Local Football Facility Plan Crawley

Crawley is located in the South East region. The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 111,664. This is expected to rise to 122,934 by 2039.

The Borough's ethnic composition is primarily white (80%). This this below the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Crawley’s population represented by the BAME community is 20%. This is above the national average (14.6%).

Crawley's best-known football team is Crawley Town FC which competes in the English Football League 2.

Local authority

Crawley's Local Plan (2015-2030) commits to improving the quality of life for its residents throughout every stage of their life. It highlights a vision for enabling people with a focus on long term health and well being, of which sport and leisure is considered to be a key driver.

The Authority's PPS was adopted in 2013 and can, therefore, no longer be classed as being up to date. The key findings and stated overarching priorities it set out were to improve the quality of natural turf pitches across the District and to increase the stock of 3G FTPs. The Authority has outline plans to commission a new PPS as part of its, Open Space, Sport and Recreation review.

County football association

Crawley 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). The Crawley Town Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Everyone Active is the key leisure operator in Crawley. It currently runs key sites including K2 Crawley, the Bewbush Centre and the Broadfield 3G Pitch and Pavilion.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a diverse set of community groups in Crawley. Seven individuals (representing six local organisations) were spoken to. Agencies consulted include:

• Crawley Town Foundation
• Crawley Youth League
• Crawley Borough Council

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Crawley has a total of 155 teams, which is low compared 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 Crawley, five clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• AFC Crawley - 10 teams
• Crawley & Maidenbower Panthers FC - 21 teams
• Crawley United FC - 12 teams
• Galaxy FC - 37 teams
• Maidenbower Colts FC - 14 teams

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

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

• Horsham & District Youth football League – 265 teams – home and away
• Mid Sussex Youth & Minor Football League – 182 teams – home and away
• Mid Sussex Football League – 137 teams – home and away
• Sussex County Women & Girls football League – 105 teams– home and away

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

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 Crawley there are seven 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. Crawley has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 13, the number of female teams in Crawley 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' league is the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League. League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow its provision in future years. The local adult female league is also the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Brighton & Hove Albion Women's FC located in Adur district. 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's FC 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:

• Firmballs - Crawley (unaffiliated)
• Power Play – Broadfield Stadium
• Power Play - New Ifield College
• Soccer Sixes – Broadfield Stadium
• Soccer Sixes – Hazlewick School

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 Crawley, although the Mid Sussex Youth & Minor Football League run an annual youth futsal tournament at K2 to which all registered teams invited to participate through the winter months when outdoor fixtures are postponed. 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 is currently no FA Just Play centre in Crawley. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes are delivered by the Crawley Town Foundation.

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).

The key strengths of local football in Crawley include female 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, this includes male adult participation.

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

1. Introduce Flexi Football including Walking Football
2. Maintain Female Football
3. Grow Disability Football
4. Grow 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 Crawley. 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.

The national ‘Mini Pitch’ programme delivers small 3G FTPs at primary school sites to provide a high quality introduction to football and get children more physically active. While mini pitches are reviewed in this section, they are not included in the demand and supply analysis for 3G FTPs.

FA data states that there is currently two full-size (11v11) 3G FTPs in Crawley; this is a shortfall of three full-sized FTPs relative to assessed demand. In addition one small sided pitch is available.

Existing 3G FTPs in Crawley are:

• Broadfield 3G Pitch & Pavilion (full-sized)
• K2 Crawley (full sized)
• Maidenbower Park (40x30m)

All three pitches are available for community use. Broadfield 3G FTP is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning that it is quality checked and can be used for football match play).

The existing facilities are located in the centre of the Borough. There are no facilities in the east and the west of Crawley despite the relatively high levels of population; it is recommended that this is addressed.

Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and substantial travel distances to access 3G pitches. It is also recommended that these are addressed .

Potential sites will focus on girls’ after school clubs, community FA Wildcats centres, professional club community organisation delivery and local club training.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified of which three should be considered to meet shortfalls. Under-supply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. Each site was selected based on a rationale of good access, high population and improving the geographic spread.

The Crawley Town Foundation project will be considered against a 3G FTP proposal at Pottage Pease (Horsham LFFP). Both proposed projects are to facilitate the growth of Crawley Community Foundation (as well as wider community access). The organisation requires one site (and therefore one 3G FTP) to facilitate this growth. Further to this, it is acknowledged that there is an opportunity to provide a 3G FTP at the Bewbush Centre in Crawley if the two aforementioned projects are not achieved.

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, 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 nine grass pitch sites in Crawley with three or more full-size pitch equivalents containing 34 grass pitches.

Local consultation shows common issues with poor quality and it is recommended that this is addressed .

Three priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Prioritisation was informed by local partners and is based upon the rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and that were currently or potentially 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 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 nine key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Crawley, seven have suitable changing room pavilions / clubhouses. Although Loppets Road Playing Field is without provision it is not identified as needing changing provision to service demand for it. The site identified for improvement is Oakwood Sports and Social Club.

In addition to the above, Crawley Town Foundation has an aspiration to develop a dedicated facility to progress its range of social, recreational and disability programming and is, therefore, included as a priority project.

Two priority projects for potential investment are, thus, 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 reveals no indoor facilities that presently require 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 relatively high population density, with limited green space and likely to serve a substantial proportion of people from lower social economic groups among whom there is a high level of demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, no locations have been identified to support small-sided informal football.

• Chairman - Crawley Youth League
• Chairman/Commercial Manager - Three Bridges FC
• CEO - Crawley Town Foundation
• Club Secretary - Brighton & Hove Albion Women & Girls
• Development Manager - Sussex FA
• Neighbourhood Services - Crawley District Council
• Planning Officer - Crawley District Council