Local Football Facility Plan Lincoln

Lincoln is in the East Midlands Region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 98,438. This is expected to rise to 103,863 by 2039.

Lincoln is ranked 4 out of 40 LAs in the region, and 43 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Lincoln’s ethnic composition is primarily white (96%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Lincoln’s population represented by the BAME community is 4%. This is substantially below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

A local plan was produced for Central Lincolnshire, which includes the areas of the City of Lincoln, North Kesteven and West Lindsey. The time frame for this plan is 2012-2036. It includes Policy LP24 which states that the three authorities will seek to: reduce deficiencies in public open space, sports and recreational facilities. As part of this, it will be ensured that development provides an appropriate amount of new open space, sports and recreation facilities and/or improves the quality of, and access to, existing open spaces, sports and recreation facilities.

The Area Health and Wellbeing policy is also contained within the Local Plan. It states that; “it is essential that community needs are supported through appropriate physical and social infrastructure, and by other facilities and key services which contribute to improving physical and mental health and wellbeing, and the overall quality of life experienced by residents.”

The local authority does not have a current playing pitch strategy.

County Football Association

Lincoln is covered by Lincolnshire 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.

Active Partnerships

Active Lincolnshire is the Active Partnership for the county of Lincolnshire. Their mission is to get everyone, every day more physically active. They have a remit to support people of all ages and background to improve their health and wellbeing by taking part in regular physical activity supporting Sport England’s Towards an Active Nation strategy.

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). The Lincoln City Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Active Nation is the key leisure operator in Lincoln. It currently runs two sports centres, one small sided 3G FTP and a total of three grass pitches. Both of the sports centres it operates are scheduled to have full-sized 3G FTPs developed imminently.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Lincoln. 12 individuals (representing 11 local organisations) were consulted. These include:

• Future4Me
• Ruston Sports & Social Club
• Lincoln City Foundation
• The Priory City of Lincoln Academy

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Lincoln has a total of 147 teams, which is higher than 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 Lincoln, three clubs have more than ten registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• North Lindum Hawks - 27 teams
• Ruston Sports - 26 teams
• Birchwood Colts – 13 teams

Several leagues operate across Lincoln however only one is specific to the Lincoln area, this is the Lincoln & District Sunday League which caters for a total of 54 teams. It offers competitive opportunities for adult male players.

The largest local leagues operating in Lincoln and the surrounding areas (2018-19) include:

• Lincoln Co-Op Mid Lincs Youth League - male and female provision – 398 teams total with 79 teams from Lincoln - home and away / central venue / central venue at multiple sites - all
• Lincolnshire Ability Counts League – 49 teams in total with 12 teams from Lincoln - central venue.

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 Lincoln, there are 12 football teams 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. Lincoln has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 12, Lincoln’s number of female teams is comparable to 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 from Under 12’s upwards is the Lincoln Co-Op Mid Lincs Youth League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. League provision for Under 11’s and below is the Lincolnshire Girls & Goals League. Both are expected to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Lincolnshire Womens County Football League in which matches are played on a home and away; it too is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA regional talent clubs (RTCs) are Doncaster Belles and Nottingham Forest. Higher level talent pathway opportunities are also provided regionally and nationally by the FA, culminating in the England Women’s national squads. The nearest Women’s Super League teams are Leicester City Women FC / Sheffield United. These provide 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.

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 is currently no affiliated small sided provision within this area.

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 three Futsal teams in Lincoln. It is a priority for the County FA to grow the level of futsal available for all 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 Lincoln. Affiliated walking football in Lincoln has a total of one affiliated team. Walking football and Just Play are areas prioritised by the County FA for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include pro-club community scheme activity delivered by Lincoln City Foundation and casual, recreational 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).

Currently, informal football in Lincoln is played across local parks and community centres within the Authority.

The key strength of local football in Lincoln is adult male participation, this provision needs to be sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist these include FA Just Play centres, small sided opportunity and walking football.

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

1. Just Play centres
2. Small sided opportunity
3. Walking football

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

In addition, 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 Lincoln. 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
• 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 investment priorities are 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.

FA data states that there are currently four 3G FTPs in Lincoln. On this basis, there is sufficient supply relative to affiliated demand. However, two of these; Lincoln Christs Hospital School and Lincoln City Football Club currently offer only limited community use. Taking this into account, there is a shortfall of two full-sized 3G FTPs.

Existing full-sized 3G FTPs in Lincoln, thus, include:

• Priory City of Lincoln Academy Sports Centre
• Lincoln Christs Hospital School
• Ruston Sports and Social Club
• Lincoln City Football Club

Further to this, two full-sized 3G FTPs are about to be developed; one each at Yarborough and Birchwood leisure centres. These will address the aforementioned shortfalls for affiliated demand. Lincoln is also considered to have a high level of recreational demand; this may justify provision of an additional 3G FTP in the area. This is reflected in the projects identified.

In addition to the full sized provision, small sided 3G FTPs are located at Birchwood Leisure Centre (one) and the University of Lincoln Sports Centre (two).

Two of the four full-sized 3G FTPs are available for community use. The other two: Lincoln Christs Hospital School and Lincoln City Football Club only offered limited community access. Whilst it is unlikely that Lincoln Christs Hospital School will be made available, it is recommended that the option to extend level of community use of the full-sized 3G FTP at Lincoln City Football Club is explored.

Only one full-sized 3G FTP; Priory City of Lincoln Academy Sports Centre is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning that it is quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommend that the remaining community accessible pitches plus any developed or resurfaced in the future are assessed and placed on the Register to enable more match play on 3G.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is fairly even across the local area and key gaps will be addressed via development of the two new leisure centre based full-sized 3G FTPs. Local consultation reveals common issues with limited availability and community access. These should, however, largely be addressed by these developments.

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified. Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. The rationale for site identification reflects local partner perspectives and a rationale of good access, relatively high population catchments and local levels of deprivation and high football demand.

Two of the projects proposed involve resurfacing existing 3G FTPs. One (West Lincoln) is a potential new build 3G FTP to be considered in the longer term to service potential future demand. This should only be delivered if demand increases sufficiently to validate additional provision.

Further to this, all 3G FTP projects within Lincoln need to be considered in line with projects identified in the North Kesteven LFFP. This is due to the close proximity of projects identified in the adjacent areas of North Kesteven to those in the Lincoln plan and reflects local understanding that training demand migrates across the local authority border.

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.

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

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

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

For more information click here.

PitchPower

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

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

Learn more by clicking here.

Pitch finder indicates that there are currently ten grass pitch sites in Lincoln with three or more full-size pitch equivalents. These contain 47 grass pitches.

In addition to the ten grass pitch sites noted, one site (West Lincoln) is a brand new site that would also require pitch improvement investment.

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents, with the exception of the new site yet to be developed; however, this is considered to be a site of strategic importance. Prioritisation was informed by local partners based upon a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and which are, or have the potential to be, well-utilised .

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 ten key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Lincoln, six have suitable changing room pavilions/clubhouses, three have facilities that need improvement/ replacement and one requires a new changing pavilion. Further to this, should the 3G FTP be resurfaced at Lincoln City Football Club, consideration should be given to refurbishment of the existing ancillary facilities to enable it to better accommodate outreach work.

In addition to the five sites listed, should the West Lincoln site be developed, this will require a new changing pavilion.

Six priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents, or is deemed to be strategically important and has either no facilities or was deemed to have an unsuitable pavilion.

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 indicates that three indoor facilities require improvement to develop small-sided football. There is also potential to create a new indoor facility.

Two potential opportunities for MUGAs are identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in a well populated area with limited green space, high levels of deprivation and proportions of people from lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football:

Following local consultation, no locations have been identified to support small-sided informal football.

• Senior Project Lead - Active Lincolnshire
• Secretary - Birchwood Colts JFC
• Community & Interventions (Practice Supervisor) - Future4Me
• Recreation Services Team Leader - Lincoln City Council
• Sports, Leisure and City Services Manager - Lincoln City Council
• Head of Community - Lincoln City Foundation
• Chairman - Lincoln United FC
• Secretary - Ruston Sports FC
• Ruston Sports & Social Club
• School Games Organiser - School Sports Partnership
• Secretary - St Helens FC
• The Priory City of Lincoln Academy