Local Football Facility Plan Lewes

Lewes is located in the South East region. The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 101,381. This is expected to rise to 118,617 by 2039.

The ethnic composition of the Lewes population is primarily white (96.5%). This is substantially higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of the Lewes population represented by the BAME community is 3.5%. This is well below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

The Lewes District Council Corporate Plan 2016-2020 sets out the key priorities and targets that will enable the Authority to successfully realise the potential of Lewes as the ideal place to live, work and visit. The main stated aims are to deliver improvements for customers and communities, investing in towns and villages and to keep close control of the budgets ensuring the best use of its resources. To deliver improvements to communities, the Authority notes its intention to work with Wave Leisure and other health partners to provide information and activities to encourage healthy lifestyles, with a particular focus on the needs of specific parts of the district and its ageing population.

The Authority does not have a playing pitch strategy in place.

County football association

Lewes is covered by the Sussex County FA which provides governance and development support to all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues; supporting football for all. The County FA has a designated facilities investment lead officer who works to ensure the right facilities are located in the right locations.

Football Foundation

The Regional Engagement Manager and Regional Technical Project Manager at the Football Foundation work collaboratively with the County FA to provide pre-application support to priority projects for potential investment.

Sport England

Has a network of planning managers who have a statutory role in the planning system to protect playing fields and provide consultation responses to planning applications relating to sporting facilities. They also play a key role in strategic planning for sports facilities, providing advice and support to local authorities to assess need for facilities in their local area.

Professional club community organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Albion in the Community runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities in the local area.

Local leisure operator

Wave Leisure is the key leisure operator in Lewes. It currently operates five key sites including Downs, Lewes and Peacehaven leisure centres. It manages one full-sized 3G FTP which is located at Downs Leisure Centre.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Lewes. Eight individuals (representing eight local organisations) were spoken to. Agencies consulted include:

• Lewes District Council
• Wave Leisure
• Seaford Town Council
• Newhaven FC
• Ringmer FC
• Peacehaven FC
• Seaford Town Council

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Lewes has a total of 186 teams, which is comparable to local areas of a similar size.

The FA is investing to support clubs both on and off the pitch which includes an aim to have a qualified FA coach with every youth team by 2020/21. In addition, it will support 1,000 clubs to create full player pathways from youth to adult teams and develop 150 community football hubs with male and female pathways, disability and recreational playing opportunities.

Over the last 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In Lewes, nine clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Denton & South Heighton Junior FC - 10 teams
• Lewes FC - 13 teams
• Lewes Juniors FC - 15 teams
• Newhaven FC - 17 teams
• Peacehaven & Telscombe FC - 17 teams
• Plumpton Athletic Juniors FC - 15 teams
• Premier United FC - 16 teams
• Ringmer Rovers Junior FC -10 teams
• Seaford Town FC- 16 teams

Seven leagues operate in Lewes. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults.

Lewes' largest local leagues (2018-19) include:

• Crowborough & District Junior football League – 441 teams – home and away
• Sussex Sunday Youth Football League – 362 teams – home and away
• Mid Sussex Youth & Minor Football League – 182 teams – home and away
• Sussex County Women & Girls Football League – 105 teams – home and away

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to / from Lewes due to the fact that leagues cover more than one local authority area.

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 Lewes there are 11 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 has big ambitions for the female game and aims to double levels of participation by 2020. To achieve this requires a combined effort across four pathways: education, recreation, competition and talent.

Education environments have a huge impact on the first experience of football for young girls. This pathway can offer many opportunities for females of all ages to develop and grow a lifelong interest in football.

FA Wildcats girls football centres provide the first step on the recreational pathway, the programme provides girls aged 5-11 with regular opportunities to play football in a fun and engaging environment. Lewes has four FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 16, Lewes’ number of female teams is comparable to local areas of a similar size, however, it does have a FA Women's Championship club (Lewes Women) who play their home fixtures at the Dripping Pan. 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 Sussex County Women & Girls Football League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow its provision in future years. The local adult female league is also the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Brighton & Hove Albion Women's FC which is located in Adur. 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 Brighton & Hove Albion Women's FC which provides player pathway opportunities for gifted and talented female players and a spectator interest for fans.

Small-sided football

Many different types of small-sided football are played in England, from teams and leagues to recreational and informal. It is an established and important part of the modern game.

Small-sided teams 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.

There are no known key local providers in Lewes

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced, small sided team game that is widely played across the world. Typically it is played on an indoor surface with hockey-sized goals and a size 4 football with reduced ball bounce. It is the FA’s aim to ensure Futsal is available across the country.

There are currently no futsal teams in Lewes that play in the. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal for youth players.

Recreational football

Recreational football is played where facilities are typically booked and there might be someone to help organise. Examples include FA Just Play sessions, walking football and casual pitch hire for small-sided match play.

There are currently no FA Just Play centres in Lewes. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include man vs fat, pro-club community schemes and casual bookings which are delivered by a range of organisations.

Informal football

Informal football is played in local parks and green spaces – it is free, open access and often played spontaneously (normal clothing is worn). Common examples include a kick-about at a local park or on a multi-use games area (MUGA).

The key strengths of local football in Lewes include female, disability and youth provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist; this includes Flexi Football.

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

1. Introduce Flexi Football including Walking Football
2. Grow Youth Futsal
3. Maintain Female Football
4. Introduce FA Mars Just Play

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

Additionally, 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 Lewes. It identifies current issues and presents opportunities for improvements, including a list of priority projects for potential investment.

Local assets and opportunities have been reviewed inline with four investment priorities:

• 3G FTPs
• Improved grass pitches
• Changing room pavilions / clubhouses
• Small-sided facilities

To ensure a consistent and high quality approach, each local area has been reviewed applying a standard approach, supplemented by input from consultation with local partners and stakeholder organisations.

While each investment priority is reviewed individually, it is understood that they can be inter-reliant; account is, thus, taken of these potential connections.

3G FTPs are a high quality and indispensable part of modern football facilities; their impact cannot be underestimated. In recent years the industry has seen major innovations and improvements to artificial surfaces (and sports lighting). This has created playing surfaces that replicate a good standard natural turf pitch whilst significantly increasing levels of use (x20). All FTPs must have sports lighting to achieve this.

The high quality, consistent playing surface is the ideal environment to play the game and for young people to learn. With regular maintenance programmes, FTPs can be heavily used all year round with no decline in quality. They almost completely negate annoying fixture cancellations during winter months, helping football to be a key part of a regular physical activity habit.

High capacity levels offer a great opportunity to embrace all formats and engage all participants. A full-sized 3G caters for an average of 1,200 participants per week and is suitable for various location types. That means being fully inclusive to all sections of the community, with a particular focus on under-represented groups such as women and girls, people with a disability, BAME communities and people from lower socio-economic groups.

The way 3G FTPs are used is rapidly changing; current line-marking systems allow for match play across all formats of football (5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11). This enables significant levels of match-play to be transferred from grass to 3G.

The national ‘Mini Pitch’ programme delivers small 3G FTPs at primary school sites to provide a high quality introduction to football and get children more physically active. While mini pitches are reviewed in this section, they are not included in the demand and supply analysis for 3G FTPs.

FA data states that there are currently two full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs in Lewes; this is a shortfall of three relative to assessed demand. Assessed demand is calculated based on FA training demand model of 1:38. Currently there are 185 affiliated teams resulting in the need for five full-sized 3G FTPS.

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

• The Downs Leisure Centre
• The Dripping Pan (Lewes FC)

In addition there is currently one small-sided 3G FTP site in Lewes:

• Falmers Sports College

Both full sized 3G FTPs are available for community use. The Dripping Pan 3G pitch is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning that it has been quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommend that the other FTP (Downs Leisure Centre) is assessed and placed on the Register to enable more match play on 3G.

Ringmer FC, in partnership with Kings Academy Ringmer, is currently in the process of submitting a planning application for a full-sized 3G FTP at the school site. This project is privately funded, following the sale of the current football club site for housing. It is anticipated that this pitch will be ready autumn 2019 and be available for community use. This will reduce the overall shortfall to two. Please note this is not mapped, as it is not to be funded by the Football Foundation.

In addition, the University of Sussex is building a 3G pitch at University of Sussex, Falmer Sports Complex . This is on the Brighton and Hove boundary and use of the venue is likely to be predominantly by Brighton based clubs and the University. It is, as a consequence, not treated as part of the supply for Lewes.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; existing FTPs are located in the towns of Lewes and Seaford while there are no facilities in Newhaven or Peacehaven despite the substantial population in these towns and the surrounding local areas. It is recommended that this disparity is addressed.

Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and limited access to 3G pitches and it is recommended that this is addressed. One example is Seaford Town FC which struggles to gain access the 3G FTP at the Downs Leisure Centre due to pre-existing high demand and the long-term block bookings from other users that are in place; this is despite the adjacence of the venue to its home ground.

Two priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Two site options (Peacehaven & Telscombe Football Club or Newhaven Football Club) are presented to deliver one of the proposed full-sized 3G FTPs with the remaining project being King George V Playing Fields (Plumpton) . Site selection is based on a rationale of good access, capacity to serve a substantial local population and achieving a good geographic spread.

Playing fields are one of the most important resources for sport in England. All football players should have the opportunity to play on good quality grass pitches. However, FA data shows that 63% of pitches in England are poor / low standard and one in six games is cancelled. As such, poor pitch quality is consistently cited as the number one issue for players.

The priority is, therefore, to sustainably improve grass pitch quality across all main pitch owners (local authorities, education establishments and clubs). However, the level of maintenance required to obtain good quality standards is regularly affected by restricted budgets and limited knowledge / training. Compaction and grass coverage are two key causes of poor quality pitches. Both are commonly treated via a maintenance driven solution (and do not necessarily require costly drainage schemes).

Playing fields are also a valuable resources for informal play and open-access sites are encouraged but, for many, problems such as dog fouling and vandalism mean that they need to be protected with mitigation measures such as fencing.

Often the key challenge is to create a sustainable approach to provide good quality football pitches for the long-term. Most local authorities (78%) intend to increase pitch hire fees in the future. However, many players (63%) believe facilities are already expensive and some (16%) believe prices are prohibitive. A sustainable solution should, therefore, carefully balance pitch quality and affordability.

While the education sector (37%) and local authorities (32%) are still the principal asset owners of grass pitches, clubs / leagues own or maintain an increasing share (currently 25%). Assets and opportunities have been considered across each sector.

Although large (3+ pitch) strategic sites are important and make up much of the project list within the LFFPs, this does not mean that other club, league and community/voluntary sites are not important or eligible for funding. These sites are key to the Football Foundation's Grass Pitch Programme to deliver 20,000 good quality pitches.

For more information click here.

PitchPower

The PitchPower app is the gateway to any grass pitch improvement funding. It is the tool that will allow clubs and organisations to complete pitch inspections and access funds.

If you haven't signed up and completed a PitchPower pitch inspection, you will need to do this before you can apply for the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund.

Learn more by clicking here.

There are currently 13 key grass pitch sites in Lewes with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 27 grass pitches. Of these 13 sites, two are considered to have good quality pitches and 11 have poor quality pitches; none are standard.

Local consultation highlights common concerns with regard to poor quality pitches, particularly in relation to drainage, and it is recommend that these issues are addressed.

Eleven priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents, or is identified as being strategically important for football. Pitch quality was ratified by local partners and clubs.

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.

Of the 13 key grass pitch sites in Lewes with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance) one has have suitable changing provision, 11 sites require refurbishment while one site requires a new changing provision.

Twelve priority projects for potential investment are, therefore, identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or fewer than three but is of strategic importance) and currently has either no or unsuitable facilities:

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

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams and leagues, and in recreational sessions, prefer a 3G surface type because it replicates a good standard natural turf pitch. These facilities have already been covered in the 3G FTP section of this LFFP.

Indoor environments currently accommodate 20% of football participation and are also popular with players in teams 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.

Informal players require facilities that are open and free to access as this enables play opportunities that are often spontaneous. In these circumstances multi-use games areas (MUGAs) can be effective in areas of high urban population and limited green space. Such facilities can be modern, bright, creative and engaging. While this plan will identify suitable locations for such facilities, the design and specifics of the facility type can be agreed at a later stage with Football Foundation staff when projects are ready to progress to pre-application stage.

Parks and open green spaces are also important to informal play and require goalposts and zones that are free from litter and dog fouling.

Local consultation did not identify any sites for investment.

Two potential opportunities for MUGAs have been identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in an area of high urban population, with limited green space, locally relatively high levels of deprivation and proportions of people from lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football:

Local consultation did not identify any sites for investment at this point.

Open Spaces Specialist: Lewes and Eastbourne councils

Leisure Manager: Wave Leisure

Club Secretary: Newhaven FC

Club Secretary: Ringmer FC

Club Secretary: Peacehaven FC

Club Secretary: Seaford Town FC

League Secretary: Lewes Adult Football League

Town Clerk: Seaford Town Council