Local Football Facility Plan Northumberland

Northumberland is located in the North East region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 319,030. This is expected to decrease to 315,900 by 2039.

Northumberland’s ethnic composition is primarily white (98.43%). This is substantially higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Northumberland’s population represented by the BAME community is 1.54%. This is significantly below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

Northumberland County Council’s emerging Local Plan sets out the vision, objectives, detailed policies and allocations of land, which will direct new workplaces, homes, services and facilities to where they are needed and wanted in the county. The Plan recognises the need for good quality open space, sport and recreational facilities as they provide recreational benefits for communities and help to promote social inclusion, community cohesion, health and well-being.

The mission of the Northumberland Sport Diversity Action Plan 2017–2021 is ‘to create a whole system approach to tackle inactivity in Northumberland.’ It identifies three priority groups upon which it will strategically focus to increase physical activity and reduce inactivity levels. These are:

• Women and girls
• Ageing population
• Children and young people

The Authority is currently in the process of renewing its Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) which, it anticipates completing in early 2019. The emerging findings of the PPS have been used to inform the selection of priority projects within the LFFP alongside local knowledge supplied by the LFFP steering group.

County football association

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

Football Foundation

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

Sport England

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

Professional club community organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). The Newcastle United Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities in the county.

Local leisure operator

Active Northumberland is the key leisure operator in Northumberland. It currently operates 18 sports centres and community centres, seven of which include grass and/or artificial grass football pitches. The seven are:

• Hirst Welfare Centre
• Newbiggin Sports & Community Centre
• Northburn Sports & Community Centre
• Ponteland Leisure Centre
• Sporting Club Cramlington
• The Swan Centre for Leisure
• Wentworth Leisure Centre

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Northumberland. 17 individuals (representing 15 local organisations) were spoken to. Agencies consulted include:

• Berwick Rangers
• Pinpoint Junior Saturday League
• Action4Acomb
• Youth Services – Northumberland County Council
• King Edward VI 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. Northumberland has a total of 577 teams, which is higher than local areas of a similar size.

The FA is investing to support clubs both on and off the pitch; this 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 Northumberland, nine clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2017-18 affiliation data) are:

• Cramlington United Juniors - 37 teams
• Prudhoe Youth Club - 34 teams
• Ponteland United Juniors - 32 teams
• Bedlington - 20 teams

Eighteen leagues operate in Northumberland. They offer competitive opportunity for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults.

Northumberland's largest local leagues (2017-18) include:

• Northumberland Junior Sunday Football League – 425 teams – home and away
• Northumberland Mini Soccer League – 321 teams – central venue at multiple sites
• Northumberland Junior Saturday Football League – 175 teams– home and away and central venue
• Northumberland Girls League – 89 teams – central venue up to U13 then home and away
• Northern League – 2 Divisions - 20 teams (across northern counties)
• Northern Football Alliance League – 3 Divisions - 48 teams (across northern counties)
• Corinthians League – 3 Divisions – 26 teams
• North East Sunday League - 3 Divisions - 32 teams

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to/from Northumberland due to teams playing in the Russell Foster and Apollo Doors leagues in Durham and the Pinpoint Leagues in Newcastle.

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 Northumberland, there are six football teams/sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to grow this provision. For talented players the FA runs regional centres and England national squads. A participation league is takes place on a monthly fixture basis at Cramlington Learning Village, delivered by Newcastle United Foundation and the Pinpoint Leagues. A specific girls league takes place monthly at Walker Activity Dome as part of the Disability Workforce Fund programme.

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. Northumberland has four FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 53, Northumberland’s number of female teams is similar 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 Pinpoint Recruitment Junior Girls’ League in which matches are played on a home and away and central venue basis. It is expected to grow provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Pinpoint Recruitment Women’s League in which matches are also played on a home and away basis; it too is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Sunderland located in the Durham County FA area. 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 Durham Wildcats 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:

• Newcastle United Foundation (various locations)
• Cramlington Learning Village
• Blyth Sports Centre
• Willowburn Sports Centre, Alnwick
• Ashington Sports Centre

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 two futsal teams in Northumberland that play in the local league with key site locations. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal 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 two FA Just Play centres in Northumberland, but over 30 additional turn up and play activities across the County are currently delivered. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Newcastle United Foundation and Active Northumberland - Walking football and Just Play have been prioritised by the County FA for further growth and development.

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 Northumberland is played particularly in the south east and central areas of Northumberland County Council’s area (Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington).

Rural deprivation and travelling time are significant issues which affect participation in football across North Northumberland, as is the lack of fill-sized 3G FTPs (there is only one north of Morpeth).

The key strengths of local football in Northumberland include mini soccer, youth male & female and disability provision and it is recommend that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of football provision in which participation levels are lower than local authorities of a similar size, these include adult male & female disability participation

It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Northumberland County Council are:

1. Additional 3G FTP facilities
2. Improvement to natural turf pitches across the LA Area
3. Increased number of clubhouse / changing pavilions
4. Additional recreational football facilities

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

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

1. 3G FTPs
2. Improved grass pitches
3. Changing room pavilions / clubhouses
4. 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 FTP 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 six full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs in Northumberland and one small sided pitch. Taking account of the new pitch under construction at Greensfield (Football Foundation funding application pending) and a scheme being progressed at Ponteland Leisure Centre (to be delivered without Football Foundation support), there is a shortfall of five full size pitches relative to assessed demand.

The full-sized 3G FTPs in Northumberland include:

• Bedlington Academy
• Hirst Welfare Centre
• Josephine Butler Campus
• Prudhoe Football and Sports Centre
• Sporting Club Cramlington
• The Blyth Academy

The small-sided pitch (74x45m) is at Ponteland Middle School.

There are no small-sided 3G FTP centres in Northumberland, though both Prudhoe Football & Sports Centre and The Swan Centre for Leisure each have two small sided football cages.

Five of the six full size pitches are available for community use. It is recommend that community use opportunities are explored at Bedlington Academy where quality is poor and the site is now reportedly inaccessible to community users despite the conditions applicable as a consequence of previous Football Foundation investment. Until such time as this have been resolved, this site has been regarded as part of the local 3G FTP supply and demand and no additional/replacement pitch is proposed in lieu of this.

Four of the six full size pitches are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play). It is strongly recommend that the remainder (at Bedlington Academy and The Blyth Academy) are assessed and placed on the register to enable more match play on 3G. (Both of these are reportedly poor quality and face issues with regard to lack of community access and vandalism respectively). The small sided pitch at Ponteland Middle School is on the FA Register and though not big enough to host adult matches, is marked with a mini pitch to host mini soccer matches as well as training.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; the majority (83%) are located in the South East of the local authority area in the more densely populated centres of Cramlington, Blyth, Ashington and Bedlington. There are provision gaps in Morpeth, Berwick, Hexham and the more rural West of the County and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Local consultation reveals common issues with long travel distances, particularly for teams in the more rural parts of the County such as the Western and Northern regions. Uniquely, some teams in the North such as Berwick Rangers and Berwick Rangers Juniors travel to access facilities in Scotland due to their close proximity more easily accessed facilities across the border relative to facilities in Northumberland which are further away. This can be troublesome should teams play in Scottish leagues and at Scottish facilities as the ability of the County FA to assist with specific issues is reduced.

North Tyneside based club Whitley Bay Sporting Club Juniors has held early discussions with the landowner regarding acquisition of a site off the A192 between Earsdon and Holywell, marginally within the district close to the border with North Tyneside. This land falls within the Northumberland County Council planning boundary and meaning any future development of the site (not presently playing field land) including aspirations for 3G FTP provision would regard Northumberland County Council, though it would cater for North Tyneside based demand.

Six priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread and the quality of existing facilities:

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

Often the key challenge is to create a sustainable approach to provide good quality football pitches for the long-term. Most local authorities (78%) intend to increase pitch hire fees in the future. However, 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 28 key grass pitch sites in Northumberland with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 119 grass pitches. Of these 28 sites, three are considered to have good quality pitches, 20 are of standard quality and five of poor quality.

Local consultation shows common issues with long travel distances to access provision, particularly in rural areas of the West and North of the County and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Northumberland FA set up the Pitch Perfect pilot scheme in 2015 in partnership with selected clubs and leagues to support them with grass pitch maintenance. The project was supported by the Football Foundation and was set up with the help of Northumberland County Council's Social Enterprise team, although it covers sites in all three Northumberland FA local authority areas. As part of the initiative, a range of new grounds maintenance equipment was bought from two local companies, to assist those working with limited resources and training delivered to club volunteers responsible. The aim was to provide supplementary maintenance to clubs within local communities with a view to extending to incorporate a wider network of sites in the longer term. Pitch Perfect is case study example of how County FAs and partners may have to think differently about pitch maintenance challenges and develop innovative and new solutions to existing issues.

Of the eight initial hub locations for the Northumberland FA Pitch Perfect initiative, four of the six still are located in Northumberland, they are:

• Eastwoods Park (Prudhoe Youth FC)
• South Newsham Pavilion (Blyth Town FC)
• Greensfield (Alnwick Town Juniors).
• Bedlington FC

Seven priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Each has three or more full-size pitch equivalents of poor/standard quality. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PPS data and qualified by local partners. Due to the significant number of grass pitch sites in Northumberland, many of which have just one or two pitches, priority has been given to seven - which contain 28 full-size pitch equivalents. The rationale is based upon selecting sites with the most pitches, that were best-utilised or had the most strategic potential:

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 ahead of 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 28 key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Northumberland, 21 have suitable changing room pavilions/clubhouses, five have facilities that need improvement/replacement. One (Greensfield) has no facilities but has a new changing pavilion presently under construction supported by Football Foundation funding. One other site; Eastfield Park does not have a changing room pavilion onsite but was not considered to require one in light of relative levels of demand for use.

A further three sites sites with fewer than three full size pitch equivalents were identified as requiring improvements or replacement changing room provision. These are Newbiggin Sports & Social Club, Felton Recreation Field and Broomhaugh Playing Field.

A new changing room pavilion is already being developed without funding via the Football Foundation at South Newsham Park. Blyth Town FC has developed the building shell and, at the time of LFFP preparation, was yet to complete the project.

Eight priority projects for potential investment have therefore been identified. Each either has three or more full-size pitch equivalents or is deemed to be of strategic importance 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 reveals there is one indoor facility that requires improvement to develop small-sided football at the Barnabas Stobhill Centre. This is to improve the indoor space for recreational and informal indoor football, as well as for futsal. This can be achieved via provision of futsal goals and additional line markings.

Five potential opportunities for MUGAs have been identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in an area of rural isolation, with high levels of deprivation, a high proportion of people from lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football:

Following local consultation, three locations have been identified to support small-sided informal football. Here, the rationale is based on highly popular local parks and open green spaces with suitable space/areas to increase informal football.

The County Council reports facing challenges with being able to secure investment from housing development to support new informal football provision and that at present it is only able to access S106 funding for capital projects for formal sport. There may be a need to explore other funding routes to deliver these kinds of projects moving forward.

• Newcastle United Foundation
• Gallery Youth Projects
• Youth Services – Northumberland County Council
• Countryside & Greenspaces Manager – Northumberland County Council
• Stobhill Community Centre
• Action4Acomb
• Bedlington FC
• Cramlington United
• Berwick Rangers
• Prudhoe Youth Club
• Ponteland United Juniors
• Pinpoint League U19 Football
• Pinpoint Junior Saturday League
• Northumberland County Women’s League
• Blyth Sunday League
• King Edward VI School
• Morpeth Town Juniors