Local Football Facility Plan High Peak

Demographics for the area can be seen below:

Local authority

'Move More High Peak' is a 10 year strategy which was developed in 2022, in collaboration with a range of partners and reimagines how movement, activity and sport is encouraged to be central to the lives of everyone across the High Peak. The latest insight confirms that approximately 1 in 5 adults are inactive and that more than half our children and young people are not active enough for it to benefit their health and development. In certain places within the Borough, where greatest inequalities exist, this picture is worse and it is this unfairness that partners want to address together.

The LFFP makes a direct contribution towards delivering the aspirations of this plan by helping to direct resource and support to the places and projects in greatest need and that can make a significant contribution towards enabling more active lives.

The High Peak Local Plan is a key strategic document which informs key decisions that are related to how future development of key infrastructure is made. The current High Peak Local Plan (2016-2031) was adopted in April 2016 and sets out the Council’s vision and strategy for the Borough until 2031. It provides the development strategy, strategic and development management policies and land designations for the parts of High Peak that lie outside of the Peak District National Park.

The document covers a wide range of topics, including:

Housing – setting the scale, distribution and mix of housing to be developed to support a changing population, identifying sufficient land to meet requirements and supporting policies.

Business – supporting the economy by providing sites for existing and new businesses and supporting the sustainability of town centres and specifying policies that address changing business needs.

Environment – helping to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects and conserving the natural and historic environment.

Health and wellbeing – supporting the needs of local people by enabling opportunities for leisure and recreation.

Infrastructure – enabling the provision of new infrastructure such as education, transport, health care and water supplies.

The local authority has a Playing Pitch Strategy in place which was produced in 2017 and now requires updating. The PPS will help inform the LFFP refresh but given that the data requires updating each section will consider the most recent data (e.g. team numbers) available.

Local leisure operator

High Peak Borough Council owns four leisure facilities in Buxton, Glossop (x2) and New Mills. These sites contain facilities including: gyms, swimming pools, and sports halls. The maintenance of local authority grass football pitches is delivered by an external contractor but at sites where this arrangement does not apply or that isn’t owned by the Council, a local solution in place, e.g. a club carrying out its own maintenance.

County football association

High Peak is covered by the Derbyshire 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 Delivery 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)

There are no professional teams based in High Peak. On occasion Derby County Community Trust and Manchester City in the Community (CITC) provide training sessions and camps within the Borough.

Local consultation

Local consultation took place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in the original LFFP. As part of the refresh process a survey was sent via the County FA to all football clubs in the area. Parish councils and schools were also invited to arrange telephone consultations with Football Foundation staff.

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. High Peak has a total of 217 teams.

Survive. Revive. Thrive is the FA Grassroots Football Strategy 2020-2024. To deliver the goals for male and female football, there must be a vibrant, best-in-class club network around the country. The FA will work to encourage as many clubs as possible to achieve FA-Accredited status, assuring quality in everything they offer, including ever-safer and stronger player pathways. This will be coupled with a commitment to improve the quality of thousands of pitches up and down the country, with a particular focus on grass pitches.

Over the last 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In High Peak, seven clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2021-22 affiliation data) are:

• Glossop North End AFC Juniors & Ladies – 47 teams
• Tintwistle Athletic FC – 32 teams
• New Mills Juniors FC – 20 teams
• Buxton Juniors FC – 16 teams
• SK Vipers - 16 teams
• Whaley Bridge Athletic FC – 12 teams
• Hayfield Football & Community Sports Club – 12 teams

Leagues

Two main leagues operate in the High Peak. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls and youth male. There is also some additional youth provision provided via the Derwent Valley Junior League and adult male provision via the Hope Valley Amateur Football League.

While there are no specific league opportunities for disability within the High Peak, there is however provision provided in the East Midlands PAN Disability League.

High Peak’s largest local leagues include:

High Peak Junior Football League – central venue at Glossopdale School

Derbyshire Girls & Ladies League – central venue & home and away

The County FA reports that there is some cross boundary migration in the High Peak due to teams migrating inwards to the Derwent Valley Junior League and Hope Valley Amateur Leagues. There is also some cross boundary migration outwards to the Stockport Metro Junior Football League, Tameside Football League and East Manchester Junior Football League (Manchester).

Disability football

There are 9.4million people in England with a long-standing limiting disability, illness or condition which equates to 18% of the population – almost one in five. Football playing opportunities should be flexible, inclusive and accessible for everyone, whatever their level of ability. This could entail inclusion in mainstream activity or teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability.

In High Peak there is one football team / 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 had big ambitions for women and girls football and managed to double levels of participation between 2017 and 2020. To achieve this required a combined effort across four pathways: education, recreation, competition and talent. Despite achieving this ambitious target more places to play are still required for women and girls. The focus now is to give all girls equal access to football by 2024 and this will be a key objective of any facility investment.

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. High Peak has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 20, High Peak’s number of female teams is slightly higher 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 Derbyshire Girls & Ladies League and matches are played on a central venue basis. The league is expected to grow its provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Derbyshire Girls & Ladies League and matches are played on a home and away basis and the league is expected to sustain its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Derby County which is located in Derby City. 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 Manchester City Women 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:

• Chapel Leisure Centre, Chapel-en-le-Frith
• Whaley Bridge 3G, Whaley Bridge
• Glossopdale School, Glossop

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 two FA Just Play Centres in High Peak. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisations such as Well Fit CIC. Walking football and Just Play are areas that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include pro-club community scheme activity which are delivered by a range of organisations including Stockport County FC and Manchester City FC.

The key strengths of local football in High Peak include Mini-Soccer and Youth provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include Adult Football, Disability, Futsal and Just Play provision.

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

1. Maintaining and improving grass pitches
2. Increase open age male teams (address U16 drop off)
3. Tackling inequalities
4. Growing the youth league (central venue)
5. Continue to support the development and growth of football (increase of 60 teams since last LFFP)

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 High Peak. 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
• Off pitch and ancillary facilities (e.g. toilets, changing rooms, catering)
• 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.

There are currently two full size 3G FTPs in High Peak with a third planned at Cemetery Road Playing Fields (Glossop North End AFC Juniors) . There are also two smaller sized 3G FTPs within the Borough. With the addition of another full size 3G in Glossop, the shortfall identified in the High Peak PPS (2018) would be reduced to none. However there has been a growth of teams to 217 since the PPS and this indicates a further shortfall of three full size equivalent 3Gs. Given the rural nature of the area, and as stated in the PPS, the sustainability of any pitches needs to be carefully considered and it may be more appropriate to consider smaller 9v9 sized pitches to service more rural demand.

Existing 3G FTPs in High Peak include:

• The Tarmac Silverlands Stadium (Buxton FC) – full size
• Glossopdale School (Hadfield Site) – full size
• Cemetery Road Playing Fields (Glossop North End AFC Juniors) - full size due 2022
• Buxton Community School – small sided (5v5)
• Memorial Park (Whaley Bridge) – small sided (5v5)

There are currently no small sided 3G FTP centres in High Peak, although it should be noted that there is a three court sand based AGP Chapel Leisure Centre in Chapel-en-le-Frith.

The FTPs at Glossopdale School, The Tarmac Silverlands Stadium, Buxton School and Memorial Park are all available for community use. The FTPs at Glossopdale and Buxton School are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play), as will the new pitch at Cemetery Road.

Local consultation reveals common issues with a lack of availability in relation to training demand, with a number of the larger clubs within High Peak unable to train on 3G FTPs or only able to train at undesirable times. This is particularly prevalent around Buxton with reports of access to the 3G difficult and also around the New Mills area.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified. Following club consultation and given the updated team growth the steering group decided on three locations for future 3G provision. With c. 60 teams the New Mills area requires at least a full size 3G, with c. 40 teams it was determined that the Buxton area requires a new 3G and Hope Valley c. 20 teams requires at least 9v9 provision to service the rural population. All three areas will need further work with partners to determine final location and pitch size.

The Football Foundation is on a mission to transform the quality of grass football pitches across England, because great facilities enhance physical and mental wellbeing, strengthen communities and empower people. The quality of football pitches is a huge issue for community football; 150,000 matches were postponed due to poor pitches during the last full football season. We are therefore on a mission to improve 20,000 grass pitches across England.

The Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund is a £21m fund that provides eligible clubs and leagues with a tapered six-year grant to help them sustain pitches already at a 'good' level and enhance pitches that are either considered 'poor' or 'basic'. In order to be eligible, clubs and leagues must use the PitchPower app to assess their pitches. This provides a detailed assessment report with recommendations on improving the quality of grass pitches. The PitchPower app is available to all pitch owners as a way to assess grass pitch quality and gain access to grass pitch improvement recommendations. See Football Foundation | PitchPower

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.

Through the use of PitchPower we are able to identify the demand for investment into new or additional machinery and equipment and see this as an important step towards sustainability for the voluntary sector. Ensuring clubs and leagues can maintain their own sites, supplemented by contracted out major works (e.g. aeration) is potentially a more cost effective approach in the long term.

While the education sector (23.8%) and local authorities (51.8%) are still the principal asset owners of grass pitches and have the heaviest reliance for affiliated matches, clubs / leagues own or maintain an increasing share and we will continue to prioritise investment into sites that are maintained by clubs or leagues.

From the time of the original LFFP the introduction of PitchPower Football Foundation | PitchPower has allowed all Club owned and leased sites to apply for funding to improve grass pitch maintenance. In High Peak all eligible sites have applied for this funding and the aim now should be to get the pitches up to the 'good' standard and work to sustain them. Two sites, Bank Vale Recreation Ground and Cemetery Road Playing Fields were both previously highlighted as pitch improvement projects and have since been awarded Football Foundation investment.

The priority now is to concentrate on those local authority owned sites that require improvements and agree sustainable solutions for pitch maintenance going forward. The first step is to ensure that all pitches have a baseline quality assessment done via PitchPower. There are eight key pitch sites and it was determined that all of these should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 11 pitches:

Eight priority projects have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by the PPS, local consultation and PitchPower where available. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites that were poor and standard quality and are a focus to improve for the clubs and the Local Authority.

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.

One of the two changing room projects identified in the last LFFP has now received funding from the Football Foundation, this is Cemetery Road Playing Fields. The second site - Bank Vale Recreation Ground remains on the list. Of the key sites in High Peak where pitch improvements have been prioritised, eight sites require new or refurbished changing facilities.

Eight priority projects for potential investment are 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, the audiences and the various facility types they relate to.

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams and leagues, and in organised 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.

Whilst our priorities will always be football led, we believe Small sided facilities provide a good opportunity to collaborate with other sports to deliver high quality spaces for people to play recreational sport. This will be achieved via our PlayZone Programme:

Football Foundation PlayZone Programme

PlayZones are modern, safe, and engaging facilities that are designed for recreational football and at least one other sport. There are a range of facility types to meet the needs of different sports.

Through this programme we want to address stubborn inequalities in activity levels and access to sports facilities within four priority groups:

• Lower socio-economic groups
• Women and girls
• Disabled people and people with long-term health conditions
• Ethnically diverse communities

Our research also shows us that when it comes to small sided facilities one size does not fit all and localised design and ownership will yield the greatest engagement from under represented groups. Activation is also as important as the facility itself for these groups. This section of the LFFP will concentrate on suitable places for PlayZones.

Suitable places will be identified through a combination of mapping, to include identification of our priority groups and crossover with other multi-sport priorities. Further community engagement will be required for design and delivery. Where some engagement has already been carried out projects will appear in the project list.

All projects will then need to be developed by a cross sector consortium where partners who understand and represent the people and the place come together to drive the project forward and create access and opportunities for priority groups.

Our research shows us that community engagement is the key to developing great small sided facilities and that we shouldn't try and identify sites without first identifying two key things:

• Key priority places within the local authority
• Key priority groups within the local authority

Once these two things are identified local community engagement is required to identify potential sites for investment.

We will be evidence led in our approach to developing these facilities, ensuring that resources are directed to focus on the places and population groups where greatest need and inequality exists. Facilities will be co-designed by working with local people from the outset.

Some sites identified through early conversations, and those that need testing through community engagement, are below:

1. Cote Heath Recreation Ground (Buxton)
2. Gamesley Community Centre (Gamesley)
3. Manor Park (Glossop)
4. Ollersett Avenue (New Mills)
5. Portland Road (New Mills)
6. Whitfield Recreation Ground (Glossop)
7. Fairfield Youth Centre (Buxton)
8. Newshaw Lane (Hadfield, Glossop)
9. Chinley Community Centre (Chinley)

A range of local agencies and local football clubs were invited to participate in the LFFP consultation. Those that contributed are listed below:

• Dawn Richardson - High Peak School Sport Partnership
• Helen Thornhill - GM Moving Project - Glossop
• Liam Rooney - Derbyshire CFA
• Leanne Pace - Community Development Manager - Glossopdale School
• Rob Wilks - Principal Officer (Leisure and Recreation) - High Peak Borough Council
• Sally Curley - Service Development Officer – Leisure and Recreation, High Peak Borough Council
• Caz Whittle - Service Development Officer – Leisure and Recreation, High Peak Borough Council
• School Survey sent to 41 primaries, 7 secondaries and 1 SEN school
• Parish Council Forum (November 2021)
• Parish Council Survey sent to all
• Railway (Whaley) F.C.
• New Mills Juniors F.C.
• Hayfield Football and Community Sports Club F.C.
• Tintwistle Athletic F.C.
• Buxworth F.C.
• SK Vipers F.C.
• New Mills FC
• Buxton FC
• High Peak Harriers F.C.
• CHCS FC
• Chapel Town Junior F.C.
• Furness Vale F.C.
• Chapel Town F.C.
• Chinley Juniors F.C.
• Glossop North End A F C Juniors & Ladies
• Buxton Juniors F.C.