Local Football Facility Plan Adur

Adur is located in the South East region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2016 Mid-Year Estimate) is 63,721. This is expected to rise to 73,868 by 2039.

Adur’s ethnic composition is primarily white (95.88%). This is substantially higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Adur’s population represented by the BAME community is 4.12%. This is well below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

The Adur Local Plan was adopted in 2017. It sets the strategic development and land-use priorities for Adur (outside of the South Downs National Park) up to 2032, and contains the policies against which development management decisions within that area will be made.

The Adur and Worthing Public Health Strategy 2018 -2021 sets out priorities for enabling the better health and wellbeing of their communities. The vision is for all residents to reach their full potential, to start well, live well and age well and to be able to contribute positively to the creation of enterprising and thriving local communities. The stated priority areas include, but are not limited to;

• accessing and make positive use of our open space
• the opportunity to enjoy a healthy lifestyle through these stages (diet, weight, smoking, physical activity, alcohol, drugs and sexual health).

The local authority has a joint PPS in place with Worthing Borough Council; this was adopted in 2014 and is, thus, close to needing to be updated. The key findings and stated overarching priorities were to address FTP and youth pitch shortfalls and to improve the pitch quality and thus the carrying capacity of existing pitch stock.

County football association

Adur is covered by the Sussex County FA which provides governance and development support to all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues; supporting football for all. The County FA has a designated facilities investment lead officer who works to ensure the right facilities are located in the right locations.

Football Foundation

The Regional Engagement Manager and Regional Technical Project Manager at the Football Foundation work collaboratively with the County FA to provide pre-application support to priority projects for potential investment.

Sport England

Has a network of planning managers who have a statutory role in the planning system to protect playing fields and provide consultation responses to planning applications relating to sporting facilities. They also play a key role in strategic planning for sports facilities, providing advice and support to local authorities to assess need for facilities in their local area.

Professional club community organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Albion in the Community run a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Impulse Leisure is the key leisure operator in Adur. It currently operates Lancing Manor Leisure Centre (which has two small sided floodlit 3G FTPs), and Southwick Leisure Centre.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Adur. 15 individuals (representing 12 local organisations) were spoken to. Agencies consulted include:

• Adur and Worthing councils
• Impulse Leisure
• Futsalers UK
• Southwick Rangers FC
• Southwick FC

(See Appendix B for full list of consultees)

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Adur has a total of 158 teams, which is higher than local areas of a similar size.

The FA is investing to support clubs both on and off the pitch which includes an aim to have a qualified FA coach with every youth team by 2020/21. In addition, it will support 1,000 clubs to create full player pathways from youth to adult teams and develop 150 community football hubs with male and female pathways, disability and recreational playing opportunities.

Over the last 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In Adur, eight clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Southwick Rangers - 12 teams
• Shoreham & Adur - 16 teams
• Lancing Youth - 11 teams
• Lancing United - 12 teams
• Lancing Rangers -10 teams
• Fishersgate Flyers Youth - 11 teams
• Brighton & Hove Albion FC - 10 teams
• ASC Strikers -10 teams

Seven leagues operate in Adur. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults.

Adur's largest local leagues (2018-19) include:

• Arun & Chichester Youth Football League – 331 teams (home and away)
• Mid Sussex Youth & Minor Football League – 182 teams (home and away)
• Sussex Sunday Football League – 362 teams (home and away)
• Sussex County Disability Football League - 46 teams (central venue)

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to / from Adur primarily due to the fact that leagues cover more than one local authority area.

Disability football

There are 9.4 million people in England with a long-standing limiting disability, illness or condition which equates to 18% of the population – almost one in five. Football playing opportunities should be flexible, inclusive and accessible for everyone, whatever their level of ability. This could entail inclusion in mainstream activity or teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability.

In Adur there are nine football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. This is a priority for the County FA. For talented players the FA runs regional centres and England national squads.

Women and girls

The FA has big ambitions for the female game and aims to double levels of participation by 2020. To achieve this requires a combined effort across four pathways: education, recreation, competition and talent.

Education environments have a huge impact on the first experience of football for young girls. This pathway can offer many opportunities for females of all ages to develop and grow a lifelong interest in football.

FA Wildcats girls football centres provide the first step on the recreational pathway, the programme provides girls aged 5-11 with regular opportunities to play football in a fun and engaging environment. Adur has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 13, Adur’s number of female teams is higher than local areas of a similar size. The County FA’s priority is to support existing clubs to grow and encourage more clubs to develop playing opportunities for females. The local girls league is the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League. Its matches are played on a home and away basis. The local adult female league is the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League in which matches are also played on a home and away basis. It too is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Brighton & Hove Albion Women - located in Adur. Higher level talent pathway opportunities are also provided regionally and nationally by the FA, culminating in the England Women’s national squads. The most local Women’s Super League team is Brighton & Hove Albion Women which provides player pathway opportunities for gifted and talented female players and a spectator interest for fans.

Small-sided football

Many different types of small-sided football are played in England, from teams and leagues to recreational and informal. It is an established and important part of the modern game.

Small-sided teams and leagues are organised and competitive activities; typically with players registered to clubs and affiliated to leagues and their County FAs. Examples include Futsal and local small-sided leagues running at venues such as sports halls, 3G FTPs or small-sided 3G centres.

The key local provider is:

• Power Play Brighton - Shoreham Academy

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced, small sided team game that is widely played across the world. Typically it is played on an indoor surface with hockey-sized goals and a size 4 football with reduced ball bounce. It is the FA’s aim to ensure Futsal is available across the country.

There are currently no futsal teams in Adur. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal for youth players.

Recreational football

Recreational football is played where facilities are typically booked and there might be someone to help organise. Examples include FA Just Play sessions, walking football and casual pitch hire for small-sided match play.

There are currently no FA Just Play centres in Adur. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Southwick Leisure Centre. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development.

Informal football

Informal football is played in local parks and green spaces – it is free, open access and often played spontaneously (normal clothing is worn). Common examples include a kick-about at a local park or on a multi-use games area (MUGA).

Currently, informal football in Adur is played particularly in the west of the Borough. Sompting Recreation Ground, Monks Recreation Ground and Fishergate Recreation Ground are key heavily used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Adur include disability, female and adult provision and it is recommend that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of football provision that are lower than local authorities of a similar size, these include Futsal.

It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Adur are:

1. Introduce Flexi Football
2. Grow Walking Football
3. Maintain Disability Football
4. Introduce Youth Futsal
5. Introduce FA Mars Just Play

The facilities required to assist this are now set out in the Assets and Opportunities section.

In addition, each priority project that progresses to a funding application via the Football Foundation will produce a detailed ‘site development plan’ specifying all football development activity, usage and key partner engagement.

This section reviews existing football facility assets in Adur. It identifies current issues and presents opportunities for improvements, including a list of priority projects for potential investment.

Local assets and opportunities have been reviewed inline with four investment priorities:

1. 3G FTPs
2. Improved grass pitches
3. Changing room pavilions / clubhouses
4. Small-sided facilities

To ensure a consistent and high quality approach, each local area has been reviewed applying a standard approach, supplemented by input from consultation with local partners and stakeholder organisations.

While each investment priority is reviewed individually, it is understood that they can be inter-reliant; account is, thus, taken of these potential connections.

3G FTPs are a high quality and indispensable part of modern football facilities; their impact cannot be underestimated. In recent years the industry has seen major innovations and improvements to artificial surfaces (and sports lighting). This has created playing surfaces that replicate a good standard natural turf pitch whilst significantly increasing levels of use (x20). All FTPs must have sports lighting to achieve this.

The high quality, consistent playing surface is the ideal environment to play the game and for young people to learn. With regular maintenance programmes, FTPs can be heavily used all year round with no decline in quality. They almost completely negate annoying fixture cancellations during winter months, helping football to be a key part of a regular physical activity habit.

High capacity levels offer a great opportunity to embrace all formats and engage all participants. A full-sized 3G caters for an average of 1,200 participants per week and is suitable for various location types. That means being fully inclusive to all sections of the community, with a particular focus on under-represented groups such as women and girls, people with a disability, BAME communities and people from lower socio-economic groups.

The way 3G FTPs are used is rapidly changing; current line-marking systems allow for match play across all formats of football (5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11). This enables significant levels of match-play to be transferred from grass to 3G.

PitchFinder data states that there are currently six full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs in Adur; of which four are available for community use. This is a shortfall of one 3G pitch relative to assessed demand. They are:

• American Express Elite Football Performance Centre (x3)
• Shoreham Academy
• Sussex County Football Association
• Sir Robert Woodward Academy

In addition, there are three small-sided 3G FTPs in Adur:

• Lancing Manor (x2)
• American Express Elite Football Performance Centre

Four of the six full-sized 3G FTPs are available for community use. The remaining two are located at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, which is the training ground for Brighton and Hove Albion FC. They are, as a consequence, not available for community use.

All six full size 3G FTPS are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). The three small sided 3G FTPs at Lancing Manor and the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre are also on the FA register.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is even; with 3G FTPs located in the east and the west of the local area.

Local consultation reveals common issues with limited availability and high pricing and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Two priority projects for potential investment are identified. Under-supply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. Each site was selected by local partners based on a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread and the quality of existing facilities.

Playing fields are one of the most important resources for sport in England. All football players should have the opportunity to play on good quality grass pitches. However, FA data shows that 63% of pitches in England are poor / low standard and one in six games is cancelled. As such, poor pitch quality is consistently cited as the number one issue for players.

The priority is, therefore, to sustainably improve grass pitch quality across all main pitch owners (local authorities, education establishments and clubs). However, the level of maintenance required to obtain good quality standards is regularly affected by restricted budgets and limited knowledge / training. Compaction and grass coverage are two key causes of poor quality pitches. Both are commonly treated via a maintenance driven solution (and do not necessarily require costly drainage schemes).

Playing fields are also a valuable resources for informal play and open-access sites are encouraged but, for many, problems such as dog fouling and vandalism mean that they need to be protected with mitigation measures such as fencing.

Often the key challenge is to create a sustainable approach to provide good quality football pitches for the long-term. Most local authorities (78%) intend to increase pitch hire fees in the future. However, many players (63%) believe facilities are already expensive and some (16%) believe prices are prohibitive. A sustainable solution should, therefore, carefully balance pitch quality and affordability.

While the education sector (37%) and local authorities (32%) are still the principal asset owners of grass pitches, clubs / leagues own or maintain an increasing share (currently 25%). Assets and opportunities have been considered across each sector.

Although large (3+ pitch) strategic sites are important and make up much of the project list within the LFFPs, this does not mean that other club, league and community/voluntary sites are not important or eligible for funding. These sites are key to the Football Foundation's Grass Pitch Programme to deliver 20,000 good quality pitches.

For more information click here.

PitchPower

The PitchPower app is the gateway to any grass pitch improvement funding. It is the tool that will allow clubs and organisations to complete pitch inspections and access funds.

If you haven't signed up and completed a PitchPower pitch inspection, you will need to do this before you can apply for the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund.

Learn more by clicking here.

There are currently seven key grass pitch sites in Adur with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), these contain 27 grass pitches. Of these seven sites, four are considered to have pitches that are of good quality while those at the other three are of standard or poor quality.

Local consultation highlights consistent issues with poor quality pitches and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Three priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents or is deemed to be of strategic importance. Pitch quality (which is assessed to be standard or poor) was ratified by local partners. Prioritisation was based upon a rationale of selecting sites with a substantial number of pitches and/or t which pitches were in the poorest condition; that are important in servicing local football.

One of the projects is a new site (West Sompting local Plan Development) that will be created as part of the Local Plan via S106 agreements.

These can provide a number of different benefits. While the primary function is normally the provision of changing rooms to accommodate match-play and training (for players and officials), there can be equal value in facilities such as community and education rooms, catering facilities and spectator toilets.

Each project will take a progressive approach to pavilions and clubhouses (beyond the provision of changing rooms) and be open to new opportunities to engage the whole community. That means, creating environments that are welcoming to players, spectators, volunteers, officials and all sections of the community.

Such assets should support other investment priorities (e.g. 3G FTPs and grass pitches) and be located at sites that will have the greatest impact on local communities. To ensure this, focus is given to sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents. However, as pitch quality is the number one priority for players this is prioritised ahead of investment in changing room pavilions / clubhouses.

Clearly, facilities need to be well managed and maintained to keep them in a good state of repair. Consideration will be given to reviewing the best operator solution for key sites and the installation of revenue generating features such as catering facilities and community rooms. To achieve this, business plan support will be given to each priority project as it progresses to an application to the Football Foundation.

Of the seven key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Adur (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance), one has suitable changing room pavilion/clubhouse, one has facilities that need improvement / replacement and five have no facilities and require a new changing pavilion.

Six priority projects for potential investment have therefore been identified. Each is of strategic importance and has either no facilities or was deemed, at present, to have an unsuitable pavilion.

One project is a new site (West Sompting allocation) that will be created as part of the Local Plan via a S106 funding agreement.

Good facilities are important to all small-sided football players, but it is important to understand the different formats of the small-sided game and the various facility types they relate to.

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams and leagues, and in recreational sessions, prefer a 3G surface type because it replicates a good standard natural turf pitch. These facilities have already been covered in the 3G FTP section of this LFFP.

Indoor environments currently accommodate 20% of football participation and are also popular with players in teams and leagues and recreational sessions. Indoor sports halls are most popular, along with some community halls and indoor 3G centres. Environments need to be engaging, have clear line-marking and the correct size goalposts.

Informal players require facilities that are open and free to access as this enables play opportunities that are often spontaneous. In these circumstances multi-use games areas (MUGAs) can be effective in areas of high urban population and limited green space. Such facilities can be modern, bright, creative and engaging. While this plan will identify suitable locations for such facilities, the design and specifics of the facility type can be agreed at a later stage with Football Foundation staff when projects are ready to progress to pre-application stage.

Parks and open green spaces are also important to informal play and require goalposts and zones that are free from litter and dog fouling.

Local consultation reveals one indoor facility that requires improvement to develop small-sided football.

Three potential opportunities for MUGAs are identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in an area of considerable population density, with limited green space, a relatively high proportion of people from lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, two locations are identified to support small-sided informal football. Here, the rationale is based on highly popular local parks and open green spaces with suitable space / areas to increase informal football.

A range of local agencies and all larger (10 plus team) local football clubs were invited to participate in the LFFP consultation. Those that contributed are listed below:

• Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils - Planning Policy Manager
• Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils - Head of Environment
• Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils - Parks and Foreshore Manager
• Impulse Leisure - Contract Manager
• Lancing Parish Council - Clerk
• Lancing College - Estates Bursar
• Albion in the Community - Head of Finance and Operations
• The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) - Operations Leader
• Futsalers UK - Founder
• Horsham FC - Secretary/Director
• Southwick Rangers FC - Secretary
• Southwick FC - Secretary
• Sompting FC - Secretary
• Shoreham FC - Chairman