Local Football Facility Plan Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane is in the South Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2018 Mid-Year Estimate) is 175,729. This is expected to rise to 192,049 by 2039.

Basingstoke and Deane is ranked 35 out of 67 LAs in the region, and 246 out of 317 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Its ethnic composition is primarily white (93%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Basingstoke and Deane’s population represented by the BAME community is 7%. This is below to the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

The Basingstoke and Deane Council Plan for 2020 to 2024 focuses on four key priorities:

• Strengthening communities
• Protecting and enhancing the environment
• Improving safety
• Planning for the future

To strengthen its communities, one of the Council's key objectives is to improve the health and wellbeing of residents by providing a variety of high quality sports and leisure facilities. The Authority has does not have an up to date playing pitch strategy. Its most recent one was published in 2015.

County football association.

Basingstoke and Deane is covered by the Hampshire County FA. It provides governance for, 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 community club organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). There is no active CCO in Basingstoke and Deane.

Local leisure operator

Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust is the key leisure operator in the Authority. It currently runs three key sites; Aquadrome, Tadley Pool and Gym and the Basingstoke Golf Centre.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Basingstoke and Deane. 17 individuals (representing 17 local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• Basingstoke Borough Council
• A range of local affiliated clubs
• A number of key schools

(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. Basingstoke and Deane has a total of 332 teams, which is comparable to 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 ten years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In Basingstoke and Deane, 16 clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These are based on the 2019/20 season:

Basingstoke Town Colts Youth- 21

Basingstoke Town- 13

Chineham Tigers- 33

Down Grange Youth- 13

Hatch Warren Phoenix Youth- 23

Loddon Sports Youth- 13

MFC Popley- 17

Oakley Youth- 21

Overton United- 18

Popley Pumas Youth- 11

Rooksdown Youth- 10

Sherborne St John Youth- 14

Tadley Calleva -31

Whitchurch United Youth - 22

Winklebury Wizards - 11

Woolton Hill Argyle- 16

Leagues

Four leagues cater for clubs and teams in Basingstoke and Deane offering competitive opportunities for youth and adults males. These are:

• Basingstoke Saturday League – home and away
• Basingstoke Sunday League – home and away
• Peter Houseman League – home and away
• Hampshire FA Play On league- central venue

Female and disability league provision is delivered on a county basis.

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to/from Basingstoke and Deane primarily due to teams playing against others based in neighbouring authorities when competing at regional league level.

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 Basingstoke there are three football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to grow this provision. 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. Basingstoke has seven FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 15, Basingstoke and Deane’s number of female teams is lower than local comparable areas. The County FA’s priority is to support existing clubs to grow and encourage more of them to develop playing opportunities for females. The local girls’ league is the Hampshire Girls Youth League in which matches are played on a home and away and central venue basis. It is expected to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Hampshire County Women’s League. Its matches are played on a home and away basis and it also expects to grow provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Southampton. 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 Reading 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. Key local providers include Basingstoke Football Centre and the Camrose Centre.

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 that futsal is available across the country.

There is currently one affiliated futsal team in Basingstoke. It is a County FA priority to grow futsal for all 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 is currently one FA Just Play centre in the Authority. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Tadley Statin Strollers and BSC United.

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 Basingstoke and Deane is played mainly in the town of Basingstoke at venues such as the Popley Fields Community Centre and in Winklebury Park.

The key strengths of local football in Basingstoke and Deane include adult male and youth football and it is recommended that this is sustained and encouraged to grow further. However, gaps include, women and girls, disability , recreational and futsal opportunity. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Basingstoke and Deane are to:

1. Sustain male youth and adult football
2. Increase the number of womens and girls teams.
3. Grow futsal within the Authority.
4. Increase the number of Just Play centres.
5. Support the development of disability opportunity.

The facilities required to assist this are now set out in the Assets and opportunities section. Priority projects that progress to become a funding application via the Football Foundation produce detailed ‘site development plans’ specifying all football development activity, usage and key partner engagement.

This section reviews existing football facility assets in Basingstoke. 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 in line with four investment priorities:

• 3G FTPs
• Improved grass pitches
• Changing room pavilions / clubhouses
• Small sided facilities

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

While investment priorities are 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.

The five full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Basingstoke and Deane are located at:

• Queen Mary College
• Hampshire FA (Winklebury)
• Testbourne Community School
• Vyne Community School
• Everest Health and Leisure/Community Academy

There are also three small-sided 3G FTP centres:

• Basingstoke Soccer Centre (nine recreational cages)
• Camrose Centre (two 5v5 FTPs) (0.5 pitch equivalents).
• Everest Health and Leisure/Community Academy (one 5v5 FTPs) (0.25 pitch equivalents).

In addition, there are potential facilities proposed linked to two large housing growth areas; in Manydown and to the east of Basingstoke. Although there is no current specific detail with regard to these future facility developments, future iterations of this plan should revisit these growth areas to ensure that appropriate facilities are installed to support the respective communities.

The Camrose Centre (along with Basingstoke Town's stadium pitch itself), is currently under threat from a potential residential redevelopment. Sport England has been working through the planning system to secure mitigation for any potential loss. This will include a financial contribution for investment into either new football facilities or improvements to existing football facilities.

As noted above, there is no current PPS and, therefore, demand for full sized 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38.

On the basis that there are 333 teams in Basingstoke and Deane, there is a requirement for 9.5 full sized 3G FTP equivalents. There are currently 5.75 (including full sized and small sided FTPs). It must be noted that Basingstoke Soccer Centre is not included in this calculation as the pitches do not accommodate match play or align with the Football Foundation's pricing policy. There is, thus, a (rounded up) shortfall of four full sized pitch equivalents.

All pitches listed above are available for community use and three (Winklebury, Testbourne and the Vyne Community School) are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommended that the remaining pitches are assessed and placed on the Register to enable more match play on 3G.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven with provision gaps in the north (Tadley) and central areas (Oakley and Overton). It is proposed that facilities are provided in these areas to support key clubs. Local club consultation supports this recommendation; clubs such as Oakley Youth FC and Overton United FC presently have to travel to either Whitchurch or Basingstoke to access a 3G venue. Consultation also highlighted the shortage of 3G FTPs to support match play in the town of Basingstoke where only two; Winklebury (Hampshire FA) and the Vyne Community School, are currently available.

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified addressing geographic and demand gaps. These comprise two new full sized pitches, one new small sided pitch and the resurfacing of an existing full sized FTP (Queen Mary College). Although these projects do not address the shortfall, the Steering Group concluded that priority was to focus on these projects and assess future shortfall once this plan is refreshed.

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 quality 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.

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, the majority of 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 18 grass pitch sites in Basingstoke and Deane with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 68 grass pitches. Of these, ten are considered to have good quality pitches and eight are rated as poor.

All eight sites with poor pitches are prioritised. This will result in quality improvements to 24 pitches.

Eight priority projects for potential investment are identified. Sites were identified via club and broader consultation.

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 before 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 18 key grass pitch sites in Basingstoke and Deane with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), 15 have suitable changing rooms, two require improvement/replacement and one has no facility and requires a new changing pavilion.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified:

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 indicates that, at present, no indoor facilities require improvement to develop small sided football.

Two potential options for MUGAs are identified. Both sites, located in Basingstoke, are in areas of relatively high deprivation and present an opportunity to further enhance recreational football opportunities for the respective local communities. Both also have the capacity to be supported/animated by local organisations interested in delivering social change programmes.

Local consultation indicates that, at present, no parks or open green spaces require improvement to develop small sided football.

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

• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
• The Hurst School
• Queen Mary College
• AFC Popley
• Overton Rec Centre,
• Winklebury Wizards FC
• Basingstoke Town FC
• Down Grange Youth FC
• Chineham Tigers Youth FC
• Basingstoke Town Colts FC
• Oakley Youth FC
• Tadley Calleva Youth FC
• Kingsclene Parish Council
• Whitchurch PC/United
• Basingstoke School Games Officer
• Hatch Warren Phoenix FC
• Vyne Community School