Local Football Facility Plan East Devon

East Devon is in the South West Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 142,265. This is expected to rise to 168,376 by 2039.

East Devon is ranked 30th out of 37 LAs in the region, and 246th out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

East Devon's ethnic composition is primarily white (98.5%). This is significantly higher to the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of East Devon population represented by the BAME community is 1.5%. This is below the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

East Devon's Council Plan (2016–20) sets out the Authority's strategic direction within the Plan's time frame and beyond through four key objectives:

• Encouraging communities to be outstanding
• Developing an outstanding local economy
• Delivering and promoting our outstanding environment
• Continuously improving to be an outstanding council

To deliver on its ambition that communities will be outstanding, the Council is committed to provide high quality leisure facilities and quality open spaces. This will be supported by offering inclusive activities to encourage healthy lifestyles and to ensure people make the most of the outdoors.

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy was adopted in June 2015 and is, therefore, out of date.

Cranbrook, a town in East Devon, has been selected to be one of the twelve areas in England to tackle inactivity through the Local Delivery Pilot (LDP) programme. Around £100 million of National Lottery funding will be invested in the twelve pilot areas over four years to make it easier for people in these communities to access sport and physical activity. Cranbrook will grow to a population of c.20,000 by 2028, and the objective is to create a healthy new town as part of this growth. To support this objective, funding from the LDP will deliver programmes to encourage smarter sustainable transport choices and enhance inclusivity through community connectivity.

County football association

East Devon is covered by the Devon 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). Exeter City Community Trust runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area. Activities include holiday camps, pay and play sessions, PL KICKS, disability programmes and mass participation sporting events, including the facilitation of the Exeter half marathon, which attracts over 500 participants.

Local leisure operator

LED Community Leisure is the key leisure operator in East Devon. It currently runs 17 sites, including the key sites of Exmouth Leisure Centre, Axminster Leisure Centre, Broadclyst Leisure Centre and Sidmouth Leisure Centre. The operator manages the 3G at Axminster Leisure Centre.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in East Devon. 10 individuals (representing 10 local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• East Devon Council
• LED Community Leisure
• A number of clubs- see appendix for full details.

(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. East Devon has a total of 179 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 East Devon, eight clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these are:

• Sidmouth Town - 18 teams
• Ottery St Mary - 17 teams
• Honiton Town - 17 teams
• Brixington Blues- 17 teams

Leagues

Nine leagues serve clubs and teams in East Devon. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, youth and adults. The largest of these local leagues (2018-19) include:

• The Exeter & District Youth League – 339 teams– home and away
• The Devon & Exeter League – 147 teams– home and away

The County FA reports considerable cross boundary migration to/from East Devon primarily due to teams playing in the Devon & Exeter 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 East Devon 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. East Devon has one FA Wildcats girls football centre and the priority is to grow this activity.

At nine, East Devon's number of female teams is lower than that to be found in comparable areas. 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 Devon County Girls 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 the Devon Women’s League. It too plays matches on a home and away basis and is expected to grow provision in future years.

There is no FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) in Devon, however, the Devon FA Girls Advanced Coaching Centre is located in the Authority. 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 Bristol City 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 Soccer Sixes at Exmouth College

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 futsal teams in East Devon. It is a priority for the County FA to grow futsal for youth and 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 is currently no FA Just Play centre in East Devon. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation including the local Charter Standard clubs. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include Man vs Fat and pro-club community scheme activity delivered by a range of organisations including the Exeter City Community Trust.

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 East Devon is played particularly in parks across key areas of population, including Exmouth, Honiton and Cranbrook.

The key strengths of local football in East Devon include walking football and adult 11v11 provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of football provision that lower than local authorities of a similar size, these include Just Play, recreational, small-sided, disability and youth female. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for East Devon are:

1. 11 v 11 adult
2. Disability
3. Age appropriate formats of competition in youth
4. Female (all formats)
5. Small-sided football

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 East Devon. 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 has been 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.

There are two full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in East Devon located at:

• Axe Valley Community College
• Exeter City Training Ground.

In addition, there are two small-sided 3G FTP centres at:

• Cranbrook Educational Campus* (Youth 11v11 FTP) - this has a 40mm carpet and is not on the FA Pitch Register for 3G FTPs. However, it does still accommodate training demand and is, thus, included in the total supply.
• Exmouth Community College (5v5 FTP).

Significant population growth is proposed in Cranbrook; an anticipated 6,000 new dwellings over the next ten years. As part of the development, a new education/sports hub is proposed which will include a 3G FTP. The dimensions and specification of the facility have not been confirmed but it is, nonetheless, recommended that it is full-sized and delivered to FA standards , to accommodate demand expected in the Town. This facility will not require Football Foundation funding.

All pitches listed above are are available for community use, apart from Exeter City's training ground. The latter is solely used for the purposes of the professional football club. Of the community available pitches, one (Axe Valley) is on the FA Register (meaning that it has been quality checked and can be used for football match play).

As noted earlier, there is no up to date 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 179 teams in East Devon, there is a requirement for five full sized 3G pitch equivalents. The current community accessible stock (including the one full sized and two small sided facilities) equates to two and there is, thus, a shortfall of three full sized 3G FTPs. This may reduce to two, pending the scale of the development at Cranbrook.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; key areas of population currently lack provision. These include Honiton, Exmouth and the coast between Sidmouth and Seaton. There are, however, several sand-dressed facilities which accommodate training demand, including the pitch at Sidmouth Leisure Centre.

Local club consultation confirmed this situation; a number of clubs reporting having to travel considerable distances to train of play matches on 3G and plan recommendations are designed to address this.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified; two full sized and a small sided 3G FTP. Thes proposals made are designed to address key gaps in current provision.

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 12 grass pitch sites in East Devon with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 38 grass pitches. Of these, four are considered to have good quality pitches while eight are of poor quality.

Local consultation confirms the issue of poor quality pitches at certain sites and it is recommended that this is addressed.

Of the 12 pitch sites referenced above it has been determined that eight should be prioritised. This will result in quality improvements to 21 pitches.

Eight priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced via local pitch improvement reports and club consultation. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites which are presently in poor condition, which are or could be well-utilised or, in the one instance cited, requires match funding as part of potential new site development.

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 12 current key grass pitch sites in East Devon with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), five have suitable changing rooms, six require improvement/replacement and one has no facility and requires a new changing room.

It must be noted, that as part of the Cranfield development, new changing provision will be developed at Cranfield school (on the sports ground). Like with the new proposed 3G facility, it will be funded solely through developer contributions and will not require any Foundation support.

Seven 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 indicates that, at present, no investment is required in recreational football facility provision. The Authority has recently upgraded a number of recreational football venues including several MUGAs and open green spaces. As a consequence, no projects for immediate attention are noted. however, this will need to be reviewed in future versions of this plan.

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:

• East Devon Council- Planning Policy Manager
• LED Sidmouth Leisure Centre- Centre Manager
• Axminister Town FC- Club Secretary
• Exmouth United FC- Club Chairman
• Ottery St Marys FC- Club Chairman
• Broadclyst Youth- Club Chairman
• Lympstone Youth FC- Club Chairman
• Brixington Blues FC- Club Chairman
• Feniton FC- Club Chairman
• Seaton Town- Club Chairman