Local Football Facility Plan Hartlepool

Hartlepool is located in the North East region. The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 93,019. This is expected to rise slightly to 93,203 by 2039.

Hartlepool’s ethnic composition is primarily white (97.69%) and this is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Hartlepool’s population represented by the BAME community is 2.31%. This is below the national average (14.6%).

Hartlepool is ranked the 3rd most deprived out of twelve North East Local Authorities, and 32nd out of 326 English Local Authorities.

The proportion of Hartlepool's population classed as inactive (31%) is above the national average figure (26%)

Local authority

The vision of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2018 - 2025 is that Hartlepool will develop a culture and environment that promotes and improves health and wellbeing outcomes and reduces health inequalities among residents. The Strategy has five priority themes: Starting Well, Ageing Well, Living Well, Working Well and Dying Well. The Living Well priority theme will involve implementing programmes to promote physical activity, improve diets and reduce access weight.

Hartlepool recently updated its Playing Pitch Strategy and this is awaiting final adoption.

County football association

Hartlepool 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 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 crganisations (CCOs)

These continue to expand and enhance their range of community delivery, offering a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Hartlepool United Community Sports Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Hartlepool Borough Council is the key leisure operator in Hartlepool. It currently operates a range of key sites including;

• Brierton Sports Centre (grass pitches and full size 3G FTP)
• Mill House Leisure Centre
• Headland Sports Hall

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Hartlepool 16 individuals (representing 12 local organisations) were consulted. Organisations consulted include:

• Hartlepool Borough Council
• Northern Education Trust
• Seaton Carew Juniors
• Hartlepool Pools Youth

(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. Hartlepool has a total of 136 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 Hartlepool six clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon affiliation data) are:

• Hartlepool Pools Youth- 26 teams
• Seaton Carew Juniors- 18 teams
• Seaton United Youth- 18 teams
• Hartlepool FC Youth -13 teams
• Hartlepool St Francis 2000 Youth -12 teams
• Greatham Youth- 10 teams

Two leagues operate in Hartlepool. They offer competitive opportunities for players, including women and girls, youth and adults.

While there is no specific league opportunity for disability football in Hartlepool, suitable provision is available in neighbouring Middlesbrough via the North East Ability Counts League.

Hartlepool ‘s largest local leagues include:

• Hartlepool Sunday Football League (Adult)– 25 teams– home and away.
• Teesside Junior Football Alliance - 91 Hartlepool 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/from 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 Hartlepool there is one disability football team. Recreational sessions specifically for people with a disability are ran by the Hartlepool Foundation (HUCFC). It is a priority of the County FA to grow this provision. For talented players the FA run 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. Hartlepool has one FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow & sustain this activity.

At five, Hartlepool'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) League and matches are played on a home and away U12- U18 / central venue U7- U11 basis. It is expected to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Durham County FA Women's County League; its matches are also played on a home and away basis and the League is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA regional talent clubs (RTCs) are Sunderland/Gateshead RTC (at the Beacon of Light) and Durham Women’s RTC (at Maiden Castle, Durham University). 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:

• Soccer Sixes at Dyke House School
• Soccer Sixes at The Sports Domes

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 teams, however there are three educational Futsal teams in Hartlepool that play in the Durham County Futsal League (Community wise) at key locations. 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 Hartlepool. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Hartlepool Borough Council and Seaton Carew FC. Walking football and Just Play are programmes that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include Man v Fat which is delivered by a range of organisations including Hartlepool Borough Council.

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 Hartlepool is played particularly in the north, central and east of the Borough. Grayfields, Rift House and Town Moor Headland are key site locations that are heavily used.

The key strengths of local football in Hartlepool include large mutli-team clubs and adult football provision and it is recommend that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include disability and women's and girl's football.

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

1.The recreational Offer (including Walking Football, Just Play Centres & Flexible Football)

2.Women & Girls (including Wildcats Programme)

3.Disability Football

4.Affiliated Football (all formats)

5.Small Sided & Futsal

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

Each priority project which 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 Hartlepool. 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.

PitchFinder data states that there are currently two full size 3G FTPs in Hartlepool; this is a shortfall of one 3G FTP relative to assessed demand.

Existing full size 3G FTPs in Hartlepool are located at:

• Brierton Community Sports Centre
• Dyke House Sports & Technology College

Additionally, there are currently eight small-sided 3G FTPs in Hartlepool:

• The Sports Domes (x6)
• Grayfields Recreation Ground (x1)
• West View Primary School (x1)

Of the two full size 3G FTPs, both are available for community use. Brierton Community Sports Centre is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning it is quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommend that the pitch at Dyke House Sports and Technology College seek to get accredited to go onto the register to enable more match play on 3G.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is even, with one 3G FTP in the North and one in the South. Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and high pricing. However, it is worth noting that recent competitor analysis highlights pricing as competitive.

All full size 3G provision is accompanied by ancillary facilities that are considered adequate and no major issues were raised during the consultation.

One priority project for potential investment has been identified. Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. The site was selected by local partners based on a rationale of good access, high population, geographical spread and 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, 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 12 key grass pitch sites in Hartlepool which either have three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or which have fewer than three pitches but are deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 43 grass pitches. Of the 12 sites, two are considered to have good quality pitches, whilst eight are of standard or poor quality. In addition, two new sites will be created as part of the Local Plan via S106 agreements.

Local consultation shows common issues with poor quality pitches, particularly in regards to drainage, and it is recommended that this is addressed .

10 priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Each has either three or more full-size pitch equivalents, or is considered to be strategically significant for football. Pitch quality was qualified by local partners and clubs.

Due to the significant overall number of grass pitch sites in Hartlepool, only 10 (which between them contain 33 full-size pitch equivalents) have been prioritised. This process was informed by local partners based upon a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition, that had the most pitches, that are the best utilised (or that could be well utilised) or based upon a specific area based strategic focus to improve local authority pitches.

Two of the projects are new sites (the South West extension and Wynyard Housing Development) that will be created as part of the Local Plan via S106 agreements.

Six of the sites selected for improvement have undergone a recent PIP visit undertaken by the IoG.

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, priority is given to sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents or deemed to be of strategic importance. However, as pitch quality is the number one priority for players this is considered 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 identified key grass pitch sites in Hartlepool, four have suitable clubhouses/pavilions; however, the remaining eight require new facilities. Two of these are the new sites (South West extension and Wynyard Housing Development) that will be developed as per the Local Plan, whilst the other six are sites with existing facilities than require replacing or are sites without facilities.

Eight priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each site has three or more full-size pitch equivalents or is of strategic importance.

Good facilities are important to all small-sided football players, but it is important to understand the different formats of the small-sided game and the various facility types they relate to.

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams & 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 no indoor facilities that require improvement to develop small-sided football.

Local consultation reveals there are two MUGAs that require improvement to develop small-sided football. In each case the rationale is based on the site 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.

Sport England recreational football mapping suggests that the urban area in the vicinity of Hartlepool town centre may have a particularly high demand for informal football from the local population

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

• Senior Sport & Physical Activity Coordinator - Hartlepool Borough Council
• Parks Development Officer – Hartlepool Borough Council
• Planning Policy Team Leader - Hartlepool Borough Council
• Area Youth Worker - Hartlepool Borough Council
• Headteacher - High Tunstall College of Science
• Head of PE - High Tunstall College of Science
• Executive Headteacher - Stranton Primary School
• College Sports Maker - Hartlepool Sixth Form College
• School Games Organiser - Northern Education Trust
• Subject Leader (PE) - St Hild's Church of England School
• Chairman - Seaton United Youth
• Treasurer - Hartlepool Pools Youth
• Hartlepool FC Youth
• Seaton Carew Juniors
• Hartlepool St Francis 2000 Youth
• Greatham Youth