Local Football Facility Plan Ipswich

Demographics for the area can be seen below:

Local authority

The local authority has no current Playing Pitch Strategy in place, however, a Sport and Physical Activity Strategy (2022-2027) is in place which categorises the Council's strategic priorities and objectives via themes of Active People, Active Environments, Active Partnerships and Active Places. The priorities are:

• Active People: Enable Ipswich residents to be more active, more often.
• Active Environments: Encourage physical activity in public spaces and enable community engagement and enjoyment of the outdoors.
• Active Partnerships: Work with other organisations committed to an active Ipswich.
• Active Places: Provide facilities that encourage people in Ipswich to be more active.

This Local Football Facility Plan seeks to identify opportunities to improve provision, enabling local people to access quality facilities to support their participation in physical activity. It can therefore play an important role in supporting the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy in the achievement of its objectives.

County Football Association

Ipswich is covered by the Suffolk 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 and lead on the delivery of priority projects for potential investment. The Regional Facility Planning Manager (FPM) will lead and be responsible for all aspects of strategic planning and will lead on refreshing of LFFPs.

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). Ipswich Town Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities] within the local area.

Local leisure operator

There is no leisure operator for community football facilities in Ipswich, with the Council operating its facility stock in house.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Ipswich, including:

• Ipswich Borough Council
• Suffolk County FA
• Ipswich Town Foundation
• Active Suffolk
• Inspire Suffolk
• Sport England
• National Governing Bodies of sport, including:
  • England Hockey
  • England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
  • Rugby Football Union (RFU)
  • Rugby Football League (RFL)
• Local Football Clubs

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. Furthermore, it is a requirement that all projects that move through to application phase undertake detailed community engagement to ensure that facilities fully serve the communities they are being designed for.

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Ipswich has a total of 207 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 Ipswich, five clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2022-23 affiliation data) are:

• Coplestonians FC - 50 teams
• Ipswich Vale Exiles FC - 27 teams
• Ipswich Valley Rangers FC - 27 teams
• Whitton United FC - 13 teams
• Chantry Grasshoppers FC - 12 teams

Leagues

Six leagues operate in Ipswich. They offer competitive opportunity for many different players, including women and girls, youth and adults - many of which offer provision via a County-wide catchment.

Ipswich's largest local leagues (2022-23) include:

• Suffolk Youth Football League – 500 teams – home and away
• Ipswich & Suffolk Youth Football League – 127 teams – home and away
• Suffolk Girls & Women's Football League – 101 teams – home and away
• Suffolk & Ipswich League – 97 teams – home and away
• Norfolk and Suffolk Veterans League – 55 teams – home and away
• Ipswich Sunday Football League – 43 teams – home and away

The County FA reports that there is significant cross boundary migration in Ipswich due to teams migrating inwards to these leagues.

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 Ipswich there are six 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 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. The FA’s four-year strategy, titled Inspiring Positive Change, pledges to create a sustainable future for women’s and girls’ football in England. The strategy outlines eight transformational objectives to be achieved by 2024, the following across grassroots football:-

• Early Participation – Every primary school-aged girl to have equal access to football in school and in clubs.
• Development Participation – Every girl to have equal access to participate for fun, for competition and for excellence.
• Club Player Pathway – Collaborate with clubs to develop an effective high-performance, inclusive player-centred pathway.
• Football For All – Recruit and support a motivated, diverse range of local leaders organising football for their communities.
• Coaching – Support the development of exceptional coaches at every level of the game who are representative of our society.
• Refereeing – Ensure that every female referee afforded high-quality bespoke learning and development opportunities from grassroots through to the elite game.

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. Ipswich has six FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to sustain this activity.

The County FA’s priority is to support existing clubs to grow and encourage more clubs to develop playing opportunities for females. The local female league is the Suffolk Girls & Women's Football League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the Girls' Emerging Talent Centres (ETCs) across the nation are provided to increase and diversify the talent pool and give more girls than ever the chance to take their first steps on the pathway towards playing professional football. Ipswich Town Foundation operate the nearest ETC at Playford Road. 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 West Ham United 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:

• Suffolk FA Monday Night Football League - Ipswich Academy
• Goals Soccer Centre - Suffolk New College
• Suffolk Sixes Ladies League - Whitton Sports Centre
• Soccer Sixes - Whitton Sports Centre

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 four FA Just Play centres in Ipswich. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Ipswich Phoenix FC, Coplestonians FC, Active Lives and Ipswich School. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities to be sustained.

The key strengths of local football in Ipswich include provision of Just Play, Wildcats and Squad sessions to support participation, and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further.

Suffolk County FA identify further development priorities as:

1. Increasing provision of walking football.
2. Providing greater opportunities and engagement in veterans football.
3. Small sided women's and girls' football.
4. Development of increased youth disability (Comets) provision.
5. Support for development and growth of adult male 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. 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 Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs)
• 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 pitches 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 3G pitches 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, 3G pitches 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 pitches 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.

Existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G AGPs in Ipswich include:

• Copleston Centre
• Ipswich Academy
• Portman Road (Ipswich Town FC)
• Whitton Sports Centre
• Westbourne Academy
• Inspire Suffolk

At the time of writing, the pitches at Westbourne Academy and Inspire Suffolk are not yet operational, but are in development and therefore considered within the existing supply.

Additionally, there are currently ten small-sided 3G AGPs in Ipswich:

• Goals Ipswich (eight 5 v 5 pitches, plus two 7 v 7 pitches)

There is no current PPS and, therefore, demand for full sized 3G AGPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38.

The facility at Portman Road is utilised as a matchday hospitality area (impacting upon availability and pitch condition/performance), and by Ipswich Town Foundation's community programmes and activities, and therefore provides limited opportunity to cater to affiliated football training or matchplay. This is therefore discounted from supply.

On the basis that there are 207 teams in Ipswich, there is a requirement for six full sized 3G AGPs. There are currently five full sized 3G AGPs in Ipswich (discounting Portman Road) and there is thus a shortfall of one full sized 3G AGP.

Given that the new pitch at Inspire Suffolk will deliver across a range of programmes and activities - including affiliated football, open access football and wider social football outcomes - but will also cater to university usage due to the partnership with the University of Suffolk, it may support a reduced level of affiliated football to meet its wider purposes.

An additional project is therefore included to allow for further pitch capacity should shortfalls remain following establishment of the programme at Inspire Suffolk. In addition, a third project is included within the LFFP due to significant population growth anticipated via the planned Garden Suburb which is expected to generate further demand.

Given the above, any future AGP project should ensure a sufficient programme of use is also developed in advance of being delivered, to account for any identified demand which may subsequently have been met via the new facilities.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is somewhat even; with existing facilities located centrally, in the southeast, northwest and east, however there is an absence of provision in the southwest of the authority area. Two are on the FA Register for 3G AGPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommended that the two remaining pitches are assessed and placed on the Register to enable more match play on 3G.

Local consultation reveals no common issues with high pricing, however access to suitable quality facilities is identified as a challenge by multiple clubs.

Engagement with the RFU indicates some local need for additional floodlit training provision for rugby, however at the time of the LFFPs development, this is deemed ad-hoc rather than a permanent requirement throughout the season.

Should AGP projects be progressed, it is recommended that early consultation with the RFU is undertaken to gain an updated position, and to understand whether any new pitches would generate a regular need for rugby activity (and therefore the technical specification and programme of use be planned accordingly).

Notably, the pitch in development at Westbourne Academy will provide a rugby compliant football pitch, and will therefore support some local rugby training demand.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread, existing facility quality and [high levels of deprivation, high proportions of people from lower social economic groups] :

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.

PitchPower has allowed all club or league owned and leased sites to apply for funding to improve grass pitch maintenance. In Ipswich, the following 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.

• Bourne Vale Sports Club
• Inspire Suffolk
• King George V Playing Field
• Paul's Sports Club

The priority now is to concentrate on the remaining club or leagues sites, and other providers eligible for the Football Foundation's Grass Pitch Maintenance Funding. These sites are listed below.

• Chantry Academy
• Northgate High School
• Ormiston Endeavour Academy
• Ransomes Sports and Social Club
• SEH Sports and Social Club

Furthermore, given the strategic nature of Gainsborough Sports & Community Centre, opportunity should be explored to improve the condition of the grass pitches to maximise playing capacity and quality.

It was determined that all of these should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 27 pitches.

Westbourne Academy was identified through consultation as a key site supporting community football, and as a condition of the school's funding for the artificial pitch, any surpluses secured through the pitch will be reinvested into grass pitch improvements.

Of the identified sites, three have undertaken PitchPower assessments which resulted in the identification of five poor, three basic, and two good pitches. The next step is to ensure that all remaining pitches have a baseline quality assessment completed via PitchPower.

Six priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PitchPower where available. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites capable of meeting local demand, whilst being eligible to receive funding support for grass pitch maintenance.

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 AGPs 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 key grass pitch sites in Ipswich with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), most sites have suitable changing rooms, however four sites require improvement/replacement and one has no facilities and require(s) a new facility.

Five 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 AGP 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 PlayZones 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. In Ipswich, the starting point for priority places, identified through previous Local Authority work around deprivation and inactivity, is:

• North West Ipswich
• South East Ipswich
• South West Ipswich
• New development areas

The key priority groups in Ipswich are:

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

This priority group of places and people will be ratified throughout the process and the next step is to now begin community engagement to help identify where the specific sites are that will help to tackle inequalities and provide spaces for activity.

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

• Ipswich Borough Council
• Suffolk County FA
• Ipswich Town Foundation
• Active Suffolk
• Inspire Suffolk
• Sport England
• National Governing Bodies of sport, including:
  • England Hockey
  • England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
  • Rugby Football Union (RFU)
  • Rugby Football League (RFL)
• Ipswich Athletic FC
• Ipswich Valley Rangers FC
• Ransomes Sports FC
• Rushmere & Diamonds FC