A scoping report on the Beighton Extreme Sport Park proposal

Introduction
1. Spatial Scope
The proposed site for the Beighton extreme sport park is located on the A57 which is the road connecting Sheffield city centre to junction 31 on the M1. Some of the local residential areas that surround the site include: Woodhouse, Hackenthorpe and Crystal Peaks, all of which could make up some for some of the workforce. Other local places of interest which could have an impact on the site include: the Shirebrook Nature Reserve, Westfield Sports Centre and Crystal Peaks shopping centre to the south. This can be seen more clearly in figure 1 and 2 below. The plot of land is currently owned by the Sheffield City Council and the developers are LBX Holdings Ltd who is based in Newcastle.

1.1 Transport Links
As I mentioned before the site is located near the M1, which is the main motorway linking the south of Britain to the north. There is a tramline that runs from Sheffield city centre to Crystal Peaks one of the neighbouring residential areas and a bit further afield on the other side of the A57 there is Woodhouse railway station which again runs into the Sheffield city centre. The site would also be easily accessible for people living in the local areas that surround the proposed site. This can be viewed better in figure 1 and 2 below.
1.2 Employment
The project information (2011) states that 140 full time jobs will be necessary during a 25 year operation period. More on employment will be discussed in section 3.
This image is courtesy of www.MapQuest.com (2003) site accessed on (2011) from google images
Figure 1. This map shows the proposed site for the sports park which is highlighted in blue. As you can see it is located directly on the A57 and is very close to residential areas. The M1 is located just off to the right of the picture.
(Law) Motivation and managing diversity – Second Draft
Photo courtesy of Stephen Jay (2011)
Figure 2. This is an aerial photograph of the site which is circled in orange, again showing the A57 on the left and some of the residential areas surrounding the site.
2. Life-cycle of activities and Physical Presence
2.1 Materials
Where possible materials will be used from local areas for the six major constructions in the proposed area. The access for the lorries bringing the materials should be fairly easy due to the M1 and A57 being so close. Particularly for the snowdome, skate park and canoe area, specialised materials will needed to be brought in to make them successful. Basic construction materials will be needed for the administration building and hotel such as; steel, timber and glass and tarmac would also be needed for the car park. The project information hand out (2011) also states that 10,000 tonnes of topsoil will also be needed for landscaping.
2.2 Temporal Scope
According to the project information hand out (2011) the site will give 100 jobs for a 16 month construction phase with over 200,000 tonnes of materials being needed to complete the park. The hand out also states that these materials will be transported in 10,000 trips over a six month period assuming it is done in a six day week.
2.3 Dimensions
The dimensions, materials and layout in section 2.3 of each building are given in the Beighton Extreme Sports Park project information handbook (2011)
Snowdome – This building would be the largest, www.SkyscraperPage.com (2011) state that the square footage of the Xscape in Milton Keynes is 55,000m2 with a 44m roof. Beighton snowdome will be a lot smaller compared to this with only a small selection of restaurants so the dimensions will total 5,000m2 with a height of just 30m.
Skate Park – This is an outdoor activity and will be 450m2; the height will be around 8m. A few bars will surround the skate park too adding to the area slightly.
Canoe Park – www.london2012.com (2011) states that their canoe run in Lee Valley is 300m long, again Beighton has a smaller area so the canoe run will only be 200m in length, with picnic areas surrounding the run and some restaurants.
Coach and Car Parking – Because this is a unique project and its easy accessibility the car park will be around 18,720m2 and floodlight. This includes all the circulation, floodlighting and bay parking areas. In total there will be enough bays for 590 cars 45 of which are for disabled drivers and in addition to this 120 spaces for overspill, plus 10 spaces for coaches.
Hotel – The hotel will be two floors and have a square footage of 3700m2, it will include the usual hotel amenities such as bar and two restaurants, there will also be 20 rooms on the ground floor and a further 80 on the second floor.
Administration Building – This will be 180m2 and will be built out of the same materials as the hotel which is timer steel and reinforced concrete.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Jay (2011)
Figure 3. This is another aerial photograph giving more detail into where the proposed buildings will be constructed.
3. Assessment of Environmental and Socio – Economic Effects/ Reasons for Scoping Report
3.1 Flora and Fauna
Currently the site is attempting to replant some trees and other smaller plants as shown in figure 4 below, this would ultimately be disrupted by the project. However new shrubs and trees would be planted if the site were constructed and many of the areas round the hotel, admin building and canoe run could retain the local flora and fauna.