The brief

• The partnership between the WDA, the MOD, and Vale of Glamorgan Council to consider the potential for the development of shared sports facility provision
• The opportunity to develop shared sports facilities for the MOD and the local community, outside the base, as a result of the expansion of the St Athan MOD base, through the Strategic Defence Review
• Identified need for improved swimming provision in the local area
• The MOD requirement for facility provision, and their intention to build and fund some indoor and outdoor sports facilities on the base
• The current level and quality of swimming provision in the local area
• The identified need for improved swimming facilities, and the need for an ATP
• The location of any new facilities, given the other facility developments on the base, as part of Project Red Dragon
• Restricted availability of local authority capital funding
• The aim of the study was to identify the location, mix, cost, and means of delivering the required sports facilities, and to identify the issues to be addressed in developing shared facility provision

Project Outcomes

• An identified mix of sports/leisure facilities, meeting identified local need, and serving the identified requirements of the MOD and the Vale of Glamorgan Council
• Identification of the priority site for facility development, taking into account local access issues
• Identification of potential capital funding sources,
• Identification of capital costs for facility development, and the funding gap
• Identification of five-year operational costs, and usage targets
• Identification of the issues to be addressed in shared facility provision e.g. access, security, programming, repair and maintenance, pricing policy
• Identification of the project partner commitment, and what this would deliver/entail
• Identification of the means of developing and delivering the project, to provide shared sports facilities