associates
As the leader in strategic sport & leisure planning, Neil Allen Associates is able to add valuable sport and leisure expertise to multi-disciplinary teams and can deliver bespoke solutions across all aspects of the industry - individually or in collaboration with colleagues from the NAA team.
The sport sector is now rich with data sources; the key challenge is to make sense of what it all means and use the evidence to support local needs analysis, decision making and future land use. NAA Team members are able to offer unique skills in terms of Facilities Planning Model (fpm) and Active Places Power analysis, Active Places Training, Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17) and Towards a Level Playing Field application, options appraisals, asset transfers and use of Sport England Tools, which means we are able to deliver across all sport and leisure commissioning needs. The team has the capacity and experience to meet all your strategic sport and leisure commissioning needs whether in the public, private, national governing body (ngbs) or third sector.
How can we help? The NAA team is currently supporting a whole range of local authorities, clubs, schools and ngbs with their strategic commissioning challenges:
- Development of needs and evidence base to support the changing planning policy context
- Contributing to authority wide infra-structure studies and asset reviews
- Underpinning strategies to support rationalization proposals, service prioritisation and investment bids
- Feasibility studies and options appraisals
- Working with ngbs to develop needs and evidence bases
But the world is changing and with budget freezes local authorities need to work in partnership with all sectors and make the most of land assets in a way which safeguards amenity for future generations as part of the strategic commissioning process. We can help by:
- Supporting options appraisals and procurment work, ensuring asset transfers work for sport and communities
- Supporting local authorities, developers and house builders release surplus sites for investment and deliver better returns for sport
- Rationalising sites and facilities in a way which safeguards and enhances future sports participation
- Helping you to maximize investment and take the full advantage of planning contributions
- Helping third sector and individual schools and colleges ‘make the case’ to move forward community led developments in a sustainable way through the localism agenda
- Helping make the case to help protect and prioritise facility development in the context of efficiency savings
The dedicated NAA team led by Neil Allen is set out below.
Meet The Framework Team
Neil Allen is an experienced consultant with over 25 years experience in the leisure industry. Neil was part of the consortium appointed by Sport England to offer strategic planning advice to local authorities, to work with local authorities as enablers to support the strategic planning function. The Facilities Improvement Service (FIS). As Director of NAA, Neil Allen is uniquely placed to draw the Framework team together. He is experienced as Project Director and Project Manager and through his work on the FIS, previous consultancies and NAA he has a track record of delivery in strategic planning. Neil has worked closely with all team members over the past 5-years. Neil is a MISPAL, a former Green Flag Awards Assessor and former CABE Space Advisor. He is a regular speaker on strategic planning and recently helped launch the Sport and Cultural Planning Toolkit in the north-west on behalf of the MLA. Neil is committed to improving strategic planning across the sector and is currently training Sport England staff on all aspects of strategic planning both local authorities and specialist sport developments through ngbs.
David Payne has over 25 years experience in undertaking needs assessments and then applying this in sports specific facility strategies, strategic planning, project feasibility studies or in planning policy. Prior to working with NAA, David was a Board Director for Sport England with organizational wide responsibility for all of Sport England’s strategic planning work. He developed Sport England’s advisory services in the planning, development and management of sports and recreational facilities and was Sport England’s appointed adviser to Government on all matters relating to Planning for Sport. He led the work to establish Sport England as a statutory consultee on planning applications relating to playing fields and regularly works in the private sector and with house builders, providing advice on sport and leisure planning policy. David is also the leading deliverer of fpm work on behalf of Sport England. David works closely with NAA and is currently working jointly on the delivery of a built facility strategy for Birmingham City Council and on a major new ngb development in South London.
Andrew Lee is a highly qualified, motivated and driven senior professional with an extensive background in consultancy, strategy development particularly with regards to sports facilities and PPG 17 studies, project management, business planning and business case development. Relevant and significant assignments include Regional Manager for Active Places, management and development of Sport England NW Regional Strategic Facility Evidence Base, numerous PPG17/Open Space Studies and Sports Facility Strategies. Drew has significant ngb experience and is currently working in an interim management senior role within a high profile NGB (British Cycling Federation). Andrew has worked closely with NAA since its inception on numerous joint sport and planning projects.
Graham Jones holds an honours degree in Town and County Planning and a Master of Philosophy degree in Social Science Research. Graham is a town planner by training and a sports and recreation planner by experience. He has worked in local government, for Sport England, and with a large private consultancy. Graham worked as a planner for two local authorities and then spent three years with the (then) Sports Council in the south west as a 'Planning and Development Officer'. In 1989 he moved into private practice working with the RPS environmental consultancy, specialising in recreational issues. He has delivered numerous Playing Pitch Strategy and PPG17 assignments. Graham is an integral member of the NAA team and also provides the GIS support.
Brian Robinson has a wide portfolio spanning sport, leisure and tourism consultancy. He has worked with NAA since 2007 on various strategic planning assignments including school rationalisation work in Blackburn, Rochdale and Doncaster. Brian’s specialisms, developed over 25 years in the sector during which time he worked for Sport England, include: facility planning, computerised modelling, needs assessment, Active Places Power, wintersports, training, marketing and international tourism linked to sports and outdoor activities. Brian is one of the leading exponents of Active Places Power and the fpm in the country and has trained both local authorities and ngbs in its use and application.
A geographer by inclination and a planner by training, Michael Presland has been involved in sport and recreation planning for nearly 30 years. He is a member of the RTPI and ISPAL and has worked with NAA as part of the FIS Service for over 3 years. Michael has undertaken a large number of strategic and land use planning assignments related to sport, mainly with the public sector, and is particularly skilled in the use of Sport England planning tools and techniques, including the Facilities Planning Model (fpm), stakeholder consultation and engagement and the production of playing pitch assessments and sports facility needs assessments.
Jacqueline Bennett holds an honours degree in Geography, a Master of Philosophy in Town Planning and is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She was in the first tranche of CABE Space Enablers to be appointed in 2004. Jacqueline was the first planning officer to be employed by Sport England, in its Greater London and South East office, and for 30 years her professional work has been in planning for sport, particularly in developing and refining the methodologies for playing pitch and open space assessments and in protecting open space provision. She has also worked extensively on regional and district strategic and sports specific facility planning and lottery monitoring and more recently, PPG17 Studies, developer contributions policies and playing pitch strategies highlighting BSF projects.
Geoff Hughes is a Chartered Town Planner with a broad range of expertise in strategy preparation, programme development and project delivery. As a Chartered Town Planner for 32 years with 11 years of experience in local government in planning and leisure departments at District and County level and 20 years at Sport England leading strategic planning in the Northern Region Geoff has a wealth of experience in ensuring an integrated approach to sports facility development. He has been responsible for developing strategies at a local, sub regional, regional and also at national level. At Sport England Geoff managed the facilities team and for 7 years combined this role with leading national policy for the organisation on countryside and water sports and works closely with the ngbs concerned. Geoff has worked with NAA as part of the FIS Service for over 3 years.
Carolyn Wilkinson is an experienced consultant with 10 years of experience in strategic planning for sport and leisure. Since leaving university, Carolyn progressed through PMP Consultancy Ltd, most recently working as a Principal Consultant. While at PMP, Carolyn was Head of the Sport and Leisure Planning Division, a team which specialised in strategic planning, and focused on the production of PPG17 Studies, Playing Pitch Strategies, needs assessments and Sport and Recreation Strategies. She has worked on behalf of both public and private sector clients and has a reputation for delivering high quality outputs to a variety of briefs. Reflecting her expertise in the sector, Carolyn is a regular speaker at RTPI conferences and has presented on several occasions on the principles of PPG17 and best practice approaches to the preparation of needs assessments and strategies.
Additional Key Associates
Paul Kelly is a freelance consultant with 20 years experience in the leisure and cultural industry. Paul is a key member of the NAA team delivering options appraisal and financial solutions as part of the strategic commissioning process. Paul has worked with NAA on a number of recent assignments including the feasibility into the establishment of a leisure Trust vehicle for Doncaster Council. He brings an extensive knowledge of the sector and experience across strategy, business planning, commissioning and procurement, and funding. He brings a wide perspective and in depth understanding to the issues and challenges facing the sector. Paul is particularly experienced in procurement, funding and alternative delivery structures.
In 2000 Paul joined 4ps, local government’s project support agency, to focus on building a viable leisure and cultural PPP market. He worked with DCMS to establish their PFI programme. Prior to this Paul worked for Sport England for 6 years, with Neil Allen and the NAA team.
Much of Paul’s current and recent work is aimed at helping public sector clients secure investment in services and deliver efficiency savings. He also advises private sector clients on solutions to invest in the sector. He recently helped a major city council procure a large leisure PFI scheme, as well as advising a number of private sector consortia bidding to deliver schools projects. He is currently working with partners to develop an innovative modular design solution for leisure, as well as the creation of an innovative social enterprise vehicle to invest in and operate community assets.
Steve Laird has over twenty years experience of strategic and high level management in the public, private, and not for profit sectors. An acknowledged expert in this field, Steve has delivered papers on the various management delivery options available to local authorities at APSE and ILAM/ISPAL seminars. Steve also brings a comprehensive knowledge of the current issues relating to service management and procurement. Steve has an in-depth knowledge of the way that local authorities ‘work in reality’, and has been commended by clients for his objective and pragmatic approach.
Steve recognises the relative benefits of all of the service delivery options; and has advised numerous clients on the implementation of each of the possible delivery frameworks – including retaining the services in-house. Steve has an expert knowledge of the implications of externalising facilities and services to third parties, including complex issues relating to TUPE, charitable status, community interest, management/governance, tests of independence, property, asset transfer/disposal, Vat and other tax regimes, board compositions, external funding, regulatory bodies, and NNDR. Steve has worked as part of the NAA team on several studies including Blackburn with Darwen Council and Hull City Council.
NAA also works with a range of other specialist planners, developers and financial experts to ensure clients benefit from the best advice in the marketplace.