SAPCA UPDATE
SAPCA NEWS
Operators warned of £1 billion fly-tipping racket London Playing Fields
the site with rubbish before we
Foundation (LPFF) has warned
were able to get rid of them
the UK’s sport and playing field
through the courts,” says Alex
providers about a “£1bn racket”
Welsh, LPFF chief executive.
that is causing significant financial damage to providers. In February, LPFF fell victim
“The rubbish comprises mostly building waste, so it is clear that this is a highly
to an industrial-scale fly-tipping
organised and sophisticated
scam, when a group of intruders
criminal operation at work.
broke into one of its sports
“While we do have insurance
grounds and covered an entire
cover, the amount of fly-tipping
football pitch with rubbish.
means that the compensation
The intruders had entered the grounds and claimed squatters’
pay-out will probably only be a fraction of the actual cost.”
Industrial-scale fly tipping can result in very costly damage
rights. By the time the group
We l s h a d d e d t h at t h e
were forced to leave, following
incident has had a devastating
the pitch and ancillary facilities
a 10-day stay on the site, it
effect on local sports provision.
will be fit for use,” he said.
had caused damage estimated at more than £100,000.
Criminal gangs who illegally dispose of waste in exchange
“The extensive damage to the
“Spare a thought for one
for payment are part of an
pitch and serious vandalism to
of our resident clubs, London
estimated £1bn black market
“Having secured the site,
the pavilion, where all boilers
Tigers, which has been forced to
operation. Figures show that the
the intruders knew they had
and pipework were ripped out,
find an alternative home venue
illegal waste business cost UK
several days in which to cover
means it’ll be a long time before
for the foreseeable future.”
local authorities £50m in 2016.
SAPCA teams up with Loughborough University for research project SAPCA has partnered with
use of portable Lightweight
A high standard of base
the measurements they produce
Loughborough University for a
Deflectometers (LWD) as a site
design and construction is
are known to be influenced by
research project that aims to
approval tool for base and sub-
important for stability and
a number of factors – including
confirm best practice guidelines
base construction compliance,
longevity, and for regularity for
the operating procedure, how
for a crucial aspect of playing
and aims to establish a suitable
sports played on the surfaces.
the data is analysed and the
pitch construction.
benchmark of the acceptable
Surface stiffness is a useful
minimum LWD surface stiffness.
measure of the competence
The research aims to provide
of the materials used,
a more robust understanding of
and for confirmation of
the test devices’ results.
The study is investigating the
adequate compaction
O n ce t h e p ro j e c t h a s
and overall structural
established guidance for best
stability. The LWD has
practice and a recommended
been used for many years
LW D - m ea s u re d m i n i m u m
in highway engineering
surface stiffness for bases, the
and is firmly embedded in
outcomes will be included in
UK and European practice.
the forthcoming SAPCA Code
H o w e v e r,
The project aims to improve the standard of base design
28 Issue 131 May/June 2017
specification of the equipment.
while
of Practice for the Design and
LWDs are becoming
Specification of Sub-bases for
increasingly popular,
Synthetic Sports Areas. sportsmanagement.co.uk