy outdoor activity, physical activity, sport and social

interaction will ensure that Oxylane Village helps to provide ideas and solutions that

enable Broxtowe to become a healthier place to live.

Oxylane Village will act as a visible symbol that health and wellbeing is important in

(and to) Broxtowe. It is entirely geared to promoting active, healthy lifestyles and the

take up of exercise. It will also support participation in new and established forms of

sporting activity and to accommodating a range of associated activities related to diet,

nutrition and ‘green living’.

Children and young people: the SCS stresses the ‘need to cater for their physical and

educational needs’.

Key priorities include making positive activity for young people available, supporting

delivery of the Childhood Obesity Strategy and reducing the number of young people

not in education, employment or training (NEETs). Success will lead to reduced obesity

levels in children and improve their physical and emotional well-being via provision of

play facilities. Its success will be manifest in more young people taking healthy exercise.



Oxylane, in context of the provision overall and, specifically via the work of Mysporteezy

is entirely committed to creating and providing 100s of activities for young people of all

ages both delivered and animated directly and run via partnership arrangements with

NGBs, local clubs and a range of self-employed coaches, animators and instructors.

Broxtowe Council’s Corporate Plan 2008-12 is aligned with the SCS, Nottinghamshire SCS,

the Nottinghamshire Partnership and aims and priorities of regional and sub-regional

strategies. It outlines priorities and objectives across several main themes. Those to which

the Oxylane Sports Village is relevant include:

Place Shaping: Ambition for a thriving, vibrant borough with access to services, jobs

and opportunities for all; with towns, parks, open spaces and countryside we can value

and enjoy.

The Oxylane Village will create and support employment, training and become a highly

valued and fundamental part of the accessible open space offer made to both its

immediate population and the wider borough community

Bringing People Together: A caring community where people feel they belong in

Broxtowe.

This aim is directly reflected in the Oxylane mantra which is all about bringing people

together and creating environments that encourage collaborative social interaction

around a core theme of active, healthy outdoor living.

Environment and green issues: the target is for Broxtowe to ‘take responsibility to

protect the environment for future generations’ and that ‘Broxtowe will be a thriving

place where people enjoy living, working and spending their leisure time’

The Oxylane Village will play a part in making Broxtowe a green, attractive area in which

to work, live and play and will impact positively on the carbon footprint by, in effect,

creating a new urban park open to all. It will thus increase people’s access to green

space as well as assisting the Borough to meet its target to plant 100,000 trees in the

borough over the next five years.

Economic impact

The Oxylane Village will make a major contribution to the local economy through...

Leverage – The total investment into the site will be in excess of £30m, of which c£9.3m will come from BBC. The Oxylane group will provide an enabling infrastructure which, along with the store, will act as a catalyst for the scheme as a whole. It will create a critical mass that is more likely to deliver a sustainable solution and minimises the risks for all concerned.

Creating permanent jobs - on average, 300 FTE jobs.

Providing fixed term employment – c. 200 planning, development and construction jobs1.

Provision of skills training and support programmes - working with Broxtowe College and local partners to develop vocational training and raise basic skill levels to assist young people into employment.

1 Basis – figures supplied by Oxylane Decathlon



Apprenticeships – the Company plans to implement high quality opportunities, particularly for local 16-19 year olds in technical, managerial and retail based professions through its own established internal apprenticeship programmes.

Career opportunities - a strong policy of promotion from within provides a route for apprentices to continue working for the company in Broxtowe or elsewhere in the UK.

A host venue – acting as a start/finish for larger fun runs, Sky-rides, local, county and regional sports and cultural events, it will attract visitors from outside the local area.

Support and skills development – for volunteers, local coaches, officials and managers via links to/support for the delivery of nationally recognised qualifications.

Showcasing – using the venue to promote leisure, sport and recreation initiatives.

Local infrastructure - potentially improving the ‘standard’ forms of community sport and leisure provision such as pitches, sports halls, running tracks, trails and equipment.

Footfall exceeding 1 million visitors – a stated ambition based upon business plan and sporting/leisure activity projections for the site plus Oxylane experience overseas.

Support - for a range of local small businesses, clubs and social enterprises.

Delivering underpinning resource - for on-going delivery of services to groups with who are disadvantaged and/or have low participation rates.

Creating an environment - in which health inequalities in Broxtowe can be tackled by raising the rate of active participation in healthy outdoor sport and recreation.

Creating a local sense of place and community - for people to meet and provision of enhanced facilities for building capacity in the voluntary sector.

It will lead to an increase in public confidence, local employment, skills and workforce development and healthier communities. At the same time, it will stimulate the economic regeneration of the area via innovative use of public and private sector investment funds, expertise and partnerships.

Phased development and a partnership approach

The essence of the process is a phased partnership approach to site development.

Phase one requires the Oxylane Group to assemble the necessary land, negotiate planning

permission, ensure commitment to/interest from the local authority, lay down

services/physical infrastructure and finalise partner sign-up and commitments to village

development.

This is the current stage of the exercise, in keeping with which, the planning proposal, site

layout etc have been drawn up. The ‘in principle’ endorsement/support of various NGBs has

been secured from, as a first tier of partner bodies; British Cycling, England Hockey, the FA,

the Lawn Tennis Association and the Rugby Football Union (see appendices).

Phase two involves the translation from letters of commitment to actual on-site

developments and financial commitments by the FA, RFU and BC alongside Oxylane’s FA

endorsed option for a private sector deliverer of five-a-side, additional attractions such as a

high ropes operation in/amongst the surrounding trees and a prospective partner

building/development. At present the site is scheduled to accommodate a partner building

with complementary uses, i.e. a garden centre. A detailed engagement plan will be

developed once outline consent is obtained. This will ensure buy in from the local

community and make sure that the Oxylane Village targets key priorities in the local area.



Phase three is critical in ‘bringing the facilities to life’. Site animation could, for example,

involve:

NGBs promoting and running ‘schools’, leagues, training/development courses etc.

Linked in-store, participation oriented promotional activity run by Decathlon.

Complementary activities by the Mysporteezy team working closely with the BBC team to deliver a jointly managed events calendar, promoting/running school sessions and commercial /team building events etc.

Activities and facilities animated by NGBs such as the RFU and England Hockey.

Extensive informal use of facilities for recreational, leisure and non-sporting activity.

Figure 6: Three key phases of development and animation

The Oxylane Village environment will enable individuals to progress from site visitor to

introductory participant, to social/family involvement. It will promote a transition via links from

informal to more formal activity and ultimately to more habit based or ‘committed’

participation at a club or in an established activity. The importance of site layout and

juxtaposition of facilities in helping to establish this process is set out below.

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Store and platform

- Oxylane

New, Broxtowe Sport, Leisure centre, swimming

pool, fitness etc.

An extra km on cycle routes - British Cycling

Tennis / netball courts etc.

- AGP & 5-a-side pitches - FA approved football centre operator

Broxtowe Council sport and leisure services operating from a

single central point for all staff In-store activities

Additional NGB input – animation/use of facilities by Rugby Union, Hockey

and other NGBs

Calendar of events and commercial activities to be managed by Mysporteezy

Infrastructure, roads,

site layout etc.

Decathlon store & communal areas

Informal participation

Partner building and other attractions e.g. high ropes etc.

Animation

of the offer

Additional physical input

from NGBs and partners

The core

development



Figure 7: Oxylane Village: Conceptual diagram of enabling function

National structure

At present, the plan is for the Oxylane Village to operate under the auspices of a national

partnership between the Oxylane Group and the Oxylane Sports Trust (which it has, in

principle, been agreed will comprise a range of England/UK major NGBs).

The Trust may be a registered charity set up specifically to oversee and support the

management of Oxylane Village sports facilities and related services. It will assist them in

driving up levels of participation, providing permanent safeguards in relation to the integrity

of the network and establishing mechanisms to identify, benchmark and disseminate good

practice between villages and out into the wider sports network and will, as outlined

previously (p4) have a relationship to/seat on the finally adopted village management

mechanism.



Site layout and uses (Approach 1)

The proposed Oxylane Village is a highly flexible site which lends itself to a mix of formal

and informal sporting, ancillary and non-sports uses all designed to support healthy active

lifestyles. Only a limited percentage of its overall use will be driven by a simplistic

commercial imperative, consequently the operation as a whole has the potential to build a

strong sense of place and ownership within the local community whilst generating a viable

and sustainable economic return.

Figure 8: Oxylane Village site layout

By area, 71% of the 53.8 acres site will comprise ‘softer’ features for sport and recreation,

attractive open and play space, woodland, footpaths and cycle-ways; around 23.5% will take

the form of access/service roads and car parking. Furthermore a proportion of the car

parking areas will also be designed to enable temporary sports activities and related

structures to be set up on them, thereby optimising site flexibility. Only 5.5% of the site will

be devoted to permanent ‘hard’ features in the form of built facilities.

The site as a whole will meet the needs of a wide range of sports from cycling and high

ropes to netball and tennis. In many respects it is the potential for the site to provide an

introductory pathway which sits at the heart of its shared balance between individual health,

community benefit and commercial viability. It will enable diverse activities such as extreme

frisbee and high ropes to sit alongside more traditionally based introductory sports like rush

hockey, mini-football, touch rugby and urban cricket; each of these offering transition to

participation in its equivalent ‘full sport’.



Figure 9: The process of transition from short form to full form etc.

Similarly tennis, netball, cycling and running facilities will meet local recreational needs.

They will help provide developmental opportunities consistent with the ambitions of the

respective governing bodies to widen both their geographic and social catchments; while

also supporting ‘short forms’ of each sport to assist returners and older participants.

Football (central venue league) - this reflects the FA's planned new youth football structure

and will see increased participation founded upon the use of small-sided games for all age

groups up to under 12s. This approach allows children to progress gradually through

formats which feature appropriate pitch and goal sizes thereby building confidence and

skills.

FA evidence and professional opinion confirms that scale is central to both enjoyment and

skills development as smaller-sided games give children an increased number of touches of

the ball, provide more goals and scoring attempts, generate more one-v-one encounters and

promote greater opportunity to develop dribbling skills. Increased contact time ‘with the ball’

will thus help children to enjoy the game more and offers better preparation for their entry to

the 11-a-side a game.

Table 2: Structure of youth football

13s and over 11 v 11 90-x-50 to 110-x-70 Full size (24’-x-8’)

Under 11s and U12s 9 v 9 70-x-40 to 80-x-50 New 9-v-9 goals (16’-x-7’)

Under 9s and U10s 7 v 7 50-x-30 to 60-x-40 Mini soccer (12’-x-6’)

Under 7s and U8s 5 v 5 30-x-20 to 40-x-30 Mini soccer (12’-x-6’)

Age group Format Pitch size (m) Goal size (ft)



Figure 10: Multi-use

spaces for football

across a range of age

ranges and pitch

sizes

Football (on artificial grass) – is to be provided either by an FA approved operator or could

form part of a broader partnership with Broxtowe Borough Council, the Council will have the

option as part of its new provision at the site. A strong emphasis will be placed upon junior

football development and the business model is predicated upon provision of a high quality

full-sized artificial grass pitch (AGP) which can be sub-divided / over-marked to cater for all

forms of training and matches at all age group levels.

This is consistent with views on appropriate skills development (see above) as the same

space thus caters for the very young, 7-8 year olds playing 5 -v- 5, through to adult matches

(see figure 10). It sits next to six standard adult 5-a-side courts on which the majority of adult

recreational play is accommodated.

Open spaces/non-commercial activities – include use of the site’s larger open spaces,

village square etc. for running clubs, as a start and finish point for charity runs etc. In terms

of its scale the open space areas (non-commercial pitches, tree climbing, BMX, cycle tracks

and prairie area but not the car parking or service areas) represent c.12 hectares. This is

around half the size of what CABE considers to be a district park (20 hectares) and is

considerably larger than a local park or open space (2 hectares). It is thus a substantial area

and will play a significant role in the wider urban environment. This is only likely to be limited

by scale/capacity/noise and service constraints such as car parking, toilets etc. for larger

events.

70m

110m

11-v- 11

50m 80m

9-v- 9

40m 60m

40m

7-v-7

7-v-7

40m 30m

5-v-5

13s and over

Under 11s & 12s

Under 9s & 10s

Under 7s & 8s



The Village Square - is a pivotal element of the site and will provide the focal point for many

activities and events.

Figure 11: Village square

The Play Park – is similar in concept to a large, high quality urban park. This area of open

green space surrounded by attractive wooded areas is extremely flexible and can be used

directly for example to accommodate sports from touch rugby and cricket through to softball

and rounders and to less formally structured games and activities such as Ultimate Frisbee.

Between them, the prairie and the village square will provide, for example:

Start/finish points for running and cycling.

Displays, fairs and marquee ‘related’ activities.

Community and charity events such as balloon launches and sponsored runs.

Firework displays, music events and shows.

They will also be available for use for walking and picnics or as ancillary support for activities

such as a football or rounders tournaments taking place on the non-commercial open

spaces.



Threading its way through and around both areas is the active way (see opposite).

Figure 12: Activities in and around the Village



Site promotion and animation

‘Mysporteezy’, Decathlon’s events department, will

work closely with the Broxtowe Sport team to bring the

offer to life by organising sporting events for young

children as well as adults. Their mission will be

consistent with BBC’s aim to promote healthy living

and lifestyles for all while at the same time aligning

itself with the business philosophy on which Oxylane

Villages are based...‘fun, fair play, team spirit, health

and quality of life, as well as healthy competition and

achievement’.

This combined animation offer will, for example,

develop and organise sports birthday parties,

corporate sports days, summer camps, tournaments,

school sports days etc. This approach allows for the

support of an extensive range of introductory options

across a broad spectrum of activities, adventure days

and introductory specialist activities led by employed,

voluntary and contracted coaches/staff.

Sessions will be set up so as to subsequently enable

participants to move on to more ‘serious’ on-going

participation if desired. Coaches may also provide

training and organise events ‘off site’ if required.

Provision can be made, for certain activities, to reach all people, minimal (if any) kit or

equipment can be required and a proportion of the activities on offer will be free or low cost,

thereby ensuring it is accessible to people from all parts of the community.

VitalSport days are an example of a particularly successful event that will be ‘imported’ and

are run by the Mysporteezy team. On these days, usually run over a summer weekend,

people of all ages are given the opportunity to ‘try for free’. For example at Merignac in

September 37 local clubs took part in a day, representing 45 different sports and offering

free activities and demonstrations – in one weekend over 15,000 visitors attended (see

Case study 1 appendix 6, for further details).

This type of day could alternate weekends, for example, with ‘summer school’ sessions

organised by the BBC team and delivered by its own and independent coaches/third party

organisations. Less formal activities on offer will be as diverse as juggling, drama, poetry,

nature appreciation and/or den building plus a wide range of adventure play and related

options for which the ‘menu’ is updated and taken forward as opportunities arise.

In addition to the work of the Village manager and /or management team (dependent on the

structure adopted) the site animation teams could also run club nights, inviting both

inspirational and topic specific guest speakers to add educational content to the

entertainment and activity programmes already on offer.

Figure 13 Branding and offers



The two teams will have a combined effect which ensures there are regular options to

participate and that interest and demand stimulated as a result of a VitalSport event. This

typically involves the installation of temporary swimming pools or other event-based options,

after which the young person or adult is assisted to find his/her way to permanent provision

made in that activity or sport, should they wish to do so.

Additional case studies (see Appendix 6) include details of:

Discover Decathlon Day - a general introductory day across all stores and linked to the

2012 Games.

The Big Splash - from 9:00am to 7:00pm, over the 2012 summer school holidays, this

event at Surrey Quays attracted 20,000 people.

Decathlon Club Nights - at a Decathlon Gilbrook event attracted 500 people from 21

local clubs.

Bouc Bel Air – probably the most directly relevant of the five case studies provided; this

Oxylane Village at Marseille employs 250 people on site, attracts 1.5 million visitors per

annum and has continued to operate successfully for more than 10 years.

Commitment to the pathway distinguishes Oxylane Villages from ‘the crowd’. Its partnership

ethos and strong, ethical use of its resources to drive up participation have the potential to

multiply the Borough’s capacity to achieve key targets and transform Broxtowe into a

borough which offers exemplar-based processes to improve the health and wellbeing of

local people.

Figure 14: Case studies – see appendix 4 for details



Why does it work?

In short, the Oxylane Village model will prove not only an economically viable proposition, an

essential requirement for any initiative if it is to remain a sustainable longer term proposition,

it will also meet existing demand. Possibly more importantly, however, it will generate and

service new interest. This is supported by Sport England data which indicates a lower level

of regular participation and a greater desire to do more sport than they do at present for

adults in Broxtowe than is the case nationally.

Its innovative approach in drawing together a variety of play, sport and recreational activities

for participants, ranging from individuals and teams to families and friends, will ensure it

offers something for everyone; while its orientation and mix will mean it is not simply more of

the same and that it can also accommodate diverse activities within a given group/family at

one and the same time.

A combination of short form and full pitch sports sitting alongside non-traditional activities

such as high ropes will enable the site to attract existing sports participants and non-

participants alike. It will provide routes for transition to clubs and teams yet will just as

importantly deliver for schools, families, communities and play for young children.

The proposed model balances the inclusivity and commercial viability essential for a long

term initiative to be regarded as a successful Big Society project. Similarly, its footprint,

footfall and potential capacity mean that it is a viable use of such a site in its contribution to

the wider community without becoming an unbalanced use of available land.

While generating numbers that are high enough to ‘wash its face’ financially, its highly

accessible location will also ensure it operates well within its potential capacity for site

numbers and the surrounding transportation network.

In essence the site and proposed uses will be sustainable and accessible yet numbers will

be comfortable and not overrun – in short, the proposition is viable on all levels



4. THE BUSINESS PLAN

Principles

‘Share, practise, equip’, this (translated) phrase summarises the original French business

model which underpins Oxylane’s ‘Different Approach – Different Results’ mantra. Within the

corporate framework outlined above, the Broxtowe Sports Village will be:

Attractive to all sections of the community and actively promote inclusivity.

Managed on a bespoke local basis.

Complementary to facilities/programmes delivered by BBC and others.

Founded on a financial cross-subsidy model, thus embodying Big Society principles.

Although various alternative business scenarios were explored in the earlier stages of the of

developing the Village proposal and several were shown to work financially, it was the

combined economic viability and social benefits of the model outlined here that was felt best

to deliver across an appropriate range of fronts.

One of the key aspects has been to provide a tie-in to the Local Authority, thereby offering

an alternative offer to existing provision. This would significantly improve the quality of

facilities available to local residents, reduce maintenance costs on older premises and

protect jobs. In addition to delivering Broxtowe Sport (BS) services, via the proposed leisure

centre, swimming pool, fitness and gym facilities, the Council’s sports development unit will

also be able to influence the sport and wider community events/non-sports offer throughout

the site by its involvement on the Village Management Board. It is envisaged that the BBC

team at the Village will work closely with Oxylane’s Mysporteezy team in order to offer

complementary services and fully utilise all of the opportunities available.

Oxylane/Decathlon will make the site available and ready for development, complete with all

services and utilities at a nil cost to BBC, the local authority’s sport and leisure services

department. A significant portion of the site will be made available to BBC at a peppercorn

rent for 125 years. Furthermore the principle of co-location will minimise the risks for all.

BBC will develop and run a leisure centre, swimming pool, fitness, gym and pitch facilities to

replace the community/public offer made by the existing Kimberley Leisure Centre and

Eastwoood Community Sports Centre2. BBC will either directly manage the site’s football

and 5-a-side facilities or alternately oversee their management by an approved operator, in

return for which it will receive a substantial annual financial return. The overall combination

of income streams is such that it will help to underpin the scheme’s long term financial

sustainability, in the event that the retail aspects of the development were not to continue.

Consequently, the participatory elements of the sports and leisure facilities are regarded as

sustainable long term provision. They will provide subsidised access to specific target

groups and thus contribute to community wellbeing while delivering social benefits.

BBC’s staff are currently situated at several locations throughout the borough; a further

benefit of this proposal is that they will be brought together to operate from a single site.

While not leading to financial savings it is nonetheless expected to result in significant

2 The existing centres will continue to provide services for the local schools with which each is associated.



efficiency and co-ordination improvements which will enhance the quality of the services

provided.

The Oxylane Group will purchase the land and deliver key infrastructure, including access,

car parks, landscaped areas, the multi-purpose Active Way (route-marked for running,

cycling, walking, jogging), the play park/ open spaces and its own store buildings. This up-

front investment will act as an enabler for the BBC’s investment in a leisure centre,

swimming pool(s), fitness/gym facilities, studios, sports pitches and changing rooms/showers

along with a partner building (possibly a garden centre) and food outlet.

Oxylane’s commitment will thus catalyse an overall spend of £30+million which, with its

critical mass, will fundamentally transform Broxtowe’s sport and recreational offer.

Support is provided in the form of capital investment from core site partners such as

Broxtowe Borough Council/Broxtowe Sport, the football operator and NGBs such the

Football Foundation, the LTA and British Cycling; all of which may be directly linked into the

process via the Oxylane Sports Trust.

The combined footfall,

for the leisure centre,

swimming pool,

fitness/gym facilities

and pitches, is

anticipated to be in the

order of 500,000p.a.

and to have the

potential to rise

significantly above this

level. This should also

be seen in light of the

numbers that could be

attracted to events,

people calling at the

store and general

visitors to the open

space and linked

outdoor facilities.

The proposed model ensures that every pound invested by Oxylane’s partners, NGBs, the

local authority and local sports clubs goes directly into providing new sports facilities as

opposed to meeting the up-front cost of land, infrastructure, connection to utilities etc. This

approach makes it possible to support the development (and subsequent operation) of

facilities that would otherwise be impossible to realise without major, normally public sector

underwritten, capital outlay and substantial ongoing revenue subsidy. The approach will

enable BBC to develop and progress its own sports facilities strategy which, at a time of

economic stringency, would otherwise remain an unrealised ambition as opposed to a

realistic proposition.

Figure 15: Free access to a wide range of facilities



It will be necessary to afford all partners a mechanism to influence and control

activities/developments. One route would be for Oxylane Decathlon, BBC etc. to form a

Village Management Board to oversee initiatives in which the overall package comprises a

range of services in which each supports one another.

The capital development aspect of the Leisure Centre is substantially reduced for BBC by

the provision of a ‘ready to build’ site with all infrastructure in place at a peppercorn rent.

This will also reduce ongoing debt charges that might have been associated with land

purchase and development costs.

It would have been highly unlikely without such an ongoing ‘subsidy’ and site ready

infrastructure that Broxtowe Sport would have been in a position to develop the proposed

facilities or to bring its leisure services staff together at a single location. It also ensures that

while certain aspects of the Park, such as the Prairie, tracks and trails and access roads are

in effect ‘gifted’ as already landscaped / fully prepared public open space and thus promote

free access and inclusivity, other aspects such as the built facilities and pitches are more

easily able to ensure their own economic viability as they have fewer overheads and are

able to promote reduced access costs to specific target groups within Broxtowe’s population.

This will promote inclusivity through a solution that should prove highly effective in serving

the local community. The whole approach, while in some aspects being potentially beneficial

to the Oxylane Group, also reflects a commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.

Figure 16: Balancing the overall offer and costs

Facilities Costs

...store and open spaces plus a mix of free to use, subsidised and paid for sport and community facilities with shared and complementary objectives

...capital development, staff and revenue costs factored in with some costs reduced

eg: land rental, leading to an overall budget commitment that is affordable

What ... is to be on offer How ... much it will cost

A balanced approach on both sides whereby decisions and their implications are viewed holistically,

considered and implemented through a Village Management Board

The health dimension

The health benefits of physical activity are widely recognised and in ‘Start Active, Stay Active’ (2011), a report by the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers, on the benefits of physical activity, it was stated:

‘Promoting active lifestyles can help us address some of the important challenges facing the UK today. Increasing physical activity has the potential to improve the physical and mental health of the nation, reduce all-cause mortality and improve life expectancy. It can also save money by significantly easing the burden of chronic disease on the health and social care services.’

Under the 2013 revisions to the structure of NHS commissioning, local authorities are to

become responsible for a wide range of health related services including, for example:

Interventions to tackle obesity, such as community lifestyle and weight management

services.

Locally led nutrition initiatives.

Increasing levels of physical activity in the local population.



NHS Health Check assessments.

Behavioural lifestyle campaigns.

Public health aspects of promotion of local initiatives to tackle social exclusion.

Exercise referral generally involves GPs or other health practitioners referring individuals to

an accredited regime of physical exercise delivered by an approved coach. It is offered to

individuals who do not exercise regularly but for whom it is felt regular exercise would

significantly improve their health and wellbeing. ER programmes rely heavily on having the

right coaches to introduce people to exercise in non-threatening environments in order to

build their confidence; while, at the same time, the interaction with other people in similar

situations helps to develop relationships and plays an important social role in the promotion

of inclusivity. Furthermore, such initiatives are aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare in the

short and/or long term.

The typical stumbling block is that at the end of their 12 weeks referral many participants find

they are either not yet comfortable to attend the leisure centre without being able to see

familiar faces and/or find the usual uplift in fees to be potentially prohibitive. The Broxtowe

model at the Sports Village will, however, enable referrals/participants to continue attending

at the same venue, seeing the same faces (even if no longer on the programme) and with

the prices charged being retained at a reduced level for life.

As part of its work towards this end, the local Exercise Referral Unit (ERU) has been

integrated into the Broxtowe Sport team along with a series of other health related initiatives

enabling such strands to be drawn together. These include, for example, a full time inclusive

activity officer to drive the link between health referral, personal health improvement, obesity

and related initiatives such as cardiac referral.

Furthermore in a study of the Oxylane proposals by mytimeactive (MTA) it was stated that

‘The opportunities presented by this development pose some exciting and innovative

approaches to health and wellbeing from a truly integrated perspective. When considering

the wider determinants of health, this blend of commercial and free access elements has the

potential to provide cross cutting, dynamic conditions that conceptualise a universal

approach to enabling health improvement’.

The MTA report referenced a wide ranging series of potential health benefits. Many of these

benefits reflect work already being done by Broxtowe Sports which could be further

enhanced by their delivery in an improved environment such as that offered by the Oxylane

Village, for example:

Community engagement/improved integration of facilities and opportunities for local

people.

Providing convenient access to information on health and wellbeing related matters

and an all encompassing signpost to other community based programmes.

A route to engage hard to reach groups that do not normally access health services, in

particular men.

To enhance local marketing campaigns such as Change4Life road shows and local

National Health Promotion Days, etc.

A route to promote behavioural change programmes.

Promotion of activities from Oxylane as a base eg: cycling routes.

Use of the site’s green spaces for active health initiatives.



The activities offered at the village extend across a spectrum from watch to walk to work-out.

The package, which includes weight management classes, walking and cycling for health

etc., is designed to promote lifestyle change in an environment which helps such change to

be sustained. In addition to the participatory elements it is also intended to offer relaxed

discussions around subjects such as smoking cessation, health and nutrition etc.

At present BBC is regarded within the county as providing a high quality/benchmark service.

It is also understood that Nottinghamshire Healthcare (NHS Trust) is shortly to go to tender

for a countywide service specifically to address weight management and obesity. The

proposed Sports Village offers the ideal environment to further develop and improve this

range of services for Nottinghamshire with Broxtowe Sports at the forefront in what could be

regarded as an integrated flagship initiative.

Further extensions to the above package which could be offered, although not in the current

designs could be accommodated before construction in the event that BBC is successful in

such a venture, include for example, physiotherapy services and NHS Health Check

assessments (via mobile units within an allocated portion of the car park).

Additional community facilities

A further extension to the offer might, dependent on available space, incorporate a library

facility within part of the foyer/reception to the main sports/leisure centre. This would be in

keeping with co-location initiatives seen in an increasing number of areas which enable the

extension of available hours/days for library and exhibition services. It would also be

consistent with the promotion of a fully inclusive community facility.

Assumptions

Certain plan assumptions are outlined above and supplemented by a series of typical

initiatives which could be developed to generate footfall are described below.

League, pre/end of season football

15-20 team 7-a-side and 15-20 team 9-a-side leagues.

Matches within leagues to run for approx. 30 weeks of the year.

Six tournaments (3 pre & 3 end of season) involving teams/clubs from further afield.

Pitches to be used for three hours each Saturday and Sunday during the season.

Young people playing in matches to use free on-site changing rooms and showers.

On average, each team expected to generate 15 spectators to whom a range of the

site’s others activities and options can be presented.

It is not currently presumed that, for the foreseeable future, there will be a change to

summer junior football; although should this occur the site will be able to accommodate it.

Annual events programme

This will be used to stimulate increased on-site activity and help plan year on year. The

objective is to establish a high baseline of attendance/activity and to programme events

which coincide annually with half-terms, school holidays and bank holidays. Such

programmes successfully ‘boost’ attendance and spend figures. The intention is to link this



to national/seasonal events such as Wimbledon, the Six Nations, Tour de France, major

event tasters, soccer skills, emergent sports, commercial launches in the store etc.

Figures for ‘non-commercial’ use include access to the site’s larger open spaces for running

clubs, as a start and finish point for charity runs, balloon launches etc. Assumptions are

indicative and caveated given that less rigorous data is available for such types of use.

Table 3: Indicative outdoor events programme

Type of events Number of

events

Participants

per event

Spectators

per event

Minimum total

attendance

Football tournaments 6 384 384 4,608

Cycling events 8 200 100 2,400

Cycling club 40 20 800

Cycling lessons 40 30 1,200

BMX club 80 20 1,600

BMX casual 84 10 840

Running clubs 80 30 2,400

Orienteering 40 20 800

Informal jogging 280 15 4,200

Green gym 84 10 840

Mini athletics track 80 20 1,600

Health walks etc. 120 15 1,800

Start/finish for 10ks etc 2 300 75 750

Start/finish cycling events 1 200 50 250

X country skiing training 40 8 320

Village square activities 32 30 30 1,920

Vitalsport 2 10,000 5,000 30,000

Big Splash type events. 2 5,000 , 2,500 15,000

Arts events 8 100 300 3,200

Charity events 3 500 100 1,800

Community activities 1 200 1000 1,200

Picnics/informal use etc. 16 0 100 1,600

Fireworks display 1 400 400

Corporate events 80 15 1,200

Overall totals 25,764 9,964 80,728

Tennis

Provision, on four tarmac floodlit courts, of a range of break-even based introductory and

development options combining open access ‘drop-in’ sessions, coached and fun tennis will

provide a route in for people for whom a way in to the sport has traditionally been less easy.

This is, of course, entirely complementary to the indoor sports hall in which short tennis will

be a regular element of the suite of sports and activities to be offered to young people.



Special events and in-store activities

These will generate further participation which will be sustainable as and when the ‘offer’ is

translated to a regular activity/club, while increased sales will also underpin overall economic

viability. The numbers participating should increase year on year but also represent an

achievable first full year of business. They will, furthermore, generate secondary spend in

the form of vending and catering (see below) and have the potential to translate

parental/guardian attendance to participation should the offer match up to potential interests.

Table 4: Indicative programme for special events and In-store activities

Season No of

weeks

Ave events

per week

Ave

duration

Hourly

throughput

%

occupancy

Total

usage

Winter/autumn 24 1.25 4 60 90% 6,480

Spring/summer 24 1.75 4 80 90% 12,096

Overall total 18,576

Corporate days

These will be promoted so as to generate participation and income. They will, for example,

encompass teambuilding via a mix of football, volleyball, ‘fun games’, tug of war, athletics,

archery and target golf. As a relationship building exercise for the individual they promote

confidence and offer a natural progression route for personal development; while

commercially it represents investment in and development of a (potentially) longer term

customer relationship, brand loyalty and future sales – it is thus a win: win proposition.

Catering and vending

While vending machines will be available in the reception area of the leisure centre,

swimming pool, fitness and gym facilities the intention is not to have a fully serviced café

area and the catering requirements for visitors to the site are, primarily, to be met by a food

outlet and a cafeteria at the proposed garden centre.

The business case

Broxtowe Sport arranged for an independent analysis of the business case to be produced

by FMG Consulting. The report sought to:

Establish the net operating cost or surplus of providing a new sports and leisure centre as part of the Oxylane Sports Village.

Determine the financial implications associated with the debt funding structure of the transaction.

Assess the revised annual cost of the new facility against the current cost of Kimberley Leisure Centre and Eastwood Community Sports Centre.

Undertake NPV/IRR calculations to establish the returns on the Councils investment.

Selected extracts from this examination are provided below and indicate a solid argument for

the proposition (for a full copy of the report contact BBC).



Demographics

A 10 minutes catchment from the proposed Sports Village indicates a population of 311,479

of which c.255,000 are aged 15+ years; the largest proportion of being in the 40-59 years

age group.

Slightly lower proportions of the adult (22.3%) and child (15%) populations are classed as

obese when compared to the national averages, which are 24.2% and 19% respectively.

Nevertheless, as the rates involved still represent more than 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 7 children

these are significant issues to be addressed and an initiative such as Oxylane Village

alongside BBCs responsibilities to tackle health related issues such as obesity (see earlier)

underline the potential value and importance of such a development.

Unemployment rates are below the national average and suggest the potential for a slightly

higher capacity to spend on some of the facilities that will be on offer.

Sport England and participation data

In general, analysis of Sport England’s segmentation model for people resident within the

defined catchment zone indicates a population whose habits are most likely to be associated

with activities such as visiting leisure centres for swimming, team sports, football, combat

sports, walking, keep fit, bowls, golf, social activities and low intensity sport. Although less

inclined to participate in high intensity activities or to be described as ‘very fit’ there is a

tendency for such (more active) groups to travel further to a high quality facility and thus

people from outside the catchment zone may boost the anticipated numbers yet further.

Sports participation data for adults, from the Active People survey, shows that Broxtowe’s

adults (38%) are more likely to take part in one or more 30 minute sessions of physical

activity (1 x 30) per week than the national average (36%). Volunteering rates are also

slightly higher (Broxtowe 8.8%, England 7.6%) as are club memberships (Broxtowe 25.1%,

England 22.8%). Lower rates are seen in those receiving tuition/coaching (Broxtowe 14.5%,

England 16.8%) and/or involved in organised competition (Broxtowe 14.0%, England

14.4%). Regular participation (3 x 30 mins) is below the national average (Broxtowe 15.2%,

England 16.3%). Active People 4 also asked people if they would like to take part in more

sports (than they do at present) – almost 6 in 10 people (58.3%) in Broxtowe said they

would like to, this compares to 53.6% nationally. Consequently, SE’s Active People data

points towards a lower level of regular participation and a greater desire to do more sport

than they do at present for adults in Broxtowe than is the case nationally.

Main components (Leisure centre and swimming pool)

The key components (as shown in the accompanying building plans – Appendix 5) comprise

a main pool, learner pool, confidence water, health suite (sauna, steam and Jacuzzi), sports

hall, fitness suite, three studios plus a full sized synthetic turf pitch and a range of grass and

5-a-side pitches.



Attendance/usage

The overall number of visits to the BCC leisure centre, swimming pool, football pitches and

associated fitness facilities have been modelled and estimated by Broxtowe Sport to be in

the region of 500,000p.a. This represents a higher footfall than is currently the case for both

Kimberley Leisure Centre (KLC) and the Eastwood Community Sports Centre (ECSC), both

of which will remain as school facilities. It reflects the combined effect of providing a higher

quality environment, better/newer facilities and a wider range of sporting and recreational

activities than are to be found elsewhere.

The transport implications have been modelled by BWB Consulting, via the TRICS database

(Trip Rate Information Computer System) using the number of trips associated with the

leisure centre; the resultant figures have also been agreed with the local highway authority.

The transport modelling has been tested up to a total of c.1.95 million persons per annum

visiting the village plus a further capacity for c.430,000 attending the leisure centre etc. In

total the tested highway capacity has made an allowance for 2.28 million persons in total. It

is also recognised that there could be individual peaks associated with larger one-off events;

they would, however, require a specific event management plan to be drawn up. The current

anticipated demand levels, while substantial, are thus well within the tested capacities.

In summary, BWB calculated that the leisure centre would generate 1,425 and 1,146 two-

way vehicle trips on a typical weekday and Saturday respectively. Calculating this over a

year gives a total of 489,684 two-way vehicle trips or 244,842 vehicles attending the site.

Using the agreed 57% car driver modal split these vehicle numbers equate to 429,547

people attending the leisure centre and thus fall in line with the projected demand.

The size of the potential market and uptake has also been ratified by KKP by comparison

with the level of uptake for a ‘Complete Football’ offer at Gosforth Park. Relative to these,

the figures for Oxylane Village is considered to be relatively conservative. Estimates by KKP

have taken full account of standardised processes for seasonal adjustment and adopted a

participant level for the AGP use and five-a-side football operation that is two thirds of the

numbers presently being achieved at Gosforth Park. Gosforth attracts 5,478 participants per

week over 46 weeks; a total of 251,988, consequently 75% of this figure would generate

188,991 visits; 66% is equal to 166,312 and 50% would result in 125,994 visits.

Financial modelling

The overall capital costs associated with construction of the leisure centre (including the

swimming pool(s), outdoor pitches, initial equipment, and professional fees etc. are in the

order of £9.311 million. The financial model also covers debt costs, interest on cashflow,

lifecycle costs, operating deficit/surplus, cashflow projections and NPV calculations.

Early indications are that in the first year of operation there will be an overall deficit of

£248,233; this is half the scale of the current deficit for KLC and ECSC. Furthermore, in

subsequent years this will revert to an operating profit which climbs and by years three and

four has increased to a return of £333,000+ per annum. This compares to an annual deficit

across the KLC and ECSC sites of -£574,000 - a net gain of £907,000 p.a. Whilst the

Oxylane Village will move into growth, as outlined above, each of the aforementioned sites is

currently facing substantial and ongoing maintenance and repair costs.



5. OVERALL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Directly aligned to its commercial interest as a sports retailer under the Decathlon brand

Oxylane’s ambitions, commercially and philanthropically, are to drive significant market

growth by facilitating a step change in physical activity. An association between enjoyment,

participation, health, fun and commercial viability has proven to be a successful business

model in France. The potential market for such a development is supported by Sport

England‘s Active People data which indicates a lower level of regular participation and a

greater desire to do more sport for adults in Broxtowe than is the case nationally.

A multi-sport/activity environment can provide a catalyst to drive up participation which in

turn delivers a range of additional social, health and community benefits. Oxylane Villages

comprise a mix of high quality indoor and outdoor sport and leisure facilities, commercial and

rental opportunity located on a single, cohesive site. The linkages provide critical mass,

substantially increase footfall and generate real economies of scale.

In essence, the approach makes it easy for someone to try a new activity safely and with

expert advice and equipment on hand, thus engendering a feeling of success and fuelling a

process which sees and incentivises individuals becoming increasingly active over time.

Oxylane Villages are led and animated by a dedicated locally based and recruited team that

works in close partnership with the local authority and other providers. It delivers

complementary and different provision whilst also ensuring the Village acts as a ‘gateway’ to

participation for people from the traditionally more difficult groups to reach and attract.

The ‘site as a whole’ thus offers a highly flexible package with a commercial, leisure and

sporting continuum ranging from...

A nil financial return from people using the facilities to walk, picnic or take part in less

formal sporting activities,

Through a minimal return from people visiting the site to watch others participate,

undertake low cost or participate in subsidised activities,

To a full return from people purchasing goods from the on-site store and/or playing on a

pitch that is hired, for example, for 5-a-side.

Notwithstanding all of the above, the bottom line remains whether or not such a proposition

can create an economically viable model. Based on relatively conservative footfall and

usage figures, a position that sits above ‘break even’ can be achieved without stretching

attendance figures and/or additional income sources or including, for example, sponsorship

linked to events staging or income from partner activities.

At a local/Broxtowe level, dependent on the generation of footfall and partnership

arrangements, it is clear that an Oxylane Village is desirable and can be economically viable.

It will offer a fully serviced site at a peppercorn rent to promote sustainable high quality

sports and recreational activities, will help draw together and thus improve the council’s offer

on leisure services and enable it to meet its health commissioning responsibilities more

easily and effectively. It will be inclusive of/for all parts of the community and thus deliver a

positive addition to the local community.



Within a national context the Oxylane Sports Village will deliver across a wide ranging series

of agenda, some of which include its promotion/delivery of:

Health and physical activity opportunities to all parts of the community with a view to increasing the numbers of participants, frequency and ease of participation.

Exercise referral programmes.

Healthy weight and obesity related initiatives.

Social inclusion and community engagement programmes.

Change 4 Life and Quality of life initiatives.

Public / Private partnerships

Corporate Social Responsibility

In conclusion, Oxylane Village represents the creation of a high quality multi-activity

environment in which to promote sport and physical recreation to all parts of the community.

It will deliver against many of central and local government’s targeted aims and will do so

through increased efficiency. It is an economically viable proposition, particularly for

Broxtowe Sport. Furthermore, at a time of economic stringency, it will enable Broxtowe

Borough Council to develop and make significant progress with its Council (sports) Facilities

Strategy when, in the absence of the Oxylane Sports Village, such progress would be non-

existent.



Appendix 1: Sports and activities – Oxylane village

Aerobics

Athletics/endurance running

American Football

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Beach handball

Beach volleyball

Bikeability

Body fit

Body power

Body shape

Boot camp

Boxing and boxing fitness

Capoeira

Circus skills

Climbing

Core 30

Cross country ski training

Cycling – road

Cycling – BMX

Dance styles

Darts

Demo group

Drama

Endurance running

Events – cycling

Events - running

Face painting

Feel fit (staff sports)

Field hockey

Fitness and cardio

Five-a-side football

Flag Football

Football (mini)

Football (junior)

Football (adult)

Futsal

Tri-Golf

Gymnastics

Handball

‘High 5’ netball

Interval training

Jazz dance

Ju jitsu

Jogging clubs

Judo

Karate

Keep fit

Keep moving

Korfball

Last Man Standing Cricket

Learn to ride

Music

Netball

No Strings Badminton

Outdoor basketball

Parties

Picnics

Pilates

Power-steps Pool

Race walking

Recreational running’

Rounders

Rugby Union

Rugby League

Rugby ‘7s’

Running clubs

Rush Hockey

Short Tennis

Skating

Softball

Soccer

Spinning/indoor cycling

Stoolball

Table tennis

Tai chi

Tennis

Touch Rugby

Ultimate frisbee

Volleyball

Walking

Waterpolo

Yoga

Zumba

Additional activity will take place in play areas, green gyms, high ropes, casual court use and other

less formal pastimes



Appendix 2: Corporate full day (typical offer)

Time Programme

10.00 – 10.15 am Welcome

10.15 – 10.30 am Briefing

10.30 – 11.00 am 1st game – Football

11.00 – 11.10 am Break

11.10 – 11.40 am 2nd

game – Volleyball

11.40 – 11.50 am Break

11.50 – 12.20 am 3rd

game - Funny

12.20 – 12.30 am Break

12.30 – 1.00 pm 4th game – Tug of war tournament

1.00 – 2.00 pm Lunch

2.00 – 2.30 pm 5th game – Athletics

2.30 – 2.40 pm Break

2.40 – 3.40 pm 6th game – Archery and golf

3.40 – 3.50 pm Break

3.50 – 4.20 pm 7th game – Tent tournament

4.20 – 5.00 pm Awards, debriefing and close



Appendix 3: Layout plans: Proposed Broxtowe Leisure Centre and swimming pool(s)



Appendix 4: Oxylane Case studies

The draft letters of support to come from each of five national governing bodies are shown

below. Final versions are currently in the process of being signed off in each of the

organisations.


Appendix 5: NGB endorsements


Luke Fillingham UK Oxylane Village Director Nottingham Road East Ikea Retail Park Nottingham NG162RP 24th April 2012 Dear Luke, OXYLANE SPORTS VILLAGE This letter confirms the in principle support of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to work in partnership with Oxylane-Decathlon. The RFY views this type of development as an exciting opportunity to broaden rugby’s reach and appeal through non-contact forms of the game and in a non-traditional environment.

We would anticipate working with in situ Oxylane staff to develop fun rugby-based activities for younger children and potentially non-contact forms of the game such as Tag Rugby and Touch Rugby which can be played by both older children and adults and by men and women.

The RFU would also agree in principle to representation on the national Oxylane Sports Trust, thereby seeking to actively support local rugby development in and around Oxylane centres. Working with Oxylane Sports Village teams on the ground, we would anticipate villages formalising links with local clubs to ensure that in addition to providing introductory rugby opportunities to children (and adults) who might not normally go to a rugby club, villages would actively promote local clubs to parents and young people.

The RFU recognises the unique opportunity Oxylane-Decathlon villages present in introducing rugby to non-traditional audiences. It’s in principle support is provided in the context of seeking to place rugby union in new and exciting environments where rugby would not be thought of as a natural partner, and where informal rugby activity became a regular weekly occurrence. ‘Oxylane Touch Rugby Centres’ would be an interesting concept to develop in partnership with the RFU.

Should the partnership be developed, further resource could be directed at rugby development at Oxylane-Decathlon villages where local clubs were seeing the benefit of the activity.

We look forward to continuing discussions and developments with Oxylane-Decathlon.

Yours sincerely

Steve Grainger Rugby Development Director

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