Local Football Facility Plan Darlington

Darlington is located in the North East region. The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 106,347. This is expected to fall slightly to 106,203 by 2039.

Darlington’s ethnic composition is primarily White (96.24%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Darlington’s population represented by the BAME community is 3.77%. This is below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

Darlington's Green Infrastructure Plan 2013 - 2026 has four main objectives; one of which is to promote outdoor sport, recreation, play and education. This will be achieved by protecting and enhancing facilities for sport, recreation and play in the urban area.

The Authority's Playing Pitch and Sports Facility Strategy was adopted in 2015. The key findings and stated overarching priorities are to address the shortfall of one 3G FTP in the area and provide additional capacity on grass pitches by increasing use of 3G, as well as qualitative improvements and new facilities.

County football association

Darlington is covered by Durham 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 that 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)

There is no active CCO in Darlington.

Local leisure operator

Darlington Borough Council is the key leisure operator in Darlington. It operates a number of key sites including the Eastbourne Sports Complex which has a full size 3G FTP and a number of grass pitches which are used for affiliated football.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Darlington. 12 individuals (representing eight local organisations) were consulted. The organisations include:

• Darlington Borough Council
• Carmel College
• Darlington FC Youth
• Heighington Boys Club
• Middleton Rangers Youth FC
• Darlington RA
• Darlington Mount Pleasant Rangers FC
• Darlington Spraire Lads & Lasses

(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. Darlington has a total of 139 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 Darlington, four clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon affiliation data) are:

• Darlington All Stars FC - 21 teams
• Darlington Middleton Rangers FC - 19 teams
• Darlington FC (inc Youth) - 18 teams
• Darlington Spraire Lads & Lasses - 13 teams

Six leagues operate in Darlington. They offer competitive opportunity for many different players, including youth and adults. While is no specific league for women and girls, and disability within Darlington, suitable provision for them is made in neighbouring Durham; the Russell Foster Youth League and Middlesbrough' the North East Ability Counts League.

Darlington's largest local leagues include:

• Darlington Sunday (adult) Invitation League – 10 teams– home and away
• Teesside Junior Football Alliance - 98 Darlington teams - home and away

The County FA reports significant cross boundary migration on both sides of the River Tees due to teams migrating inwards / outwards to the Teesside Junior Football Alliance League.

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 Darlington there is one football team / session 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. Darlington has four FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 11, Darlington’s number of female teams is lower 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 Russell Foster Girls’ Youth League (RFGYL) in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Durham County FA Women’s League; its matches are played on a home and away basis and it is expected to grow provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Durham Women’s RTC located in Durham. 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 Durham 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 & 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:

• Leisure Leagues at Eastbourne Sports Complex
• Healthy Darlington at The Dolphin Centre
• Soccer Sixes at Hummersknott 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 that Futsal is available across the country.

There are currently no established community Futsal teams, however four educational teams from Darlington play in the Durham County Futsal League (Community Wise). It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal for male/ female/ youth/ adult 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 Darlington. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Healthy Darlington. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include Soccer Schools and casual bookings which are delivered by a range of organisations including Healthy Darlington.

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 Darlington is played particularly in the east and central part of the Borough. North Lodge Park, North Park, South Park, Coleridge Centre, Firthmoor Community Centre and Red Hall are key heavily used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Darlington include multi-team and adult football provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include disability and women's and girls' provision.

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

1.Women & Girls (including Wildcats Programme)

2.Disability Football

3.Affiliated Football (all formats including Flexible Football )

4.Small Sided & Futsal

5.Recreational Offer (including Walking Football and Just Play Centres)

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

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 Darlington. It identifies current issues and presents options for improvements, including a list of priority projects for potential investment. Local assets and opportunities have been reviewed in line 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 four full size 3G FTPs in Darlington; this is a shortfall of one pitch relative to assessed demand.

Existing 3G FTPs in Darlington are located at:

• Eastbourne Sports Complex
• Hummersknott Academy
• Longfield Academy Of Sport
• Rockliffe Park (Middlesborough FC Training Ground)

There are currently no small-sided 3G FTPs in Darlington.

Three of the four pitches are available for community use. Rockcliffe Park is the training ground of Middlesborough FC and is, therefore, not available on this basis. The three pitches available for community use 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 even; Longfield Academy is located to the north, Hummersknott Academy is situated to the west and Eastbourne Sports Complex to the east.

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

Two potential site options have been identified to deliver the shortfall of one full sized FTP.

Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. The sites were suggested by local partners based on a rationale of good access, high population, geographical 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 valuable resources for informal play and open-access sites are encouraged but, in many instances, 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. Many 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 15 key grass pitch sites in Darlington with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance - as determined by the steering group). These contain 42 grass pitches. Of these 15 sites, five are considered to have good quality pitches, whereas ten are deemed to be of standard or poor quality.

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

Ten priority projects for potential investment have been identified. The majority have three or more full-size pitch equivalents although some have fewer than this but were considered by the steering group to be of strategic importance. All are presently of either poor or standard quality. The prioritisation was informed by local partners with the rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition, that are best-utilised and considered to be strategically significant for football.

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 where development will have the greatest impact on local communities. To ensure this, emphasis is normally placed upon 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 15 key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Darlington (or with less than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance) eight already have suitable changing room pavilions / clubhouses, three have facilities that need improvement/ replacement and three have no facilities and require a new changing pavilion. During consultation , it was confirmed that the one remaining site with no facilities, North Park, does not require them at present.

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.

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 & 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 & 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 there is one indoor facility that requires improvement to develop small-sided football.

Local consultation reveals there is one MUGA that requires improvement to develop small-sided football. In this case the rationale is based on it being in an area of high urban population, limited green space, high levels of deprivation, catering for a substantial number of people from lower social economic groups and meeting corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, three locations have been identified to support small-sided informal football. Here, the rationale is based on popular local parks and open green spaces with suitable space / areas to increase the level of provision for informal football.

• Head of Leisure - Darlington Borough Council
• Move More Manager - Darlington Borough Council
• Community Resilience Officer - Darlington Borough Council
• Housing Strategy - Darlington Borough Council
• Business Manager - Carmel College
• Lettings Administrator - Carmel College
• Head of Youth Development - Darlington FC Youth
• Heighington Boys Club (Consultation via Darlington Borough Council
• Darlington Mount Pleasant Rangers - Secretary
• Darlington Spraire Lads & Lasses - Club secretary and founder
• Hurworth Albion FC
• Middleton Rangers Youth
• Darlington RA