Local Football Facility Plan Broxtowe

Broxtowe is located in the East Midlands region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 112,718. This is expected to rise to 123,297 by 2039.

Broxtowe's ethnic composition is primarily White (92.74%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Broxtowe’s population represented by the BAME community is 7.26%. This is below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

Liberty Leisure Limited, through its sports development team, Get Active, is contributing to delivery of the vision of a 'physical activity and sport revolution' in Nottinghamshire. Across the county, the intention is that more people will be engaging in Active Lives by 2021.

A key aim of Active Notts is to decrease levels of inactivity in Nottinghamshire’s communities. The primary reason for this is that the greatest health impact can be gained by concentrating on the inactive. In Broxtowe, the Get Active team will contribute to delivering this aim by engaging with inactive people offering innovative activity and working with volunteers. It will work with partners and local people to provide opportunity and breakdown barriers across the Borough to enable local people to improve their health through physical activity and sport.

The GET ACTIVE strategy is aligned to the Notts: Get Active Together Strategy 2017-21 and outlines the delivery priorities of the Get Active team for Liberty Leisure Limited. Sport England Insight Data is used to inform delivery priorities until 2021.

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy was adopted in 2016. The key findings and stated overarching priorities are to; improve the quality of natural turf football pitches at key sites across the Borough and to increase the stock of full size 3G FTPs.

County Football Association

Broxtowe is covered by Nottinghamshire 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. It 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 continue to expand and enhance their range of community delivery, offering a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Notts County Football in the Community runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activity within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Liberty Leisure Limited is the key leisure operator in Broxtowe. It runs three leisure centre sites in the Authority on behalf of Broxtowe Borough Council, including:

• Kimberley Leisure Centre - 11 v 11 3G FTP, two small sided 3G FTPs, six grass football pitches
• Chilwell Olympia - three small sided 3G FTPs, five grass football pitches
• Bramcote Leisure Centre - small sided 3G FTP

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Broxtowe. A total of 13 individuals (representing 13 local organisations) were consulted. These include:

• United Approach
• Stapleford Town FC
• Priory Celtic FC
• Liberty Leisure Limited
• Beeston 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. Broxtowe has a total of 239 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 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In Broxtowe, eight clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2017-18 affiliation data) are:

• Priory Celtic - 34 teams
• Stapleford Town - 20 teams
• Eastwood Community - 20 teams
• Attenborough Colts - 19 teams
• Beeston FC - 15 teams
• Toton Tigers Youth - 14 teams
• Moorgreen Colts - 13 teams
• Toton Tornadoes Youth - 11 teams

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

Broxtowe‘s largest local leagues (2017-18) include:

• YEL Saturday – 627 teams– home and away
• YEL Sunday – 406 teams– home and away
• Nottinghamshire Girls and Ladies Football League– 154 teams– home and away
• Notts Youth Football League Saturday– 147 teams– home and away
• Notts Youth Football League Sunday– 98 teams– home and away

The County FA reports considerable cross boundary migration to/from Broxtowe for competitive fixtures.

Disability football

There are 9.4million 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 Broxtowe there are four football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to sustain this provision. For talented disabled 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. Broxtowe has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

With 14, Broxtowe’s number of female teams is comparable to 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 & ladies league is the Nottinghamshire Girls and Ladies League and matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to sustain its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Nottingham Forest RTC located in Basford (Nottingham) . Higher level talent pathway opportunities are also provided regionally and nationally by the FA, culminating in the England Women’s national squads. The nearest Women’s Super League team is Birmingham City Ladies 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:

• Eastwood Community FC 6-a-side Monday league
• Coronation Park

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 with a size 4 football with reduced ball bounce. It is the FA’s aim to ensure Futsal is available across the country.

There is currently one futsal team in Broxtowe; it plays in the Derby Futsal League. It is a priority for the County FA 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 are currently no FA Just Play Centres in Broxtowe. Walking football sessions are delivered by Liberty Leisure Limited four times per week. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include disability turn up and play sessions and community trust activity, which is delivered by Notts County Football in the Community

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 Broxtowe is played particularly in the North and South of the Borough.

The key strengths of local football in Broxtowe include walking football sessions that are sustainable and affiliated male football and it is recommend that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include the recreational and informal football offering throughout the Borough.

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

1.Walking Football opportunity

2.Futsal development

3.Increase the accessibility and opportunities for girls within the Wildcat programme

4.Training facilities to allow for the increasing demand for mini soccer and the youth game

5.Facilities that allow clubs to host higher number of teams

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

Additionally, 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 Broxtowe. 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:

3G FTPs

Improved grass pitches

Changing room pavilions / clubhouses

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.

There are two existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Broxtowe situated at:

• Eastwood CFC
• Kimberley Leisure Centre
  

Additionally, there are 11 small-sided 3G FTPs in Broxtowe at:

• Bramcote Leisure Centre
• Chilwell Olympia (3)
• Hall Park Academy (2)
• Greasley Sports and Community Centre (2)
• Kimberley Leisure Centre (2)
• The Pearson Centre for Young People

Broxtowe's PPS was adopted in 2016. It indicates a shortfall of three full size 3G FTPs in the area. However, since then there has been a growth in participation in the Borough and based on the FA training model (1:38) there is now considered to be a shortfall of four pitches. The LFFP Steering Group agreed to use the FA training model figure for the purposes of the LFFP.

Full size pitches at Eastwood CFC and Kimberley Leisure Centre are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; existing FTPs are located to the North of the local area and there are significant provision gaps in the South despite both high levels of population and deprivation.

Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and travel times and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Five priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. Sites were selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread, success and quality of existing facilities.

Four projects relate to delivery of full-sized (11v11) 3G FTP provision and one is a small sided 3G pitch to accommodate recreational and informal demand.

Further to these five projects, a potential site to deliver a full size 3G FTP at Chetwyn Barracks was considered but the consensus is that it is located too close to the potential 3G FTP project at Chilwell Olympia Sports Centre to be included at this stage.

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.

In the majority of local areas 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 eight grass pitch sites in Broxtowe with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than 3 pitches but of strategic importance), containing 31 grass pitches.

Of the eight key pitch sites referenced above, four have been prioritised for improvements; this will affect a total of 13 pitches.

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

Four priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PPS and qualified by local partners. Prioritisation was informed by local partners with the rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and that were (or offered the potential to be) best utilised.

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 eight key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance group) three have suitable changing room pavilions/clubhouses and four are identified as having facilities that need improvement/ replacement. Kimberley Leisure Centre has changing rooms which service the existing leisure centre but it has been decided that the site requires a dedicated changing pavilion/clubroom to facilitate the high levels of community football demand.

Further to the above, two sites were identified in the 2016 PPS as requiring improvements to existing changing room pavilions/clubhouses. These service single adult pitches and cater for limited demand (relative to the larger sites in the Borough). At this stage, the LFFP does not include the following sites as potential projects, although it is noted that this situation may change going forward if/when potential match funding opportunities may present themselves. The two sites are:

• Shilo Recreation Ground
• Brinsley Recreation Ground

Five priority projects for potential investment are, thus, identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or is deemed to be of strategic importance).

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.

No opportunities for potential indoor football projects have been identified. Following consultation, it is noted that the majority of indoor football demand (both recreational and futsal) is exported to neighbouring authority, Nottingham.

Beeston Community Centre has a poor quality MUGA on its site; this is identified as a potential project for conversion to a 3G surface to accommodate higher levels of recreational and informal football. This is referenced within the 3G FTP section.

Two further opportunities to provide MUGA's in Broxtowe have been identified which are able to meet high levels of informal and recreational football demand.

No opportunities for potential projects for parks and open green spaces have been identified.

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:

• Clerk - Trowell Parish Council
• Clerk - Brinsley Parish Council
• Clerk - Kimberley Parish Council
• Clerk - Awsworth Parish Council
• Councillor - Chilwell Ward
• Head of Planning - Broxtowe Borough Council
• Secretary - Stapleford Town FC
• Secretary - Priory Celtic FC
• Secretary - Beeston FC
• Secretary - Eastwood & Kimberley FC
• Secretary - Phoenix Inham FC
• Team Manager - Broxtowe Youth Team
• Team Leader - United Approach