Local Football Facility Plan Mole Valley

Mole Valley is in the South East Region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 87,128. This is expected to rise to 93,750 by 2039.

Mole Valley is ranked 52 out of 67 LAs in the region, and 305 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Mole Valley's ethnic composition is primarily white (95.07%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Mole Valley’s population represented by the BAME community is 4.93%. This is below the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

Mole Valley District Council is currently is preparing a new Local Plan, 'Future Mole Valley'. This will cover spatial development across the whole District for the next 15 years; it will include targets for delivering new development as well as setting out those areas which will continue to be protected. The local authority has no playing pitch strategy in place.

County football association

Mole Valley is covered by the Surrey County FA. It provides governance for, and development support to, all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues; supporting football for all. The County FA has a designated facilities investment lead officer who works to ensure the right facilities are located in the right locations. Surrey FA is based at Meadowbank Football Ground in Dorking, Mole Valley.

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)

There is no active CCO in Mole Valley.

Local leisure operator

Places for People Leisure and Fusion Lifestyle are the key leisure operators in Mole Valley. They currently operate a key sites including:

• Dorking Sports Centre
• Leatherhead Leisure Centre

Local consultation

Local consultationace with a range of agencies and community groups in Mole Valley. 11 individuals (representing nine local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• Ashtead Colts
• Mole Valley Girls
• The Priory School

(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. Mole Valley has a total of 239 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 Mole Valley, seven clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Ashtead Colts - 31 teams
• Bookham Colts - 30 teams
• Leatherhead Youth – 30 teams
• Brockham Badgers - 17 teams
• Dorking Wanderers Youth - 16 teams
• St. Pauls Panthers - 14 teams
• Mole Valley Girls - 11 teams

In some cases, where girls and adults teams affiliate separately, these have been combined with the relevant clubs so that all teams are included.

Leagues

16 leagues serve clubs and teams in Mole Valley. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, youth and adults. While there is no specific league opportunity for disability football in Mole Valley, suitable provision is made in neighbouring Elmbridge via the Surrey Football For All League.

The largest local leagues serving Mole Valley (2018-19) include:

• Epsom & Ewell Youth League – 51 teams– home and away
• South Surrey Youth League – 46 teams– home and away
• Surrey Youth League – 28 teams– home and away

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 Mole Valley there are nine football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to sustain 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 girl’s 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. Mole Valley has two FA Wildcats girls’ football centres and the priority is to grow and sustain this activity.

At 15, Mole Valley’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 is the Surrey County Women and Girls 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 the not in operation within Surrey currently but there is a flexible small sided 7v7 ladies League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. This league is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Chelsea FC which is located in Elmbridge. 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 Chelsea 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 Power Play – Meadowbank

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 four futsal teams in Mole Valley. These play friendly fixtures at key site locations including Dorking Leisure Centre. It is a priority for the County FA to sustain 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 is currently one FA Just Play centre in Mole Valley. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Surrey FA / Mary Frances Trust. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include the Surrey FA Dorking Business League. These are delivered by a range of organisations including Surrey FA and the Mary Frances Trust.

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 Mole Valley is played particularly in the north and central part of the local authority. Ashtead Common, Fortyfoot Recreation Ground and Barnett Wood Lane Sports Field are key heavily used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Mole Valley include women and girls football and a number of large, well run clubs provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include recreational football. All aspects of football are affected by the limitations to consistent access to provision across the area.

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

1. Ensuring access to the game, representative of the geography of the area
2. Increasing recreational football and the number of Just Play centres
3. Working with existing clubs to increase operating standards

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 in Mole Valley. 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 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.

There are two full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs in Mole Valley located at:

• River Lane (Leatherhead Youth FC)
• Meadowbank Stadium (Surrey County FA Headquarters).

There is one small sided 3G FTP located at St John Church of England Primary School (64m x40m).

As noted above, there is no current PPS and, therefore, demand for full sized 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model of 1:38. On the basis that there are 212 teams in Mole Valley, there is a requirement for five (rounded down from 5.5) full sized 3G FTPs. There are currently two full sized 3G FTPs in Mole Valley and the shortfall is, thus, three full sized 3G FTPs.

The two full-sized 3G FTPs available for community use (River Lane -Leatherhead Youth FC and Meadowbank Stadium) are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (this means that they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is recommended that the small sided facility at St John Church of England Primary School is also assessed and placed on the Register.

Existing facilities are located in the north and central areas of the District, in the towns of Dorking and Leatherhead. Despite this, there are provision gaps in these towns which need to be addressed. It is worth noting the outline plans to develop a 91m x55m AGP as part of the redevelopment of Howard Effington School in neighbouring Guildford. Current plans do not indicate what the pitch surface will be or whether it will be floodlit. This is proceeding without Football Foundation investment. This site/pitch should be reviewed in the future dependent on its design specification and the potential football outcomes it may be able to deliver locally. It sits on the border onto Mole Valley and should, realistically service demand from the Authority. It must, therefore, be considered in light of any potential future 3G FTPs projects proposed in Leatherhead.

Local consultation reveals common issues with limited availability and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified, comprising three full size (11v11) and one small sided (9v9) 3G FTPs. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, geographic spread and existing facility quality.

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 eight grass pitch sites in Mole Valley with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 20 grass pitches. Of these sites, two are considered to have good quality pitches and six are rated standard/poor quality.

Local consultation confirms the common issues with poor quality and it is recommended that this is addressed.

Of the eight key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that six should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 13 pitches:

Six priority projects for potential investment are identified. Prioritisation was informed by local partners based upon a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition that are, or have the potential to be, well utilised and reflect the strategic focus to improve football participation.

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 eight key grass pitch sites in Mole Valley with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance), six have suitable changing rooms or are not deemed to require them and two require improvement/replacement.

In addition, new changing pavilions may also be required if 3G FTPs are developed at Leatherhead Leisure Centre, The Priory School and Downsend School.

Five priority projects for potential investment are identified:

Good facilities are important to all small sided football players, but it is important to understand the different formats of the small-sided game 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 there are no indoor facilities that require improvement to develop small-sided football.

One potential opportunities for MUGAs has been identified. The rationale is based on the site being in an area of high population and serving corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Local consultation reveals there are no parks and open green spaces that 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:

• Ashtead Colts - Secretary
• Mole Valley Girls - Secretary
• Dorking Wanderers Youth - Chairman
• St Pauls Panthers - Secretary
• Bookham Colts - Chairman
• The Priory School - Business Manager
• Sports and Communities Officer - Mole Valley District Council
• Parks and Landscapes Manager - Mole Valley District Council
• Planning Policy Officer - Mole Valley District Council
• Downsend School - Assistant Headteacher
• Brockham Badgers - Secretary