FAQs - SDM

Hybrid grass pitches are natural grass pitches that are reinforced with synthetic turf to allow the natural grass to grow and reduce wear and tear of the pitch. 

It is important to understand the differences between contrasting Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs). The subtype descriptions are:

• Long Pile Carpet - A longer pile artificial grass carpet, often referred to as a ‘third generation’ or ‘3G’ pitch. Most pitches have a rubber crumb and sand infill within the pile, some may have organic infills such as cork or timber pellets. Rarely, there will be no infill. Used predominantly for football but can be used for other sports such as rugby. Pile length is typically 55-60mm for football and 60-65mm for rugby however, some carpets can be as short as 40mm.

• Sand Dressed - This has sand base rather than sand infilling. A sand dressed pitch has a heavier amount of fibres which are more exposed, giving it a greener appearance. This is the preferred surface for club hockey.

• Sand Filled - 20-25mm tufted carpet covered filled with graded sand laid over a rubber shock pad and engineering base. Most common surface for STP's, used in particular for hockey & football, but can be used by other activities, such as American Football, Lacrosse, and training for Rugby and Athletics.

• Water Based - Similar pile to sand based, very dense synthetic sports surfaces that are irrigated with water. Combined with some form of underlay/shock-pad, sometimes integral. The carpets or the pad are typically designed to hold up the water flow at a specific rate. This is the preferred surface for Hockey and is used for first class games.

The facility type specifics will detail dimensions of the facility and a pitch count.

A full size AGP will be marked out for adult football (11 a side football match) and will have dimensions typically around 100x60m, with a minimum size of  88x53m. Full size AGPs will only have a pitch count of one even if small pitches are overmaked. See screenshot below;

A small size AGP will be solely used for smaller sided matches. There will be multiple dedicated pitches therefore the pitch count for that facility will be greater than one. The screenshot below shows an example of a site that would have the ‘small AGP’ flag ticked, with the pitch count showing as six and the dimensions relating to what one pitch measures. In this instance 35x15m.

If a site has separate artificial grass pitch sizes within one structure, they will be referenced as different facilities as the sizes are different. For example, a site may have multiple ‘5 a side’ pitches, but then have a ‘9 a side’ pitch or ‘full sized’ pitch alongside. This would class as two separate facilities. The below facility would be logged as two artificial long pile (rubber crumb fill) facilities, one with a pitch count of four, and the other with a pitch count of one. The dimensions would then display the common dimensions of each pitch type.

The pitch count within a facility will not include those from a facility that is at a different location on the site. The example below shows a site that has multiple AGP facilities and pitches. Even though there are multiple long pile carpet pitches, there should be three different AGP facilities registered on site (one sand filled and two rubber crumb filled). Again, the rubber crumb filled pitches in this instance will be referenced as having a pitch count of six on one facility, and four on the other, including the common dimensions of each pitch, and not the whole size of the facility.

Access Types are defined as:

AccessibilityID 1 - Free Public Access - There is no charge to use the facility

AccessibilityID 2 - Pay and Play - The main means of public access to the facility is on payment of a charge.  The facility may also have a membership scheme, and it may be possible to block book the facility for a specific activity or for lessons, but during the public opening hours anyone can just turn up, pay and play.

For example, local authority swimming pool or health and fitness facility, where the casual user pays per session, although there is also a membership scheme.

AccessibilityID 3 - Sports Club/Community Association use - The main means of public access to the facility is via sports clubs or community associations, which book it for use by their members.  Membership of the club or association is based on a particular sport or community group, and is not based on performance criteria or on a particular facility.  The club or association may use several different facilities.

For example: Access to indoor bowls greens is through a bowls club, or to athletics tracks through an athletics club.  School swimming pool that can be used by a swimming or sub-aqua club, but cannot be used by the general public.

AccessibilityID 4 - Registered Membership use - The main public access to the facility is by membership.  Members usually pay a joining fee as well as a monthly or annual subscription.  Membership is controlled by the owner or manager of the facility.

For example: Fitness First health and fitness facility can only be used by registered members.

AccessibilityID 5 - Private use - The facility cannot be used by the public, either on a pay and play basis or through a recreational club, except when playing against the owner of the site.  It may be available for use by elite clubs or development squads.   

For example: School grass pitches that are only available for the school teams and the teams they are playing against.  University, prison, MOD etc facilities that are not available for public use.

AccessibilityID 6 - Not Known

Access Types are grouped into the following categories:

• Public Access (AccessibilityID 1 to 4)
• Private (AccessibilityID 5 only)
• Not Known (AccessibilityID 6 and NULL)

Generally there is one management type for each site.  Sometimes there may be more than one (e.g. outdoor facilities are managed by the LEA but indoor facilities are handled by a private contractor).  

Management Types are defined as:  

MgmtTypeID 1 - School/College/University (in house) - Managed by the school/college themselves.  Community access to these facilities are often limited to fit around curriculum/University use.

MgmtTypeID 2 - Local Authority (in house) - Managed by Local Authority using their own staff. 

MgmtTypeID 3 - Private Contractor (PPP/PFI) - Facility managed by a private contractor as part of the Public Private Partnership / Private Finance Initiative. PPP/PFI  is a partnership between the public and private sector for the purpose of delivering a project or service traditionally provided by the public sector.  This is an arrangement whereby the public sector pays the contractor to build and run a facility for a set period (25 years), after which the facility is handed back to the public sector.  This arrangement is increasingly common with the development of new schools and some Local Authority Leisure Provision.

MgmtTypeID 4 – Trust - Charitable Trust set up to run sports facilities.  A number of Local Authorities have set up Leisure Trusts to run their leisure centres.  These Trusts benefit from charitable status and work outside the Local Authority structure.  The Local Authority remains the owner of the facility.

MgmtTypeID 5 - Sport Club - Where the facility is managed by a sports club.

MgmtTypeID 6 - Commercial Management - Where the facility is managed by a commercial company, such as commercial health clubs.  There are also Local Authority Facilities which have been contracted in to manage Local Authority Leisure Centres. 

MgmtTypeID 7 - CSSC - Civil Service Sports Council provides sports facilities for employees in Government departments and agencies, the Post Office, BT and many other public bodies and in many companies carrying out ex-civil service work. The CSSC is the largest corporate provider of sport and leisure in the UK and have a network of sports facilities across the country.

MgmtTypeID 8 - Community Organisation - Facilities that are managed and run by Community Organisations, such as community associations and user groups. 

MgmtTypeID 9 - Industry Sports Club - Facilities which are managed by an Industrial/Commercial Company for the benefit and use by its staff.  Use of these facilities are often limited to family members of employees.

MgmtTypeID 10 - Health Authority - Facilities which are managed by the Health Authority.

MgmtTypeID 11 – MOD - Facilities on MOD sites managed by the Armed Forces.  Limited community availability.

MgmtTypeID 12 - Other - Other types of management

MgmtTypeID 13 - Not Known - Facilities where the management type is not known.

Management types are grouped into the following categories:

• Education – (MgmtTypeID 1)
• Local Authority– (MgmtTypeID 2)
• Trust – (MgmtTypeID 4)
• Commercial – (MgmtTypeID 6)
• Others – (MgmtTypeID 3, 5, 7 to 12)
• Not Known – (MgmtTypeID13 and Null)

Operational Status means the functional status of a facility.  The Operational Status of a facility is defined as:

FacStatusID 1 - Planned - A sport facility which has received planning permission, but construction is yet to commence.  For example, a new school sports hall that has been granted planning permission, but where construction has not started. 

FacStatusID 2 - Under Construction - A new sport facility in the process of being built. For example, a new local authority leisure centre that is currently being built, but not yet opened. 

FacStatusID 3 - Operational - A sport facility that is currently operational and in use.   For example, an AGP at a College site that is currently in use. Facilities that are operational do not necessarily need to be available for public use.  

FacStatusID 4 - Temporarily Closed  - A sport facility that is not in use for a limited period of time. The closure is temporary and the facility will reopen. For example, an AGP that is temporarily closed in order to replace the carpet.  

FacStatusID 5 - Closed - A sport facility that is permanently closed.  For example, a commercial health & fitness facility that has permanently closed and ceased trading.  

FacStatusID 7 - No Grass Pitches Currently Marked Out - An area of grass that has previously been marked out for sports pitches but is no longer. For example, a park which used to have a football pitch marked out, but the pitch is no longer marked out.  

FacStatusID 8 - Not Known - The Facility Status is not known.

UPDATE April 2020:  As of 1st April 2020 the facility operational status of “Does not appear to meet Active Places criteria” (FacStatusID 6) was removed as a status option and a new separate "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag was introduced.    

The separate "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag allows for facilities with specifications outside of expected ranges to be recorded in Active Places.  For example, the facility type of Athletics Tracks is expected to have between 4 and 12 lanes.   When a facility has a specification outside of these expected ranges then the "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag will be set to ‘no’. 

This allows Active Places to record a broader range of facilities, the benefit being to capture operational facilities even if they are of a non-standard specification. It is not a reflection of the quality or it failing to meet a certain design standard.

Note, Active Places Power reports set the default settings of the "Status" criteria to 2 (under construction), 3 (operational) and 4 (temporary closed) as this is consistent with Sport England's own reporting of "operational" facilities.  Further it should be noted, within the interactive maps that the “All Facilities” map layer includes all facilities irrespective of operational status or "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag.

The definitions of the facility types can be found under Help > Sports Data Model (SDM).

Ownership Types are defined as:  

(Note, for educational establishments the education type is taken from the Type of Establishment code in Edubase).  

OwnerTypeID 1 - Local Authority - Facilities owned by the Local Authority, to include District, Borough, County and Unitary Councils

OwnerTypeID 2 - Community school - Similar to former County schools. LEA employs the school’s staff, owns the school’s land and buildings and is the admissions authority (it has primary responsibility for deciding the arrangements for admitting pupils).

OwnerTypeID 3 - Voluntary Aided School - Similar to former aided schools. The governing body is the employer and the admissions authority. The school’s land and buildings (apart from playing fields which are normally vested in the LEA) will normally be owned by a charitable foundation.

OwnerTypeID 4 - Voluntary Controlled School - Very similar to former controlled schools. The LEA is the employer and the admissions authority. The school’s land and buildings (apart from the playing fields which are normally vested in the LEA) will normally be owned by a charitable foundation.

OwnerTypeID 5 - Foundation School - At foundation schools the governing body is the employer and the admissions authority. The school’s land and buildings are either owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation.

OwnerTypeID 6 - City Technology College - Independent all- ability, non fee-paying schools for pupils aged 11-18. Their purpose is to offer pupils of all abilities in urban areas across England the opportunity to study successfully a curriculum geared, with the help of private sector sponsors, towards the world of work. Also encouraged to innovate in the development, management and delivery of the curriculum.

OwnerTypeID 7 - Community Special School - Is the special school equivalent of mainstream Community schools yet are catered wholly or mainly for children with statutory statements of special educational needs.

OwnerTypeID 8 - Non-Maintained Special School - Independent special schools approved by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. They are run on a not-for-profit basis by charitable trusts and normally cater for children with severe and/or low incidence special educational needs.

OwnerTypeID 9 - Independent School approved for SEN Pupils - A special school equivalent of Other Independent catering wholly or mainly for children with statutory statements of special educational needs. Has been approved by the DfES for SEN provision.

OwnerTypeID 10 - Other Independent Special School - A special school equivalent of Other Independent catering wholly or mainly for children with statutory statements of special educational needs.

OwnerTypeID 11 - Other Independent School - Any school which provides full time education for 5 or more pupils of compulsory school age, which is not maintained by a local education authority or a non-maintained special school.

OwnerTypeID 12 - Foundation Special School - A special school equivalent of the mainstream Foundation school catering wholly or mainly for children with statutory statements of special educational needs.

OwnerTypeID 13 - Pupil Referral Unit - Any school established and maintained by a local authority which Is specially organised to provide education for children who are excluded, sick or otherwise unable to attend mainstream school and Is not a county or special school.

OwnerTypeID 14 - LEA Nursery School - Is maintained by a local education authority and is not a special school, providing education for children who have attained the age of 2 but are under compulsory school age.

OwnerTypeID 15 - Playing for Success - Through Playing for Success, the DfES is establishing out of school hours study support centres within top football clubs and at other sports’ clubs grounds and venues. The centres use the environment and medium of football to help motivate pupils identified by their schools, as being in need of a boost to help them get back up to speed in literacy and ICT.

OwnerTypeID 16 - Academy Sponsor Led - Academies are all-ability, state-funded schools established and managed by sponsors from a wide range of backgrounds, including high performing schools and colleges, universities, individual philanthropists, businesses, the voluntary sector, and the faith communities.

OwnerTypeID 17 - EY Setting - Early Years settings include private and voluntary day nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, childminding networks, portage services and Local Authority day nurseries. The database only lists EY Settings that are registered with the Early Years Development Plan and Childcare Partnerships.

OwnerTypeID 18 - Further Education

OwnerTypeID 19 - Higher Education Institutions

OwnerTypeID 21 - Miscellaneous Education

OwnerTypeID 22 - Secure Units

OwnerTypeID 23 - Sixth Form Centres

OwnerTypeID 24 - Commercial - Site owned by a commercial company.

OwnerTypeID 25 - Sports Club - Site owned by a sports club.

OwnerTypeID 26 - Community Organisation - Facilities that are owned and run by Community Organisations, such as community associations and user groups. 

OwnerTypeID 27 - Government - Sites which are owned by Government Departments, excluding Local Authority site & MOD sites.

OwnerTypeID 28 - Industry (for employees) - Facilities which are owned by an Industrial/Commercial Company for the benefit of and use by its staff.  Use of these facilities are often limited to family members of employees.

OwnerTypeID 29 - Health Authority - Facilities which are owned by the Health Authority.

OwnerTypeID 30 - MOD - Facilities owned by the MOD. 

OwnerTypeID 31 - Other - Other types of ownership

OwnerTypeID 32 - Not known - Sites where the ownership is not known

OwnerTypeID 33 - Academy Convertors - All schools that have chosen through Governing Body Resolution and application to the Secretary of State to become an Academy under the Academies Act 2010.

OwnerTypeID 34 - Academy Free Schools - Free Schools are all-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand. The most important element of a great education is the quality of teaching and Free Schools will enable excellent teachers to create schools and improve standards for all children, regardless.

OwnerTypeID 35 - Academy Specials - Special Schools that have chosen through Governing Body Resolution and application to the Secretary of State to become an Academy under the Academies Act 2010. These will be handled differently to Academy convertors and will follow a different process which is currently being developed.

OwnerTypeID 36 - Special College

Ownership types are grouped into the following categories:

• Local Authority – (OwnerTypeID 1)
• Education – (OwnerTypeID 2 to 23 and 33 to 36)
• Commercial – (OwnerTypeID 24)
• Sports Club – (OwnerTypeID 25)
• Community Organisation – (OwnerTypeID 26)
• Others – (OwnerTypeID 27 to 31)
• Not Known – (OwnerTypeID 32 and Null)

All artificial grass pitches that host ‘contact’ rugby union must be tested upon installation and then retested every two years to comply with World Rugby Regulation 22. 

WR22 compliance is recorded as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and if compliant the next WR22 test due date is also provided.   

For more information on WR22 specifications please visit:

https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/running-your-club/facilities/artificial-grass-pitches

The WR22 status of all artificial grass pitches was last updated to reflect their status as at 31/03/2022.

Please note annual audit cycles, or the inclusion of new artificial grass pitches, may provide a more recent record for an individual facility.

From 4th November 2021, studios were no longer represented as a single facility type within Active Places. 

Studios are now be represented by two subtypes: 

Fitness Studio: A purpose-built studio where classes are held for one or more activities such as group exercise classes, martial arts, yoga etc. Usually has a sprung floor, mirrors and air conditioning. The room may have a partition (a removable, dividing wall) to cater for additional classes or extra space. 

Cycle Studio: A purpose-built studio where spinning classes are held. These studios have stationary exercise bikes within them and normally have mirrored walls, television/projection screens and air conditioning. Cycle Studios are permanently set up as a cycle/spin studio. Does not include static bikes that are in a general gym area. Cycle studios may also have tiered flooring so class members can see teachers/screens more easily. 

To enable this SDM change, all existing studios, within Active Places, were recategorised as a “Fitness Studio”. This change was deemed appropriate as studios recorded within Active Places tended to align with this category, that is, Active Places contained a low number of dedicated cycle studios. Where an existing studio was dedicated to cycling or has changed to this function since the last date of site update/audit a misclassification may occur. This impact is thought minimal and will be resolved as part of continued site updates/audits. 

Fitness Studios 

A new attribute “partitionable spaces” was added to fitness studios as part of the November 2021 SDM update. This information was not held for existing studios and will be populated as part of continued site updates/audits. This is to reflect that Fitness Studios are often designed to include purpose-built partitions, which can be used to subdivide the Fitness Studio to give greater flexibility of the studio and to create smaller studio spaces for varying sized classes/sessions. This new attribute will help to improve data quality by removing ambiguity with the count of studios, and studio spaces.  This new attribute will count the number of separate activity spaces that could be created. For example, a Fitness Studio with purpose-built partition that divide the studio into two separate spaces should be recorded as ‘Partitionable Spaces =2’.                     

 Cycle Studios 

The Active Places Power team are working with facility providers to identify sites which contain dedicated cycle studios. These are studio spaces that are permanently setup as dedicated cycle/spin studios. This new subtype is not intended to include static bikes that are in a general gym area.  Facilities will be added as data is received and/or cycle studios identified as part of continued site updates/audits. 

Users should note that the introduction of a second facility type could result in the original number of studio (now termed fitness studios) decreasing. This could be a result of data being recategorised and may not represent the closure or loss of facilities.

The "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag allows for facilities with specifications outside of expected ranges to be recorded in Active Places.  For example, the facility type of Athletics Tracks is expected to have between 4 and 12 lanes.   If an Athletics Track facility has fewer than 4 or more than 12 lanes then it is outside of the expected range and the "Meets Active Places Criteria" flag will be set to ‘no’. 

The flag allows Active Places to record a broader range of facilities, the benefit being to capture operational facilities even if they are of a non-standard specification. It is not a reflection of the quality or it failing to meet a certain design standard. 

Note, Active Places Power reports set the default setting to “Yes” while the interactive map layer for “All Facilities” shows facilities that do and don’t "Meet Active Places Criteria"

It can be common for junior and mini football and rugby pitches to be marked out over full-sized adult pitches. Mini soccer pitches may also be marked out over junior football pitches. 

To highlight that these pitches are marked out over a larger pitch type e.g. over an adult pitch, Active Places Power includes an ‘Overmarked flag’. 

Overmarked pitches are counted as separate pitches in Active Places Power but they share the same grass/area as the larger pitch they are marked out over e.g. the adult pitch. 

The overmarked flag is only applied to junior and mini pitches that are marked out over a larger pitch type e.g. the adult pitch they are marked out over would not have the flag applied to it.

Overmarking does not apply to seasonal changes in pitch layouts e.g. where football and rugby pitches (both adult and junior/mini) are marked out on the outfield of a cricket field. 

The Overmarked ‘Flag’ is only applicable to the following junior and mini pitch sub-types: 

• Junior Football 11v11

• Junior Football 9v9

• Mini Soccer 7v7

• Mini Soccer 5v5

• Junior Rugby

• Mini Rugby League 

• Mini Rugby Union

As an example, if a site has one adult football pitch with two mini soccer 7v7 pitches marked out over it then all three pitches should be recorded on the site as separate facilities with sperate facility IDs (1 adult and 2 mini-soccer 7v7 pitches). The facility records for both the mini soccer 7v7 pitches should then have overmarked box ticked.

Here is the one adult football pitch, with 2 mini 7v7 pitches overmarked on the adult pitch.  This would appear on Active Places as:

• 1 Adult Football Pitch

• 2 Mini Soccer 7v7 - with overmarked flag.

The Active Places database is structured so that a single site may have one or more facilities associated with it (a one to many relationship). 

A site is a location (normally addressable) at which one or more sport facilities are located.  Typically, a site will be located at a unique addressable location and both the site and all facilities associated with it have the same owner organisation.  Occasionally more than one site may exist at a location/address if two or more facilities at the location have different owner organisations.

A sport facility is either a wholly or partially built place such as a grass pitch, swimming pool, ice rink or similar where physical activity, exercise or competition takes place.

Each site and each individual facility sub type will have a unique ID.  As the below example shows these numbers may be very similar but never the same.

The below example for Aireville School shows a single site (i.e. Aireville School - unique id of 1010263), which has three sports hall facilities - one main hall (2008384) and two activity halls (2026284 and 2026285).

Where a facility sub-type has a unit of pitches or courts and all attributes of each facility sub-type are the same, then a single FacilityID will exist with a Number count of 2 or more.

Where more than one of the same facility sub-type exists but attributes are different then the facility sub-types will be recorded with individual FacilityIDs. 

The attributes will vary depending on facility sub-type but can include one or more of the following:  operating status, management or access type, opening hours, floodlighting, year built or refurbished date. 

The below example for Woodbridge Town FC shows a single site (i.e. Woodbridge Town FC - unique id of 6015401), which has two grass pitches each recorded as a separate facility record due to different facility attributes (3012446 being floodlit where as 20000813 is not).

Note, where pitch markings are reconfigured for the same facility sub-type resulting in the count of pitches increasing or decreasing but with no other attribute changes then the pitch count would simply be adjusted to reflect the change.  Should the pitch marking reconfiguration result in different facility sub-types being marked out then then new records with new FacilityIDs will be created.  

The Active Places sport facility database is a complex relational database.  The individual database tables, their contents and relationships are defined within the Sport Data Model (SDM).   

The SDM is available for download as an Excel spreadsheet (see Help menu > SDM) and should be referenced by users of the data in particular those who download and use the data for local analysis or integration with other applications.  

The Active Places Database currently holds information on 15 facility types, each of which has one or more subtypes. 

Facility types are summarised below. Fuller definitions can be found in the Sports Data Model

Facility Type: Athletics

Permanently constructed running facilities (indoors and outdoors) and/or field event facilities (horizontal, vertical jumps, throws).

Facility subtypes:

- Standard Oval Outdoor

- Mini Outdoor

- Compact Outdoor

- Standalone Field

- Standalone Oval Indoor

- Indoor Training

Facility Type: Health and Fitness Gym

Normally a minimum of 5 stations, although some small health & fitness gyms may be included.

Facility subtypes:

- Health and Fitness Gym

Facility Type: Indoor Bowls

Permanent indoor facility which contains a carpeted bowls green area. Can be a purpose-built bowls centre or dedicated bowls area within a sports facility. The bowls green area must be specifically constructed for bowls use. Does not include short mat bowls areas, which are temporarily laid out in multi-purpose halls. 

There are no subtypes for this facility type. 

Facility Type: Indoor Tennis Centre

Covered or indoor tennis courts includes standalone indoor tennis structures, purpose built tennis centres and indoor courts connected to other sports facilities, such as sports clubs. To only include dedicated indoor tennis courts, and not multi use halls or outdoor multi-use games areas (MUGAs) which are marked out as tennis courts. 

Facility subtypes:

- Airhall

- Airhall (seasonal)

- Framed Fabric

- Traditional

Facility Type: Grass Pitches

Area of grass that is marked out for at least part of the year as a pitch, for a particular sport, upon which a match could be played. Does not include synthetic turf pitches (these should be included in AGPs).

Facility subtypes:

- Adult Football

- Junior Football 11v11

- Cricket

- Senior Rugby League

- Junior Rugby League

- Senior Rugby Union

- Junior Rugby Union

- Australian Rules Football

- American Football

- Hockey

- Lacrosse

- Rounders

- Baseball

- Softball

- Gaelic Football

- Hurling

- Polo

- Cycling Polo

- Mini Soccer 7v7

- Mini Rugby Union

- Junior Football 9v9

- Mini Soccer 5v5

- Mini Rugby League

Facility Type: Sports Hall

Indoor multi-sports hall where a range (two or more) of sport and recreational activities are carried out, one or more of which must be on at least a weekly basis.  One hall per site must be at least 18x10m, which equates to the size of one badminton court including surrounding safety area. Includes specifically designed sports halls, such as leisure centres and school sports halls, and also halls where activities can take place on a regular basis, such as school assembly halls, community buildings and village halls. Specialist centres, that are dedicated to a single sports and activities e.g. indoor cricket or gymnastic centres, are not included. Includes other structures which may have been developed for other purposes but are now being used as a permanent sports hall (Barn).

Facility subtypes:

- Main

- Activity Hall

- Barns

Facility Type: Swimming Pool

Enclosed area of water specifically maintained for all forms of water based sport & recreation. Includes general swimming, teaching, training, diving, club use and school use. Includes indoor and outdoor pools, freeform leisure pools, specific diving tanks. Where an area of a pool is normally cordoned off as a purpose-built off-shoot of the main rectangular tank, e.g. diving section off a main pool, it is treated as a separate pool. Includes outdoor swimming ponds which are positively managed for swimming. 

Facility subtypes:

- Main/General

- Leisure Pool

- Learner/Teaching/Training

- Diving

- Lido

Facility Type: Artificial Grass Pitch

Synthetic alternative to grass, providing an all-weather surface for pitch sports, in particular, hockey and football, but increasingly being used for other sports such as rugby and athletics. All sizes of pitch included. Does not include other non-turf surfaces, such as tarmac, concrete, Redgra (natural aggregate dressing). Where there are two pitches within one site of the same sub type but different measurements, these should be entered as separate facilities. 

A full size AGP will have dimensions typically around 100x60m, and for the purposes of APP is defined as having minimum dimensions of 88m x 53m. Pitches that are smaller that 88m x53m will be recorded as 'Small Size AGPs'.

Facility subtypes:

- Sand Filled

- Water Based

- Long Pile Carpet

- Sand Dressed

Facility Type: Golf

All golf courses and golf driving ranges. Courses normally have a minimum number of 9 holes and driving ranges a minimum of 5 bays.

Facility subtypes:

- Standard

- Par 3

- Driving Range

Facility Type: Ice Rinks

An artificially frozen body of water where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Includes all permanently constructed ice rinks. Where there are two rinks within one site, these will be entered as separate facilities. Does not include temporary ice rinks such as the one at Somerset House. 

There are no subtypes for this facility type. 

Facility Type: Ski Slopes

A slope for skiing; natural slopes may be seasonal. Does not include cross-country skiing tracks.

Facility subtypes:

- Outdoor Artificial

- Outdoor Natural

- Indoor

Facility Type: Studio

A purpose-built studio where classes are held for one or more activities such as yoga, aerobics, spinning, martial arts etc. Normally has a sprung floor, mirrors and air conditioning. 

Facility subtypes

- Fitness Studio

- Cycling Studio

Facility Type: Squash Courts

Purpose built court(s) designed for playing squash. A squash court is a rectangular box with four vertical walls of varying height, being the Front Wall, Side Walls and Back Wall. It has a level floor and a clear height above the court area. 

Facility subtypes:

- Glass-backed

- Normal

Facility Type: Outdoor Tennis Courts

Marked out for tennis, these should be a minimum of one full size court with safety margins and be fenced. May be floodlit. May be overmarked. 

There are no subtypes for this facility type. 

Facility Type: Cycling

Permanently constructed facilities to support cycling. Excludes facilities to support everyday cycling such as cycle lanes (including long distance cycleways), cycle parking etc.

Facility subtypes:

- Track - Indoor Velodrome

- Track - Outdoor Velodrome

- BMX - Race Track

- BMX - Pump Track

- Mountain Bike - Trails

- Cycle Speedway – Track

- Road - Closed Road Cycling Circuit

The facility refurbished flag (with associated date) are only set if significant improvements have been made to the facility to ensure it meets current standards. These improvements must represent a significant investment which improves the quality of the facility.  If there has only been general maintenance, repair of lighting, painting, cleaning etc, then the flag would be set to ‘No’. 

If there have been significant improvements to the changing rooms but not to the facility itself, then the facility refurbished flag would be set to ‘No’ and the Changing Room Facility Refurbished Flag would be set to ‘Yes’. Works to the changing room facility must represent a significant investment and improvement to meet current standards.

If the refurbishment covers both changing facilities and the sports facility, then both flags would be set to ‘Yes’ and the date specified.

The following examples detail what are considered significant improvements.

Fuller definitions can be found in the Sports Data Model

Changing Facilities

Examples of improvements:

- Retiling of changing facilities

- New shower systems, including boiler replacement

- Provision of changing facilities where they did not exist previously

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair such as cleaning, painting and repairs to lighting.

Athletic Tracks

Examples of improvements:

- Resurfacing of running track.

- Improvements of field sport areas, e.g. throwing circles, landing pits/areas, run up areas.

- Replacement of floodlights to meet current lighting standards for athletics tracks. Complete replacement of all existing lamps, or replacement with complete lighting columns.

- Improvements to drainage system.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of track, cleaning, line marking.

Health & Fitness

Examples of improvements:

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards.

- Provision of new equipment and exercise stations, but only where complete sections of machines are replaced, e.g. all treadmills.

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as roof, walls and floor.

- Improvements to, or provision of new water treatment system.

- Major improvements to, or new provision of, reception/community/social areas.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of building, such as repairs to lifting floors, repairs to lighting, painting of walls, floor polishing, addition/replacement of single exercise stations.

Indoor Bowls

Examples of improvements:

- Resurfacing of green by replacement of carpet. 

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as, roof, walls and floor.

- Replacement of mechanical and electrical plant, e.g. boilers or ventilation fans.

- Major improvements to, or new provision of, reception/community/social areas, to service the indoor bowls, to make the facility more welcoming for users.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of centre.  Repair of lighting.  Painting.

Indoor Tennis

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as roof, walls and floor. For air halls, replacement of fabric.

- Resurfacing of courts, e.g. replacement of carpet.

- Replacement of mechanical and electrical plant, e.g. boilers or ventilation fans.

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of courts.   Repair of lighting.  Painting.  Remarking of lines for courts.  Replacement of nets.

Outdoor Tennis

Examples of improvements:

- Resurfacing of court. This could include a change of surface type.

- Replacement of whole fencing structure, or addition of perimeter fencing.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of courts.  Repair of floodlights, replacement of damaged bulbs. Repairs to fencing. Remarking of lines for courts.  Replacement of nets.

Grass Pitches

Examples of improvements:

- Pitch drainage schemes.

- Pitch levelling schemes.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repairs to localised areas of the pitch, such as goal mouths, centre circle.  Grass cutting, post replacement/painting.  Reorientation of pitches.  Resting of pitches.

Sports Halls

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as roof, walls and floor.

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards.

- Provision of new equipment within hall to meet current standards recommended for individual sports, e.g. wall mounted basketball hoops.  Includes removal of original wall bars and other projections which could give rise to injury.

- New floor to halls, or improvement to existing, e.g. installation of shock absorbing flooring system.

- Major improvements to, or new provision of, reception/community/social areas, to service the sports hall, to make the facility more welcoming for users.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of building, such as repairs to lifting floors, repairs to lighting, painting of walls, floor polishing.   

Swimming Pools

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as roof, walls and floor.

- Replacement of mechanical and electrical plant, e.g. boilers.

- Improvements to, or provision of new water treatment system.

- Retiling of pool area.

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards.

- Replacement of pool side heating system.

- Major improvements to, or new provision of, reception/community/social areas, to service the pool. 

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of pool, such as repairs to tiles and lighting, painting of walls, cleaning.  Changes to chlorine levels.

Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs)

Examples of improvements:

- Resurfacing of pitch, e.g. replacement of carpet.

- Replacement of floodlights to meet current lighting standards for AGP.  Complete replacement of all existing lamps, or replacement with complete lighting columns.

- Replacement of whole fencing structure, or addition of perimeter fencing.

- Improvements to drainage system.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of pitch, such as sweeping of carpet, dressing carpet with additional sand.  Repair of floodlights, replacement of damaged bulbs. Repairs to fencing.  Remarking of lines for pitches.

Golf

Examples of improvements:

- Widespread reprofiling of greens.

- Widespread tee replacement.

- Installation or replacement of driving range floodlighting.

- Replacement of driving range shelters.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of the golf course.  Replacement of flags.  Repair of individual tees or greens.  Replacement of driving range mats.

Ice Rinks

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of refrigeration units.

- Significant improvements to the reception and spectator areas.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of the ice rink, such as cleaning and re-icing.

Ski Slopes

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of refrigeration units for snow domes.

- Installation or replacement of tow facilities.

- Re-matting of dry ski slope.

- Significant improvements to the ski hut/reception building.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of the slopes.

Studios

Examples of improvements:

- New floor to studios, or improvement to existing, e.g. installation of shock absorbing flooring system.

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of the building, such as repairs to lighting, painting of walls, floor polishing.

Squash

Examples of improvements:

- Replacement of structural elements of building, such as roof, walls and floor.

- New floor to halls, or improvement to existing.

- Installation of lighting and wiring to meet current standards.

Improvements does not include:

- General maintenance and repair of the building, such as repairs to lighting, painting of walls, floor polishing.

Pool hoist attributes were moved from a site level descriptor to individual Swimming Pool facilities during December 2022. This change was implemented to allow a better understanding of accessibility at each pool.

Each pool facility now has the specific “Access to Pool Hoist”. This specific can be attributed as Yes, No, or Don’t Know.

This attribute captures whether the Swimming Pool has access to a hoist. This equipment may/may not be dedicated to an individual Swimming Pool, that is, the hoist may be moveable and shared between different pools at a site.  Alternatively, fixed hoists will be recorded against the specific individual pool.

By working with facility providers and National Governing Bodies, the Active Places team will seek to populate this new attribute as quickly as possible after go-live. However, information will also be gathered as part of ongoing data auditing by the Data Validation Team on the Active Places Data Platform. 

At go live, the following rules were used to populate the specific “Access to Pool Hoist”:

- Sites with multiple Swimming Pool facilities, “Access to Pool Hoist” is set to “Don’t Know”.

- Sites with a single Swimming Pool facility, “Access to Pool Hoist” is set to “Yes” if one or more hoists are recorded in the existing Site Equipment attribute. The values of “No” and “Don’t Know” are used for sites with zero hoists or no information, respectively.

During the initial update period, care should be taken in interrogating and interpreting Swimming Pool accessibility. Until all Swimming Pool facilities have been subject to their latest audit (as part of the continual rolling audit of Active Places data), this attribute will be a partial dataset within Active Places Power.

Detailed information on the gymnastic equipment used within Sports Halls (Main, Activity and Barn) and Fitness Studios will be collected from December 2022.

Gymnastic equipment was previously captured but as a site level descriptor. This change to include the equipment within the individual Sports Hall and Fitness Studio facility records, allows a better understanding of gymnastic use within these non-dedicated spaces..

Where a sports hall or studio is used for Gymnastics/Trampoline activities, the range of gymnastics equipment used is recorded in ‘Facility specifics’ (Yes/No). Equipment categories include:

Floor Matting: Floor matting 25-40mm in thickness and suitable for vertical or rolled storage.

Moveable Balance Apparatus: Includes benches, padded/timber planks, and low/floor beams.

Moveable Large Apparatus: Includes agility tables, vaulting boxes, and coaching blocks.

Moveable Rebound Apparatus: Includes springboards and trampettes.

Moveable Trampolines: Includes individual trampolines, synchronized trampolines, and double mini- trampolines.

Small Apparatus: Includes ribbons, scarves, bean bags, hoops, balls, quoits, and skipping ropes.

Swinging and Hanging Apparatus: Includes wall bars, mini apparatus (i.e. scaled down bars or rings), ladders or ropes.

The facility specifics capture whether a facility has access to an equipment type. This equipment may/may not be dedicated to the space. For example, equipment could be moved between the Activity Hall and Fitness studio at a site. In this example, the same equipment types could be recorded against each facility i.e. both have access to and use the equipment. Noting that only equipment used in the facility is recorded.

To reduce recording inaccuracies, the count of individual pieces of equipment is not recorded.  Rather, the facility specific records only whether the facility does (yes) or does not (no) have access to the specified equipment type.

Please note, at no point is the suitability of a space for use of a given equipment type assessed nor can it be implied.

By working with facility providers and National Governing Bodies, the Active Places Power team will seek to populate these new attributes as quickly as possible after go-live. However, information will also be gathered as part of ongoing data auditing by the Data Validation Team on the Active Places Data Platform. At release all gymnastic equipment specifics in non-dedicated spaces (Sports Halls and Fitness Studios) will be attributed as “Don’t Know”. As data is captured, the proportion of “Don’t Know” records in the database will decrease.

During this initial collection period, care needs to be taken in interrogating and interpreting information on gymnastic provision in non-dedicated spaces. Until all Sports Hall and Fitness Studio facilities have been subject to their latest audit (as part of the continual rolling audit of Active Places data), this attribute will be a partial dataset within Active Places Power. Updates are taking place through the existing Active Places Power annual audit cycle.

Please note information on dedicated gymnastics spaces is currently being collected and will be added as a new facility type. This will be released into Active Places Power once a complete dataset has been achieved.

Information on spectator accommodation will be collected for the Athletic and Swimming Pool facility types from January 2022. This facility specific was identified as important in supporting the Swimming and Athletics National Governing Bodies and hence they were prioritised for an initial release. Where appropriate, these attributes may be added to additional facility types in the future.

By working with facility providers and National Governing Bodies, the Active Places Power team will seek to populate this new attribute as quickly as possible after go-live. However, information will also be gathered as part of ongoing data auditing.

A flag, “Spectator Accommodation Checked”, has been added to indicate whether the spectator accommodation attributes for the facility type have been collected and checked.

This flag indicates solely whether the spectator accommodation attributes for a facility have been collected and checked. It does not imply any assessment of the spectator accommodation against a specified standard or certification. The absence of spectator accommodation information does not invalidate the remainder of a facilities record, it indicates only that the spectator accommodation attributes have been added following the most recent update to / audit of information held for that site.

Care of interpretation is required when interrogating and interpreting information on seating and/or designated accessible provision. Until all Athletic and Swimming Pool facilities have been subject to their latest audit (as part of the continual rolling audit of Active Places data), this attribute will be a partial dataset within Active Places Power. Until this time the “Spectator Accommodation Checked” flag should be used/considered carefully in all reporting. A seating type specified as zero may indicate zero seats or that the information is not yet available within Active Places for the facility (as indicated by a value of “no” against the corresponding “Spectator Accommodation Checked” flag).

 Spectator accommodation attributes vary according to whether a facility is indoor or outdoor.

Outdoor facilities

Spectator accommodation attributes:

- Spectator Accommodation Checked

- Total Capacity

- Seating – Covered; Uncovered

- Standing – Covered; Uncovered

- Designated Accessible Provision – Covered; Uncovered

- Shared Flag

Facilities and facility subtypes for which these attributes will be collected:

- Swimming Pool: Lido (Subtype ID: 7005)

- Athletics: Standard Oval Outdoor (Subtype ID: 1004)

- Athletics: Mini Outdoor (Subtype ID: 1005)

- Athletics: Compact Outdoor (Subtype ID: 1006)

- Athletics: Standalone Field (Subtype ID: 1007)

Indoor facilities

- Spectator accommodation attributes:

- Spectator Accommodation Checked

- Total Capacity

- Seating

- Standing 

- Designated Accessible Provision

- Shared Flag

Facilities and facility subtypes for which these attributes will be collected:

- Swimming Pool: Main/General (Subtype ID: 7001)

- Swimming Pool: Leisure Pool (Subtype ID: 7002)

- Swimming Pool: Learner/Teaching/Training (Subtype ID: 7003)

- Swimming Pool: Diving (Subtype ID: 7004)

- Athletics: Standard Oval Indoor (Subtype ID: 1008)

- Athletics: Indoor Training (Subtype ID: 1009)

Full definitions for each of the spectator accommodation attributes are included within the Sports Data Model.

In December 2022, the following changes were made to the specifics previously recorded as site equipment:

Gymnastic Equipment

The recording of gymnastic equipment against a site was removed. To allow for more accurate recording, reporting and analysis, gymnastic equipment is now recorded as a facility specific in non-dedicated spaces (see FAQ).

Pool Hoist

The recording of pool hoists (count) against a site was removed. To allow for more accurate recording, reporting and analysis, pool hoist information is now recorded as a facility specific.

All Swimming Pool facilities include the specific “Access to Pool Hoist” (see FAQ)

Table Tennis Tables and Cricket Bowling Machines

The site equipment types of Table Tennis Tables and Cricket Bowling Machines were updated to:

- “Has Cricket Bowling Machine(s)?”

- “Has Table Tennis Table(s)?”

These attributes will be recorded as Yes, No or Don’t Know.

Table Tennis Tables and Cricket Bowling Machines continue to be recorded at the site level. However, the number of Table Tennis Tables and Cricket Bowling Machines will no longer be recorded. This decision was taken to ensure accuracy and consistency in the reporting of these specifics.

If, at implementing this change, the count of bowling machines or Table Tennis Tables at a site was one or greater, then the attribute has been set to Yes. A count of zero was set to No.

The artificial grass pitch (AGPs) sub-type of "Rubber crumb pile (3G)" changed to "Long Pile Carpet” in July 2020 to allow the capture of different infill types. 

The fill surface type options are: "None" (Id 0), "Yes - Rubber" (Id 1), "Yes - Other organic" (Id 2), or "Yes - Not known" (Id 3).  For more information see the https://www.activeplacespower.com/sdm.