Local Football Facility Plan Luton

Luton Borough is in the East region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 214,658. This is expected to rise to 240,973 by 2039.

Luton is ranked 2nd most deprived out of 47 LAs in the region, and 36th out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

At 54.6% Luton's white population is significantly lower than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Luton’s population represented by the BAME community is, thus, 45.4% -significantly above the national average (14.6%)

Local Authority

The Luton Borough Council Corporate Plan (2017-2020) mission statement is to ensure Luton is a proud, vibrant, ambitious and innovative authority. To achieve this, a number of strategic priorities have been identified:

• Building economic growth and prosperity
• Enhancing skills and education
• Improving health and wellbeing
• Developing quality homes and infrastructure
• Supporting safe, strong and cohesive communities
• Integrated, efficient and digital service delivery – striving for a ‘one Luton’ approach.

To ensure that the Authority continues to improve health and wellbeing, key objectives include; ensuring that strategic leisure facilities are accessible and of the highest quality, and that physical activity programmes (through strategic partners such as Active Luton) are inclusive and attractive to the whole community.

The Council Playing Pitch Strategy was produced in 2013 and is, thus, out of date.

County Football Association

Luton is covered by the Bedfordshire County FA. It provides governance and development support for all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues to support football for all. The County FA has a designated facilities investment lead officer who works to ensure that such facilities are located in the appropriate area of need based on the demand.

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 Community Club Organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Luton Town Community Trust runs a variety of health, education, and inclusion programmes across the Authority. An example includes the Luton Street League, which operates across ten sports centres offering football, cricket and other sports activities with the objective of improving community cohesion through competitive sport.

Local Leisure Operator

Active Luton is the leisure operator in Luton. It currently operates seven key sites including Inspire: Luton Sports Village, Lea Manor Recreation Centre and Lewsey Sports Park There is a full sized 3G FTP at Lea Manor which is available to the community in the evening and at weekends.

Local Consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Luton. 14 individuals (representing 12 local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• Luton Borough Council
• Active Luton
• Denbigh High School
• Luton All Stars

(See Appendix B for full list of consultees)

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Luton has a total of 210 teams, which is lower 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 Luton, six clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2017-18 affiliation data) are:

• Crawley Green Youth - 22 teams
• Luton Allstars - 25 teams
• Luton Town FC - 14 teams.
• Sacred Heart Youth - 10 teams
• St Josephs Youth - 14 teams
• Stopsley United - 12 teams

Leagues

Nine leagues cater for clubs and teams in Luton. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including junior men, junior women and adults.

Below lists all nine leagues with a breakdown the number of Luton clubs competing in each league:.

• Bedfordshire FA Girls Football League – 10 out of 78 teams– home and away fixtures with some festivals for U8-U12 age groups throughout the season at central venues on a Saturday morning.
• Bedfordshire County Football League – 11 out of 64 teams– home and away fixtures on a Saturday afternoon
• Bedford & District Sunday Football League– 1 out of 37 teams– home and away fixtures on a Sunday morning
• North Home Counties Sunday Football League–all 18 teams are from Luton– home and away fixtures on a Sunday morning.
• Leighton & District Sunday Football League– 4 out of 30 teams– home and away fixtures on a Sunday morning
• Bedfordshire Mini Soccer Football League – 22 out of 127 teams– home and away fixtures on a Sunday morning with festivals for certain age groups throughout the season.
• Bedfordshire Youth Saturday League – 27 out of 100 teams– home and away fixtures on a Saturday morning
• Chiltern Junior Sevens – 69 out of 152 teams– home and away fixtures on a Saturday morning for U12 age groups with festival/grading groups taking place for U7-U11
• Chiltern Youth Football League – 45 out of 209 teams– home and away fixtures spread across Sunday morning (U11-U13) and afternoons (U14-U18).

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to/from neighbouring counties (Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire) with teams competing in the following leagues; Milton Keynes & Border Counties Youth League, Eastern Junior Alliance, The TrophyUK.net Royston Crow Youth Football League & Milton Keynes & District Development League. The reasons for this are largely due to the close proximity of neighbouring counties and short travelling distances.

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 Luton there are presently five football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability, however, it is a priority of the County FA to grow this provision. Three are managed by Luton Town Community Trust and two are managed by Barnfield College. All teams play in the Ability Counts League. 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. Luton Borough Council has seven FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 11, Luton’s number of female teams 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 Bedfordshire FA Girls Football League League in which matches are played on a home and away basis with some festivals for U8-U12 age groups. The league is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is at Milton Keynes Dons, however Bedfordshire FA’s Advanced Coaching Centre is located at Wixams 3G FTP in Bedford. 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 Arsenal 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 in Luton include:

• PlayFootball Luton
• Power Play – Chalk Hills
• Football Mundial – Chalk Hills 6 a-side

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 that futsal is available across the country.

There are currently 10 futsal teams across the county of Bedfordshire that play in the ad-hoc tournaments and one-off events delivered by Bedfordshire FA, Regional Youth Futsal Series and Bedfordshire Youth Saturday League. These are delivered at key site locations including University of Bedfordshire and Polhill Campus (which has a purpose-designed futsal court ). In addition, teams enthusiastic about futsal have set up pockets of activity with training sessions and informal matches across several venues in Bedfordshire which include John Bunyan Sports & Fitness Centre, Luton 6th Form, and Biddenham Upper School.

It is a priority for the County FA to grow futsal for male, female, youth and adult 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 four FA Just Play centres in Luton, however it is anticipated that an additional one will be in situ place for July 2019. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Luton Town Community Trust and Active Luton. Walking football and Just Play are areas that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include Luton Street League – Turn up and play, Friday Night Football social programmes, health related sessions delivered through football e.g., Man vs Fat / pro-club community scheme activity and recreational hire of leisure centres for casual bookings with friends which are delivered by a range of organisations including Luton Town Community Trust, Active Luton and Luton Borough Council.

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 Luton is played particularly in the Lea Manor, Stockwood Park, Stopsley and Dallow areas of the Authority. Lea Manor High School, Denbigh High School, Luton Sixth form, Lealands High School, Play Football.Net & Beech Hill Primary School are key well-used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Luton include the professional club Luton Town and its publicity both on and off the pitch in recent seasons, recreational football including small sided competitions and the male and female youth team numbers growing and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of football provision that lower than other local authorities of a similar size, these include the progression of female teams into adult football and the progression of clubs through the National League System.

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

1. Increase the number of senior adult male and female football teams.
2. Support the transition of male youth teams into adult football.
3. Provide more opportunities for girls teams to form at entry level age groups
4. Link Wildcats into existing teams with infrastructure to increase girls football.
5. Provide a recreational football offer that is fit for purpose in the community.

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

Priority projects that progress 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 Luton. 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 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.

Existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Luton are located at:

• Ashcroft High School
• Chalk Hills Academy
• Stockwood Park Academy
• Lea Manor Recreation Centre
• Luton Town (The Brache)

Thjere are also currently five small-sided 3G FTP centres in Luton:

• Lealands High School (one 60x40 FTP)
• Denbigh High School (one 60x40 FTP)
• PlayFootball.Net (four 5v5 FTP and one 60x40 FTP)
• Beech Hill Primary (one 5v5 FTP)
• The Dallow Centre- not an official sized pitch, however, a small FTP reportedly used heavily for structured recreational football.

Luton does not have an up-to-date PPS and, therefore, demand for 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA 3G demand modelling, which in Luton identifies that demand for recreational football is higher than that for affiliated clubs and teams. Taking account of the facilities listed above (excluding the one at The Brache) there is a shortfall of one full sized 3G FTP (or equivalent) relative to assessed demand.

Four of the five full sized 3G FTPs are evenly distributed across the local area and available for community use. The Brache is Luton Town's training facility and is not available for community use. They are all on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). However, the majority of both full and small-sided FTPs are located at educational sites which limits daytime access.

Local consultation reveals common issues with high pricing and the above mentioned access. Also, a number of clubs suggest that they cannot afford the hire price of certain 3G sites - a factor which restricts their ability to meet both training and match-play demand.

One priority project for potential investment is identified:

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 quality 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, 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 14 grass pitch sites in Luton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 57 grass pitches. Although the PPS is out of date, it was agreed that all sites which were listed as either standard or poor should be brought forward for investment as these are key strategic sites for football. Consequently, ten sites are listed. Local consultation confirms the poor pitch quality at the ten listed sites. Investment in this portfolio will result in quality improvements to 33 pitches:

Ten priority projects for potential investment are identified. As noted above, pitch quality rating was evidenced by the PPS and club consultation and ratified by local partners. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting strategically significant sites that are in poor condition.

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 14 key grass pitch sites in Luton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance) four have suitable changing rooms, eight require improvement/replacement and two have no facilities and require a new changing facility. Club consultation indicated that the majority of the sites just require adequate toilet facilities, as the majority of sites accommodate junior football.

Ten 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 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 reveals that there are no indoor facilities that require improvement to develop small sided football.

Due to the lack of green space, the densely populated nature of areas of the Authority, and the significant potential demand for recreational football (as identified through the Sport England green space mapping) nine potential opportunities for investment have been identified.

The rationale supporting these projects focuses on providing opportunity in key local communities, where existing facilities are either limited or require improvement. An additional factor is the potential support to programme and animate these venues which can be delivered by, for example, Active Luton or Luton Town Community Trust.

Local consultation indicates no parks or open spaces that presently require improvement to develop small sided football.

A range of local agencies and larger (usually 10 plus team) local football clubs were invited to participate in the LFFP consultation. Those that contributed are listed below:

• Luton Council: Green Space Manager
• Luton Council: Planning Manager
• Luton Town Community Trust: Trust Manager
• Active Luton: Chief Executive
• Luton United: Club Secretary
• Denbigh High School: Community Development Officer
• The Dallow Centre: Facilities manager
• Luton Nations Community FC: Club Secretary
• St Josephs Football Club: Club Secretary
• Luton Allstars: Chairman
• Training 4 U Services (UK) Ltd: Training Manager
• Crawley Green: Chairman
• Luton Town Ladies: Secretary
• Stopsley United: Chairman