Local Football Facility Plan Halton

Halton is in the North West region.

The current population of the authority (based upon the ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 127,595. This is expected to rise to 130,364 by 2039.

Halton's ethnic composition is primarily classed as white (98%). This is significantly higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Halton’s population represented by the BAME community is 2%. This is significantly below the national average (14.6%)

Halton is comprised of two major settlements (Widnes and Runcorn) separated by the Mersey estuary. Both towns have a distinct local identity.

Local authority

The stated priorities set out in Halton Council’s 'One Halton' Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2017 – 2022) are:

• Children and young people: improved levels of early child development
• Generally well: increased levels of physical activity and healthy eating and reduction in harm from alcohol
• Long term conditions: reduction in levels of heart disease and stroke
• Mental health: improved prevention, early detection and treatment
• Cancer: reduced level of premature death
• Older people: improved quality of life

These contribute to shared outcomes: One of these shared outcomes is to ensure that;

• People lead full, active lives using a wide range of facilities within local communities including good quality housing, parks, arts and cultural facilities, leisure services and safe cycling routes.

The local authority does not have an up to date playing pitch strategy (PPS) in place.

County football association

Halton is covered by both the Liverpool and Cheshire county FAs. They provide governance for, and development support to, all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues; supporting football for all. The County FAs have designated facilities investment lead officers who work 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 community club organisations (CCOs)

These run a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Everton FC in the Community delivers a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Leisure facilities in Halton are operated in-house by Halton Borough Council. Its amenities include the full-sized 3G FTP at the Halton stadium which is the home ground of Widnes FC.

Halton Borough Council's indoor leisure centres at Upton , Kingsway (Widnes) and Brookvale (Runcorn) also provide indoor five a side provision.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a range of community groups in Halton. A total of nine individuals (representing seven local organisations) were spoken to. Agencies consulted include:

Widnes Football Development Forum representing -

• Halebank FC
• St Michaels FC
• Avon-Villa FC
• Parklands FC
• Halton Borough FC
• Widnes FC,
• Widnes Dragons FC
• Ditton Athletic FC

Runcorn based teams -

• Runcorn Linnets FC
• Beechwood JFC
• Moorfield 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. Halton has a total of 210 teams, which is the same as 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 Halton, seven clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These are (based upon 2017-18 affiliation data):

• Runcorn Linnets FC - 37 teams
• Widnes Dragons - 17 teams
• Weston Point Juniors - 16 teams
• Pex Hill - 15 teams
• Hurricanes - 14 teams
• Heath Rangers FC - 13 teams
• Widnes FC - 10 teams

Leagues

There are no leagues which have a primary base in Halton.

The County FAs reports that some cross boundary migration to/from primarily due to teams migrating outwards to play in the St Helens & Rainhill Junior League, the Warrington & District League, the Warrington Sunday league and the Warrington Junior League.

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.

There are no football teams / sessions run specifically for people with a disability at this point in time in Halton. 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 centre's 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. Halton has 2 FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to sustain and grow this activity.

At nine, Halton’s number of female teams is lower than local areas of a similar size. It is a priority for both the relevant county FAs to support existing clubs to grow and encourage more clubs to develop playing opportunities for females. The girls leagues in which local teams play include the LCFA Girls, Hightown Girls and Cheshire Girls League. Matches are played on a central venue basis (in Liverpool, Sefton and Northwich). All these leagues expect to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the LCFA Womens and Cheshire Women’s and Youth League and matches are played on a home and away across Merseyside and Cheshire. It too expects to grow provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA regional talent clubs (RTCs) are Everton Ladies (located in Childwall) and Liverpool Women (located in Walton). Higher level talent pathway opportunities are also provided regionally and nationally by the FA, culminating in the England Women’s national squads. The local Women’s Super League teams are those are Everton and Liverpool Ladies; they provide 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.

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

• Ormiston Chadwick Academy
• Halton Stadium (Widnes FC)
• HBC small sided leagues at Kingsway & Brookvale Leisure Centres
• Wade Deacon

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced, small sided team game that is widely played across the world. Typically it’s 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 two affiliated futsal teams in Halton. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal for male, female, 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 one FA Just Play centre in Halton. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Halton Sports Development. Walking football and Just Play have been priorities by the two county FAs for further growth and development.

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 Halton is played across the Borough. Frank Myler and Ormiston Chadwick Academy are key heavily used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Halton include Adult Male, Youth Male and Mini Soccer provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist , these include Adult Female, Youth Female and Disability provision

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

• Adult Female
• Youth Female
• Disability Football
• Adult Male
• Futsal

The facilities required to assist this are 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 Halton. 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.

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.

There is no up to date PPS in place in Halton. Demand for 3G pitches has, thus, been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38.

On the basis that there are 210 teams in Halton, there is a requirement for six full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs. There are currently four full-sized 3G FTPs in Halton and the shortfall, is, therefore, two full-sized 3G FTPs.

Existing full-sized 3G FTPs in Halton are located at:

• Grange School
• Ormiston Chadwick Academy
• Halton Stadium
• Wade Deacon High School

In addition to the above, a 9 v 9 3G FTP has recently been installed at Sandymoor School in Runcorn.

Two of the four full-sized FTPs are available for community use. Community use of the Halton Stadium is restricted due to the pitch being of FIFA pro-standard. It is recommend that community use opportunities are explored at Ormiston Chadwick Academy. Two pitches (Ormiston Chadwick , Sandymoor school) are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommend that the three remaining full size pitches are on the register to enable more match play on 3G.

The geographic spread of existing 3G FTPs is uneven; three full-sized FTPs are located in Widnes and one (plus one 9 v 9 FTP) are in Runcorn . There is a need for an additional full size FTP in central Widnes due to the fact that the pitch at the Halton Stadium is not community accessible. An additional pitch is needed in Runcorn to accommodate high levels of affiliated team demand and alleviate the presently limited access to the only full-sized FTP in the town at Grange School.

Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and long travel distances to full size 3G . Affordability of 3G FTPs has also been raised specifically through the consultation as an issue for clubs in the more highly deprived areas of Halton .

Two priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread, the quality of existing facilities, high levels of deprivation and the high proportion of people in lower social economic groups.:

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 1 in 6 games are 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. 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 12 grass pitch sites in Halton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents, containing 75 grass pitches. Local consultation shows common issues with poor quality and it is recommended that this is addressed. It should also be noted that the majority of grass pitches across Halton, and particularly Local Authority owned sites are open access and would therefore benefit from fencing in order to protect pitch quality.

Runcorn Linnets has recently taken on a long term lease at the Halton Sports Ground.

LFFP consultation identifies that Beechwood JFC and Weston Point JFC would also be interested in partnering to take on pitches at Haddocks Wood by way of a community asset transfer or similar. Runcorn and District FA have also identified this site as a potential central hub venue. Brookvale FC would also welcome the opportunity take on pitches at Woodside playing fields.

Of the 12 pitch sites referenced above, six have been prioritised for improvements; these contain a total of 37 pitches.

Six priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality ratings were confirmed via local consultation . Prioritisation based upon a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and with strategic focus on the improvement of local authority club pitches

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, sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents have the highest priority. However, as pitch quality is the number one issue 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 12 key grass pitch sites in Halton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents, nine have suitable changing rooms, two sites require improvement/replacement and one site has no facilities and requires a new changing pavilion.

The two facilities which need improvement/replacement are at Leigh Recreation Ground and King George V playing fields. These are adjacent sites and whilst they are currently served by separate changing facilities may be more efficiently and effectively catered for via one consolidated changing pavilion - located at Leigh Rec.

Two priority projects for potential investment have, thus, been identified. As noted above, prioritisation was based upon a rationale of selecting sites deemed to have an unsuitable pavilion which needs to be replaced or refurbished or where new provision is required to support participation or other facility development:

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 & 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 that one indoor facility requires improvement to develop small-sided football; Upton Community Centre. Both Halton Borough Council and Everton FC in the community have identified this site as one which has potential to cater for recreational small sided football demand, and to deliver on wider social outcomes in a highly deprived local neighbourhood.

Local consultation reveals that no MUGAs are required to develop small sided football. During consultation with the Council, it was evidenced that Halton already has an extensive network of Local Authority operated MUGAs that are in good condition and which are well located to meet the needs of residents in deprived comunities.

Following local consultation, and assisted by the Sport England green spaces mapping tool, no further locations have been identified to support small sided informal football.

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

• Sport & Recreation Manager - Halton Borough Council
• Sport & Physical Activity Development Officer - Halton Borough Council
• Parks Manager - Halton Borough Council
• Chairman - Runcorn Linnets
• Committee Member - Beechwood JFC
• Committee member - Moorfield FC
• Chair - Widnes Football Development Forum representing -
• Halebank FC
• St Michaels FC
• Avon-Villa FC
• Parklands FC
• Halton Borough FC
• Widnes FC,
• Widnes Dragons FC
• Ditton Athletic FC
• Chair - Runcorn & District FA
• Community Cohesion Manager - Everton FC in the Community