Local Football Facility Plan Kirklees

Demographics for the area can be seen below:453194 2031

Local authority

The Kirklees Local Plan Strategies and Policies were adopted in February 2019. The Local Plan states that the Council will seek to achieve sustainable housing growth through the delivery of a minimum of 31,140 new dwellings between 2013 and 2031 (1,730 new dwellings per annum) through allocation sites and taking account of windfalls, committed housing figures and losses/demolitions.  Currently the Kirklees Open Space Supplementary Planning Document (OSSPD, adopted June 2021) provides detailed guidance for applicants and the local community on the requirements for open space and recreation provision to serve new housing developments. It sets out a step-by-step approach to be used to determine the types, amount and location of open space required to serve new housing developments across Kirklees.

The local authority has an up-to-date Playing Pitch Strategy which will be formally endorsed in 2024. The key findings for football include a critical shortfall of 11v11 3G FTPs and capacity shortfalls for grass football pitches (particularly for adult and mini soccer pitches), including poor quality and limited carrying capacity across the majority of the Council managed and maintained pitch portfolio. The stated overarching priorities are to develop more 11v11 3G FTPs to reduce the shortfall, maximise their use for match play to help reduce grass pitch shortfalls, as well as to support club-led and Council-led maintenance of key sites to increase quality. The PPS also identifies similar issues for other grass pitch sports, with significant capacity shortfalls evident for rugby league, rugby union and cricket.

There are many inequalities to address in Kirklees, including deprivation, health, crime and employment. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD, 2019) data shows that since 2015, relative deprivation in Kirklees has increased and that Kirklees has a higher proportion of highly deprived areas compared to the national average. Kirklees has 31 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) within the top 10% most deprived in the Country, with a further in 47 in the top 20%, totalling 78 overall. There are clear inequalities with Income Deprivation with 27% of the Borough experiencing deprivation relating to low income, with 20% of Kirklees in the top 20% nationally for risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical and mental health. Furthermore, 38% of the population of Kirklees is within the top 20% nationally for risk of crime through personal and material victimisation, with Dewsbury Moor, Moorside Estate ranked sixth worst for crime in England in 2019.

County Football Association

Kirklees is covered by West Riding FA and Sheffield & Hallamshire FA. 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 each have 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. Both the Huddersfield Town Foundation (football) and the Huddersfield Giants Foundation (rugby league) run a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) is the leisure operator in Kirklees, a charitable trust which manages 13 leisure facilities on behalf of Kirklees Council. Its vision is 'improving health & wellbeing', reflecting the it's new strategic direction and the focus upon health & wellbeing. To do this it aims to provide high quality services and facilities to our customers. Kirklees Active Leisure manages the 11v11 3G FTP at Leeds Road Sports Complex, as well as the small sized indoor 3G FTP at the same site. Indoor football is also available across its sports halls at Batley Sports & Tennis Centre, Dewsbury Sports Centre, Huddersfield Leisure Centre and Deighton Sports Arena.

The Kirklees Playing Pitch Strategy recommends that Kirklees Council explores alternative operating models for the future management of some of its FF funded football facilities, particularly 3G FTPs for which there is a significant shortfall and need for more new pitches. This could include the FF hubs model which ringfences profits for reinvestment into improvement of other football pitch sites in the local network, presently managed at FF funded hub sites by Leisure United through the National Football Trust.

Local consultation

Local consultation took place with a broad and diverse set of community groups to inform the development of the 2018 LFFP, as well as more recently to inform and develop the draft Kirklees PPS (2023). See Appendix B for full list of consultees who helped inform the LFFP update. 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 110,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Kirklees has a total of 772 teams (2023/24 season).

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 Kirklees, 29 clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2023/24 affiliation data) are:

• Battyeford Sporting Club FC - 37 teams
• Golcar United - 30 teams
• Kirkburton Juniors - 30 teams
• Lepton Highlanders FC - 26 teams
• Norristhorpe FC - 26 teams
• White Rose Allstars FC - 26 teams
• Hepworth United FC - 25 teams
• Honley Juniors - 24 teams
• Holmfirth Town - 22 teams
• Howden Clough FC - 21 teams
• Netherton Juniors - 21 teams
• Huddersfield LH AFC - 20 teams
• Gomersal & Cleckheaton FC - 19 teams
• Littletown - 19 teams
• Dalton Dynamoes - 18 teams
• Linthwaite FC - 18 teams
• Shelley FC - 17 teams
• Dewsbury Rangers FC - 15 teams
• Kirkheaton Youth - 15 teams
• Marsden – 15 teams
• Westend - 15 teams
• Mount Pleasant - 14 teams
• West Yorkshire Futsal Club – 14 teams
• Lindley Junior Collegians – 12 teams
• Thornhill AFC – 12 teams
• West End Park - 11 teams
• Deighton Juniors - 10 teams
• LS27 F.C. – 10 teams
• YEFA – 10 teams

Leagues

Four leagues operate in Kirklees. They offer competitive opportunity for many different players, including youth and adult males (including Vets). While there are no specific league opportunities for adult women, youth girls or disability within Kirklees, there is however suitable provision provided in neighbouring Leeds.

The largest local leagues in Kirklees (2023/24) include:

• Huddersfield & District Junior League – 1,021 teams (home and away)
• Huddersfield & District League – 68 teams (home and away)
• West Riding Veterans League (Huddersfield & Halifax Division) - 14 teams (central venues)
• Heavy Woollen Summer League - 6 teams (central venues)

Since the 2018 LFFP, the Charles Rice Junior League based in Wakefield has since folded, causing Wakefield based teams to join leagues based in other nearby local authorities, including the Huddersfield & District Junior League. The Heavy Woollen Sunday League has also since folded as a traditional season league and has now pivoted to a summer league offer played at central venues. The West Riding Veterans League (Huddersfield & Halifax Division) has also been established since the 2018 LFFP, now offering competitive opportunity for Vets.

The County FA reports that there is minimal cross boundary migration into and out of Kirklees, limited to some teams from Wakefield (Ossett area) travelling in to use the 3G pitch at Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC) for training and some teams from Leeds to use the 3G pitch at Batley Sports & Tennis Centre.

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.

Comets is a recreational, pan-disability football programme for disabled boys and girls aged between 5 and 11. Pan-disability is the largest format of disability football, which sees players with a broad range of impairments and health conditions play together. Comets offers a flexible and inclusive way of playing, one that’s all about playfulness, friendships and having fun. For talented players the FA runs regional centres and England national squads. Projects identified in the LFFP help CFAs support disability football delivery on a local level, which will be identified through local community engagement.

In Kirklees there are three football teams specifically for people who have experienced poor mental health, fielded by SWYT in the Good Mood League, with matches played quarterly at Fleet Lane (West Riding County FA). Pan-disability teams were also previously fielded by Huddersfield Town Foundation within the West Riding FA Ability Counts League, however have not affiliated for the last two seasons since the Covid-19 pandemic due to changes in Foundation staff to run the teams. It is a priority of the County FAs to grow disability 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. Kirklees has nine FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity. FA Squad Girls' football sessions provide girls aged 12-14 with a fun, non-competitive way to play football locally with friends, whether completely new to football, transitioning from Wildcats, or simply wanting to play. There are currently four FA Squad sessions registered in Kirklees for 2022/23.

At 62 (including nine dedicated girls mini teams), the number of female teams in Kirklees 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 West Riding Girls League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow its provision in future years. The Huddersfield Junior League is also looking to establish a local girls provision based in the Borough. The local adult female leagues are the West Riding County Women's Football League and the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women & Girls League, both of which are played on a home and away basis. They are each expected to grow their provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Leeds United Women FC which is located in both Sherburn (Selby) and Woodlesford (WRFA in Leeds). 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 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:

• PowerPlay - at Colne Valley School, Leeds Road Sports Complex, Dewsbury Indoor Sports Centre, Batley Sports Centre, Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC)
• Soccersixes - at the The Zone (indoor 3G FTP), Moor End Academy
• 5core - at 5score Huddersfield (4x indoor 3G FTPs)
• Leisure Leagues - at Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC)
• Kick Off! - at Kick Off Dewsbury

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 Kirklees. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Huddersfield Town Foundation, Huddersfield Giants Community Trust (rugby league), 5core and Pennine Parkies FC (for people living with Parkinsons Disease). Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development.

The key strengths of local football in Kirklees include adult male (including Vets) and youth provision and it is recommended that these are sustained and encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include dedicated girls and women's league provisions based within the Borough.

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

1. Women & girls - Huddersfield Junior League expansion to include girls provision
2. Affiliated football (all formats)
3. Flexible central venue formats - for Vets and U23
4. Recreational offer - including Walking Football, Just Play and flexible 11v11 opportunities
5. Small sided football - including futsal

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 FTPs
• Improved grass pitches
• Off pitch and ancillary facilities (e.g. toilets, changing rooms, catering)
• PlayZones

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. All 3G pitches must have sports lighting and offer a broad programme of community use 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. An 11v11 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 women and girls, low socio-economic groups, people with disabilities and culturally diverse communities. The way 3G pitches are used allows for match play across all formats of football (5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11). This enables match play to be transferred from grass to 3G as well as being a fantastic asset for training. Only pitches on The FA 3G Register can accommodate affiliated match play (meaning they are quality checked). It is strongly recommended that all pitches are registered.

Although Football Foundation investment will always be football led, 3G pitches offer a fantastic opportunity to support other sports, particularly traditional grass pitch sports. Where appropriate, and through engagement with other NGBs, projects below will include potential multisport opportunities.

There are seven 11v11 3G FTPs in Kirklees:

• Batley Sports & Tennis Centre
• Huddersfield New College
• Huddersfield Town AFC (PPG Canalside)
• Leeds Road Sports Complex
• Lockwood Park (Huddersfield RFC)
• St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy (Dewsbury)
• Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC) - senior rugby league pitch build, not marked for football

Two new pitches are to be developed which will increase the supply of 11v11 3G pitches:

• Huddersfield Laund Hill Community Club - a new 11v11 3G pitch is under construction, being developed without FF funding and expected to be completed in 2024. The site is home to Huddersfield LH FC and Huddersfield Laund Hill RUFC and the pitch will be 100x64m, marked and compliant for rugby league, rugby union and football. The pitch is to be used by professional rugby league club Huddersfield Giants in the daytimes and evenings, as well as community use from the resident sports clubs.
• East Bierley Recreation Ground - FF funding has been granted to East Bierley Community Sports Association for the development of a new 108x74m 3G pitch, to be compliant and for use for football, rugby league and rugby union. Resident club users include Gommersal & Cleckheaton Boys AFC and East Bierley AFC, as well as rugby league club Birkenshaw Bulldogs RLFC, which all affiliate to the community sports association and will use the pitch once built. The project will also see the development of new playing field to the south to ensure there remains a grass football and grass rugby league pitch onsite.

The 2018 Kirklees LFFP identified a 11v11 3G FTP project for the resurfacing of the 3G FTP at St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy, which was subsequently FF funded and completed in 2022.

There are a further ten small size 3G FTPs, all of which are available for community use. Three are 60x40m sized or larger: the significantly sized pitch at Moor End Academy (82x50m) and the indoor pitches at The Zone (Huddersfield Community Trust - 72x36m) and Leeds Road Sports Complex (60x40m).

There are currently three small-sided 3G FTP indoor centres in Kirklees:

• The Zone (Huddersfield Community Trust) - 72x36m indoor 3G FTP, divided into two 5v5 pitches
• Kick Off Dewsbury - three indoor 3G FTPs, each 36x18m
• 5score! - four indoor 3G FTPs, each 5v5 size

The local authority has an up-to-date Playing Pitch Strategy which will be formally endorsed in 2024. The PPS indicates that there is a requirement for 20 11v11 3G FTPs for football, against a supply for community football of five 11v11 pitches (excluding Huddersfield Town AFC Canalside where external community use is limited to Huddersfield Town Women FC girls teams) and the 80x50m sized pitch at Moor End Academy which is considered to substantially contribute to midweek capacity available for football team training. The PPS consequently indicates a shortfall of 13 11v11 3G FTPs, reduced to 11 by the 3G pitches under construction at Laund Hill Community Club and East Bierley Recreation Ground once complete. Shortfalls remain in the following sub-areas:

• Huddersfield area - shortfall of two 11v11 3G FTPs for football
• Batley & Spen area - shortfall of two 11v11 3G FTPs for football
• Dewsbury & Mirfield area - shortfall of one 11v11 3G FTP for football
• Rural East area - shortfall of three 11v11 3G FTPs for football
• Rural West - shortfall of three 11v11 3G FTPs for football

In addition to the shortfall of 11v11 3G FTPs there are also three 3G FTPs that require replacement either imminently or within the next three years, at Batley Sport & Tennis Centre, Leeds Road Sports Complex and Huddersfield New College, all previously FF funded.

Planning approval was granted in 2021 for the development of an 11v11 3G FTP at Holmfirth High School, which would help reduce the shortfall in the Rural West sub-area. However, associated planning conditions restrict permitted hours of use of sports lighting and due to the impact of these restrictions on the required business model to operate and sustain a possible 3G FTP, funding from the Football Foundation was deemed unreasonable and the School is subsequently exploring options to fund and deliver the project itself.

Shelley College has identified as aspiration to develop an 11v11 3G FTP at its site in the Rural East area. An early discussion took place with FF to explore a potential project, though the College has since indicated that it would seek to fund and deliver the project itself without FF funding.

University of Huddersfield is reportedly seeking to grow its provision of academic studies and courses for sport, anticipated would both generate a direct increased need for provision but also attract more sport minded students to grow its student and performance sports programmes. Identified in the 2018 LFFP as a possible 3G pitch location, the existing sand based AGP at Storthes Hall Park has recently been resurfaced for hockey and the University reportedly holds aspirations to develop a separate new 3G pitch onsite in future.

The Kirklees Local Plan requires that as part of housing development at Bradley Park Golf Course, the proposal must allow for a repurposed 9-hole golf course, clubhouse and two 11v11 3G pitches, though the provision of the pitches is likely to be several years away. Whilst the Huddersfield area needs two 11v11 3G FTPs currently, the development itself will generate additional demand for sports facilities and with the pitches at Lockwood Park and Laund Hill Community Club likely to share programming with rugby activity, demand should be reviewed as a third additional 3G FTP may be required.

Six 11v11 pitches are available for community use, only the pitch at Huddersfield Town AFC (PPG Canalside) is not broadly accessible for community use by external clubs, as this is a professional club facility with some use by Huddersfield Town FC Women and associated girls teams which have links to the main club. Due to the pressures on capacity at the site, Huddersfield Town Foundation aspires to be part of a future 3G development which could provide capacity to deliver its community and pathways programmes as well as act as home base for both the Foundation and Huddersfield Town FC Women. The Foundation would still look to be a delivery partner at other 3G pitches across the Borough to broaden its outreach.

Six pitches are on the FA 3G Pitch Register, meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play. The pitch at Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC) is not FA registered and does not have line markings for football, however is used for football training. If registered it could be used for match play at times when the site is not being used for rugby league match days.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven, the majority are located in the central (Huddersfield sub-area - four pitches) and eastern (Dewsbury - two pitches, Batley - one pitch) parts of the local authority. There are spatial provision gaps in the south (largely rural parts) of Kirklees, despite high levels of population and football demand. Quantitative pitch shortfalls also remain in the Huddersfield and Batley & Spen sub-areas. Local consultation undertaken through the PPS reveals common issues with low availability due to the quantitative shortfall of pitches and it is recommended that this is addressed.

Kirklees is a priority area for facility development for the RFL, which has 25 affiliated rugby league clubs in the Borough, including professional club Huddersfield Giants and semi-professional clubs Batley Bulldogs and Dewsbury Rams. Tetleys Stadium (Dewsbury Rams RLFC) is a key 3G pitch site for rugby league in Kirklees, however the RFL reports a need for greater compliancy of existing/future 3G pitches to support rugby league needs, for which the PPS identifies capacity shortfalls. Development of the planned pitch at East Bierley Recreation Ground is expected to increase the supply of compliant 3G pitches for rugby league in the local authority.

RFU also identifies Kirklees as an area where increased World Rugby Reg 22 (WR) compliant 3G pitch provision is required to help support demand and reduce grass pitch capacity shortfalls evidenced within the PPS. The new 3G pitch at Lockwood Park is WR compliant (also on the FA 3G Pitch Register) and the pitch at Laund Hill Community Club will be a full WR compliant senior rugby union build, both sites with resident rugby union clubs based there. The planned pitch at East Bierley Recreation Ground is also proposed to be WR compliant for rugby union use.

Eleven priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each was selected based upon a rationale of high levels of football demand, geographic spread, 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 are postponed each year due to poor pitches. We are therefore on a mission to have 20,000 quality grass pitches across England so that everyone has a great place to play. Since the programme began there are over 7000 quality pitches and the next milestone is to have 12,000 quality pitches by 2028.

The key challenge is to create a sustainable approach to provide good quality football pitches for the long term. While the education sector and local authorities are still the principal asset owners of grass pitches, clubs and leagues own or maintain an increasing share and we will continue to prioritise investment into sites that are maintained by clubs or leagues. Investment into new or additional machinery and equipment is an important step towards sustainability for the voluntary sector. Ensuring eligible organisations can maintain their own sites, supplemented by contracted out major works (e.g. aeration) is a more cost-effective approach in the long term.

See the link for more information on grass pitches Football Foundation | Grass Pitch Improvement

From the time of the 2018 LFFP, the introduction of PitchPower has allowed all eligible organisations to apply for funding to improve grass pitch maintenance. Identified as priority projects in the 2018 LFFP, Crown Fields, Wakefield Road Recreation Ground, Bankfield Lane Recreation Ground (Kirklees Field) and Hepworth United Football Club have all since received FF funding towards grass pitch improvement.

Some clubs/sites have since been awarded Football Foundation investment through the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund (GPMF), which should result in pitch quality improving over the next couple of seasons. The aim now should be to get the pitches up to the 'good' standard and work to sustain them. Clubs that have accessed the funding to improve pitches are:

• Cumberworth FC (Crown Fields)
• Scissett FC (Nortonthorpe Sports Club)
• Hepworth United Junior FC (Hepworth United FC)
• Hade Edge Amateur Football Club (Flowery Fields)
• Shepley FC (Shepley Recreation Ground)
• Dewsbury Rangers FC (Wakefield Road Recreation Ground)
• Kirkheaton Youth (Bankfield Lane Recreation Ground - Kirklees Field)
• Norristhorpe FC (Warrenside Sports Complex - Norristhorpe JFC))
• Savile Town FC (Savile Playing Fields)
• AFC Lindley (Birchencliffe Sports & Social Club)
• Newsome FC (Westgate Arena - Cross Lane)
• Kirkburton FC (Gregory Playing Fields)
  

As well as the revenue funding available through GPMF, the following clubs/sites have all received funding for additional pitch maintenance equipment:

• Cumberworth FC (Crown Fields)
• Scissett FC (Nortonthorpe Sports Club)
• Hepworth United Junior FC (Hepworth United FC)
• Hade Edge Amateur Football Club (Flowery Fields)
• Thornhill Cricket & Bowling Club

There are currently 33 grass pitch sites in the local area that have been identified as either currently maintained, in part or whole, by grassroots clubs or leagues, or are maintained by the public sector but are of strategic importance to football locally. Of these, 26 have been assessed via PitchPower and are known to have 38 good or better (high or advanced) quality pitches, 19 basic quality and 27 poor.

The total number of pitches includes club/league maintained sites which are a priority for grass pitch investment and may be eligible for the Football Foundation's Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund:

• Battyeford Sporting Club Juniors (West Mills Playing Fields)
• Dalton Dynamoes (Standiforth Recreation Ground - Dalton Playing Fields)
• Deighton Juniors (Deighton Sports Arena)
• Golcar United (Longfield Avenue Recreation Ground)
• Honley Juniors (Jaggar Lane Recreation Ground)
• Howden Clough (Upper Batley Playing Fields)
• Huddersfield LH AFC (Huddersfield Laund Hill Community Club)
• Kirkburton Juniors FC (Kirkburton Middle School)
• Lepton Highlanders (Lepton Highlanders Sports & Social Club)
• Linthwaite FC (Colne Valley High School Sports Centre)
• Littletown FC (Beck Lane Football Ground)
• Marsden FC (Fall Lane)
• Meltham Athletic FC (Broadlands Recreation Ground)
• Mount Pleasant FC (Carters Field and Hyrstlands Park)
• Netherton Junior (Hawkroyd Bank)
• White Rose Allstars (Heckmondwyke Grammar School - Cawley Lane Playing Fields)

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. Kirklees Council has not yet used Pitchpower to assess the quality of its directly managed pitch sites, other than where club users (some of which may be performing top up maintenance at their own cost) have completed and submitted an assessment.

Of the 33 key club/league/community pitch sites referenced above it was determined that nine of these should be prioritised for improvements, along with six education sites presently maintained by schools. A further ten local authority managed sites should be prioritised for improvements, some of which may hold opportunity for future transfer to club or league led management and maintenance models. In total this will result in quality improvements to 68 11v11 pitch equivalents.

Twenty five priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PitchPower, or the PPS and ratified by local partners where PitchPower data isn't available. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites that were most well utilised, that had the most pitches, as well as a strategic focus to improve club pitches and those at key local authority multi-pitch sites.

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 11v11 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.

The Kirklees PPS identifies that across the Borough, 36 sites actively used for football are not serviced by any sort of clubhouse/pavilion/changing rooms. In addition, a further 15 sites are serviced by poor quality provision.

Of the 48 key grass pitch sites in Kirklees of strategic importance, three sites require replacement of existing provision, two require refurbishment and four have no facilities and require new provision. Projects should be explored based on the current and future needs of site users as to whether changing rooms are required, or instead an ancillary offer which may only include toilets, social space and/or servery.

Subject to detailed exploration of site options for the possible development of new 3G FTPs, it may be that proposed sites could require the development of new or additional ancillary provision such as car parking, additional changing rooms and/or toilets to service increased use of the site brought about by having a 3G FTP.

Nine 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 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.

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 PlayZones 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. 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

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

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. 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. 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.

More about the programme can be found on The Football Foundation website here: Football Foundation PlayZones Programme | Football Foundation

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

• Health Improvement Practitioner Advanced - Kirklees Council
• Planning Policy Officer - Kirklees Council
• Parks & Greenspace Development Group Leader - Kirklees Council
• Everybody Active Manager - Kirklees Council
• Facilities & Investment Manager - West Riding FA
• Football Development Manager - Sheffield & Hallamshire FA
• Delivery Manager - Football Foundation
• Chief Executive - Huddersfield Town Foundation
• Principal Planning Manager - Sport England
• Development Manager (Kirklees) - Yorkshire Sport Foundation
• Facilities Development Manager (North) - Rugby Football Union
• Facilities Planning Manager (Recreational Game) - England & Wales Cricket Board
• Head of Region (West Yorkshire) - Yorkshire Cricket Foundation
• Facilities Relationship Manager - England Hockey
• National Clubs Manager - Rugby Football League
• Facilities Manager - Rugby Football League