Local Football Facility Plan Newark and Sherwood

Newark and Sherwood is in the East Midlands region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 120,965. This is expected to rise to 135,999 by 2039.

Newark and Sherwood is ranked 18th out of 40 LAs in the region, and 158th out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS)

Newark and Sherwood's ethnic composition is primarily white 97.51%. This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Newark and Sherwood’s population represented by the BAME community is 2.49%. This is below to the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

Newark and Sherwood Council’s Sport and Physical Activity Strategy (2018 - 2021) commits it to working in partnership with a broad range of partners (both statutory and voluntary) in order to develop sustainable opportunities for people to improve their levels of physical activity through active engagement in physical activity, active recreation and sport.

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) was produced in 2014 and updated in 2017. The key findings and stated overarching priorities are to improve the quality of grass pitches at key strategic sites across the District and to increase the stock of full size 3G FTPs.

County football association

Newark and Sherwood is covered by the Nottinghamshire 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. It 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 community club organisations (CCOs)

These continue to expand and enhance their range of community delivery, offering a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). Mansfield Town FITC , Nottingham Forest Community Trust and Notts County FITC run a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities in the local area.

Local leisure operator

Active4Today is the key leisure operator in Newark and Sherwood. It currently runs three leisure centre venues, alongside a partner site at Southwell Leisure Centre Trust in the District. Two of these sites, Dukeries and Southwell leisure centres are considered to have a high strategic value to football.

Southwell Leisure Centre has a small sided 3G FTP, a sports hall and Dukeries Leisure Centre has grass football pitches and a old AGP. Both are identified as having the potential to accommodate 11v11 3G FTP provision in the future.

Local consultation

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

• Notts YMCA (Newark and Sherwood)
• Newark Sports Association
• Active4Today

(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. Newark and Sherwood has a total of 230 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 Newark and Sherwood, 12 clubs have more than ten registered teams. These (based upon 2017-18 affiliation data) are:

• Southwell City - 36 teams
• Collingham - 27 teams
• Lowdham - 23 teams
• Newark Town - 19 teams
• Newark Flowserve - 18 teams
• R.H.P Colts Youth - 14 teams
• Robin hood Colts - 13 teams
• Clipstone Miners Welfare - 12 teams
• A.F.C Warriors Youth - 11 teams
• Rainworth Juniors - 10 teams
• Mansfield Town Girls and Ladies- 10 teams
• Fernwood Foxes Youth - 10 teams

Leagues

Twenty three leagues operate in Newark and Sherwood. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults.

The largest local leagues in Newark and Sherwood (2017-18) include:

• YEL Saturday – 627teams– home and away
• YEL Sunday – 406teams– home and away
• Nottinghamshire Girls and Ladies Football League– 154 teams– home and away
• Notts Youth Football League Saturday– 147 teams– home and away
• Notts Youth Football League Sunday– 98 teams– home and away

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to/from Newark and Sherwood due to teams migrating inwards to use facilities in the district and outwards to play in the Lincolnshire and Derbyshire leagues

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 Newark and Sherwood there are four football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to sustain this provision. For talented disabled 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. Newark and Sherwood has four FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to sustain this activity.

At 25, Newark and Sherwood’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’ and ladies league is the Nottinghamshire Girls and Ladies League and matches are played on a home and away basis. The league is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Nottingham Forest RTC which is located in Basford (Nottingham). 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 team is Birmingham City Ladies 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

• Non affiliated leisure leagues in Newark
• Ollerton School – 7-a-side league

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 four football with reduced ball bounce. It is the FA’s aim to ensure that Futsal is available across the country.

There are currently no futsal teams in Newark and Sherwood. It is a priority for the County FA to introduce and grow Futsal in the locality.

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 Newark and Sherwood. Walking football is delivered by Collingham FC which deliver both a Male and Female sessions. Walking football and Just Play are areas that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include Walking Football, casual sessions and turn up and play disability sessions (one adult mixed, one youth mixed) delivered by a range of organisations including FA Charter Standard accredited clubs, Nottingham Forest Community Trust, Mansfield Town FITC, Active 4 Today and the YMCA.

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 Newark and Sherwood is most popular in the Newark-on-Trent area of the District. YMCA and Collingham are key site locations that are also heavily used.

The key strengths of local football in Newark and Sherwood include partnerships, referee societies, Wildcat Centres and growth within the youth female game. However, gaps in provision do exist, these include the recreation football offer as well as the formal game.

It is therefore recommended that future football development priorities for Newark and Sherwood are:

1.Walking Football opportunities

2.Futsal Development

3.Increase the accessibility and opportunities for girls within the Wildcat programme

4.Training facilities to allow for the increasing demand within the mini soccer and youth game

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 Newark & Sherwood. 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.

Existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Newark & Sherwood include:

• YMCA Newark & Sherwood (x 2)
• Joseph Whitaker School
• HMP Lowdham Grange

Additionally, there are currently four small-sided 3G FTPs in the District:

• Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D Academy
• Centre Parcs (Sherwood Forest)
• Collingham Football Club
• Southwell Leisure Centre

The Newark & Sherwood PPS was produced in 2014 and updated in 2017. It indicates a shortfall of three full size 3G FTPs. In addition to the noted shortfall, it is identified that the pitch at Joseph Whitaker School is in need of replacement.

Three of the four current available full-sized FTPs are available for community use. It is not, however, proposed that community use opportunity be explored at HMP Lowdham as the facility is mainly used for internal prison programming and recreational opportunities.

All three community available pitches are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). The geographic spread is uneven; main provision being located in the South East of the Authority. There are provision gaps in North and Central areas despite high levels of population and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Local consultation reveals common issues with low availability and travel times; it is recommended that these are addressed.

Five priority projects for potential investment are identified. This includes the delivery of three full size 3G FTPs, resurfacing an existing full size 11v11 3G pitch and the delivery of small sided 3G pens at Notts YMCA.

Site were selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, 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 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.

There are currently 15 grass pitch sites in Newark and Sherwood with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed of strategic importance). These contain 54 grass pitches.

Of the 15 key pitch sites referenced, five have been prioritised for improvements (encompassing a total of 20 pitches). In addition, Lowdham Colts FC has plans to develop its own club site which will see the creation of four full size pitch equivalents. This is included as a project to ensure that the pitches developed are of good quality.

Local consultation shows common issues with poor quality and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Six priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PPS and qualified by local partners. Prioritisation was informed by local partners with the rationale of selecting sites that were most 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 15 key grass pitch sites in Newark & Sherwood with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or deemed to be of strategic importance), nine have suitable changing rooms and six sites require improvement/replacement.

Further to these, as identified earlier, Lowdham Colts FC has aspirations to develop its own site with appropriate changing facilities and social space and has been included in the project list below. Likewise, YMCA Newark & Sherwood has outline plans to develop a community room facilitate a range of football and wider community needs.

In addition to the above, two sites were identified in the Newark and Sherwood PPS as requiring improvements to existing changing room pavilions/clubhouses. These service sites with two or less pitches and cater for limited demand (relative to the larger sites in the District). At this stage, the LFFP does not include the following sites as potential projects, although it is noted that this situation may change going forward if/when potential match funding opportunities may present themselves. The two sites are:

• Farndon Recreation Ground
• Sutton on Trent Sports Ground

Eight priority projects for potential investment are identified. Prioritisation was informed by local partners based upon a rationale of selecting sites deemed to have a pavilion which needs to be replaced or refurbished, or sites which require new provision to support participation or other facility development:

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 one indoor facility requires investment to accommodate futsal activity. Leisure Operator, Active4Today, is keen to develop the sports hall facility at Barnby Road Academy to promote futsal. The operator will be approaching the Young Elizabethan League to develop its existing model of futsal leagues and competitions and accelerate growth in Newark.

Three potential opportunities for MUGAs have been identified in Newark and Sherwood.

One project is considered to be an 'either or' as the two site locations are very close to each other. One is the Lincoln Road Playing Fields project at which a new MUGA could be developed, the other would involve refurbishment of an existing MUGA (at Chestnut Avenue). These are located within a short walking distance of each other and it is, thus, proposed, that one of the two be taken forward.

One project to provide two MUGAs at YMCA Newark & Sherwood has also been identified to further facilitate its current range of informal and recreational programming.

Lastly, a project at Elston Sports Field has been identified which will help promote higher levels of informal and recreational activity.

No potential projects for parks and open spaces are identified. There may be further opportunities for development and investment into parks and open green spaces identified as a consequence of forthcoming work into local delivery to be undertaken by the Council and Sport England, additional or within the areas identified as projects within the LFFP.

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:

• Chairman - Newark Town FC
• Chairman - Warriors FC
• Director of communities - Active4Today
• Operations Manager - Notts YMCA
• Secretary - Newark Sports Association
• Secretary - Southwell City FC
• Secretary - Lowdham Colts FC
• Secretary - Ollerton Town FC
• Secretary - Newark Flowserve FC
• Secretary - Winthorpe & Coddington Tigers FC
• Secretary - Robin Hood Colts FC
• Secretary - Elston United FC