Local Football Facility Plan Reigate and Banstead

Reigate & Banstead is in the South East Region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 146,383. This is expected to rise to 167,496 by 2039.

Reigate & Banstead is ranked 45 out of 67 LAs in the region, and 292 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Its ethnic composition is primarily white (90.6%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of the Authority's population represented by the BAME community is 9.4%. This is below the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

The Reigate & Banstead 5 year plan (2015-2020) looks to set out how the Council will prioritise its resources and deliver services to people living and working in the Borough. It outlines 13 priorities for the Borough based around three themes:

• People: supporting residents to enjoy healthy and happy lifestyles
• Place: A great place to live and work
• Organisation: a great Council

A key priority relating to health and well-being within the plan is to encourage healthy lifestyles, particularly through the use of its leisure centre stock, parks and open spaces.

The local authority has no playing pitch strategy in place; there are indicative plans to commission one within the next year.

County football association

Reigate & Banstead is covered by Surrey 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.

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). There is no active CCO in Reigate & Banstead.

Local leisure operator

GLL is the key leisure operator in Reigate & Banstead. It currently runs three leisure centres within the Borough. None of these play a significant role in providing for football demand.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Reigate & Banstead. Twenty three individuals (representing 15 local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• Surrey FA
• Football Foundation
• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
• Merstham Youth FC

(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. Reigate & Banstead has a total of 291 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 Reigate & Banstead, ten clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Reigate Priory Youth - 37 teams
• Chipstead Youth - 20 teams
• Merstham Youth - 19 teams
• Reigate Youth - 19 teams
• A.F.C. Walcountians Youth - 18 teams
• South Park Juniors - 17 teams
• Woodmansterne Hyde Colts (Youth) – 16 teams
• Nork Park Rangers - 14 teams
• Horley Town Youth - 13 teams
• Redhill Youth – 13 teams

Leagues

Sixteen leagues serve clubs and teams in Reigate & Banstead. 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, suitable provision is made in neighbouring Elmbridge via the Surrey Football For All League.

The largest local leagues (2018-19) include:

• Epsom & Ewell Youth League – 133 teams– home and away
• Surrey Youth League – 49 teams– home and away
• Surrey County Women’s & Girls League – 14 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 Reigate & Banstead there are three 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 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. Reigate & Banstead has five FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow/ sustain this activity.

At 17, Reigate & Banstead’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. The league is expected to grow its provision in future years. The local adult female league is the not in operation within Surrey currently but a flexible small sided 7v7 ladies league is in place in which matches are 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 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.

There are no identified small sided providers within Reigate & Banstead.

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 no futsal teams in Reigate & Banstead. It is a priority for the County FA to grow the game for male/ female/ youth/ 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 no FA Just Play centres in Reigate & Banstead. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Redhill Walking Football. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include casual bookings and community schemes which are delivered by a range of organisations including YMCA Redhill and Donyngs Leisure Centre.

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).

Informal football in Reigate & Banstead is played throughout the Borough. Memorial Park and Banstead Heath are key well-used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Reigate and Banstead include female provision and youth disability 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 and futsal.

It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Reigate & Banstead are:

1. Work towards having a Charter Standard Community Club in the borough
2. Growth of recreational and Just Play offer
3. Growth of Futsal offer
4. Sustain level of women and girls provision

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 Reigate & Banstead. It identifies current issues and presents opportunities for improvements, including a list of priority projects for potential investment. Local assets and opportunities have been reviewed in line with four investment priorities:

• 3G FTPs
• Improved grass pitches
• Changing room pavilions / clubhouses
• Small sided facilities

To ensure a consistent and high quality approach, each local area has been reviewed applying a standard approach, supplemented by input from consultation with local partners and stakeholder organisations.

While investment priorities are reviewed individually, it is understood that they can be inter-reliant; account is, thus, taken of these potential connections.

3G FTPs are a high quality and indispensable part of modern football facilities; their impact cannot be underestimated. In recent years the industry has seen major innovations and improvements to artificial surfaces (and sports lighting). This has created playing surfaces that replicate a good standard natural turf pitch whilst significantly increasing levels of use (x20). All FTPs must have sports lighting to achieve this.

The high quality, consistent playing surface is the ideal environment to play the game and for young people to learn. With regular maintenance programmes, FTPs can be heavily used all year round with no decline in quality. They almost completely negate annoying fixture cancellations during winter months, helping football to be a key part of a regular physical activity habit.

High capacity levels offer a great opportunity to embrace all formats and engage all participants. A full-sized 3G caters for an average of 1,200 participants per week and is suitable for various location types. That means being fully inclusive to all sections of the community, with a particular focus on under-represented groups such as women and girls, people with a disability, BAME communities and people from lower socio-economic groups.

The way 3G FTPs are used is rapidly changing; current line-marking systems allow for match play across all formats of football (5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11). This enables significant levels of match-play to be transferred from grass to 3G.

The full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Reigate & Banstead are located at:

• HMP Downview
• HMP High Down
• Warwick School

There are also currently six small-sided 3G FTPs at:

• Horley Infant School
• Tadworth Leisure Centre (x 4)
• Yattedon School

Of the full size 3G FTPs in the Borough, only the one at Warwick School is available for community use. The remaining two are located at prisons and as such considered unsuitable for wider community use/ access.

There is no current PPS and, therefore, demand for full sized 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38.

On the basis that there are 291 teams in Reigate & Banstead there is a requirement for 7.6 full sized 3G FTPs. There is one and, thus, the shortfall is 6.6 full sized 3G FTPs. Based upon consultation it has been agreed that, taking account of planned future population growth, there is a requirement for an additional seven full size 3G FTPs.

The 3G FTP at Warwick School is not on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning it has not, as yet, been quality checked and cannot be used for football match play). It is strongly recommended that it is assessed and placed on the Register.

Warwick School is located in the central part of the authority. There are facility gaps in the north and south, in addition to a further need to satisfy demand in the centre of the Borough. Local consultation confirms common issues with limited availability and long travel distances and the purpose of this plan is to address this.

Seven priority projects for potential investment are identified. Site were selected based upon a rationale of serving a key area of the Authority and the need to cater for affiliated football demand:

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 15 grass pitch sites in Reigate & Banstead with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 50 grass pitches.

Local consultation confirms the issues faced in respect of poor quality pitches throughout the Borough. It is recommended that improvements to pitch quality is undertaken at key sites identified in the LFFP.

Of the 15 key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that six should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 22 pitches:

Six priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by local partners. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition which are, or have the potentisl to be, best 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 Reigate & Banstead with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance), ten have suitable changing rooms and five require improvement/replacement.

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 & 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 no indoor facilities presently require improvement to develop small sided football.

Three potential opportunities for MUGAs have been identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in an area of significant population density with limited green space and a relatively high proportion of people from lower social economic groups - with corresponding high local demand for informal football. The locations identified are:

• Merstham Recreation Ground
• Brook Road Park
• Battlebridge Recreation Ground

No opportunities to further develop parks and open green spaces for small sided football were identified during consultation in Reigate & Banstead.

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:

• Active Surrey - Head of Strategic Relationships
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Grounds Maintenance Manager
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Green Spaces Manager
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Planning Officer
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Property Services
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Property & Leases
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Sports Development Officer
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Health & Wellbeing Manager
• Reigate & Banstead Council - Green spaces & Allotments Manager
• Surrey FA - Football Development Manager
• Football Foundation - Engagement Officer
• Redhill YMCA - Operations Manager
• Reigate School - Head of School
• Reigate Priory Youth FC - Club Secretary
• Merstham Youth FC Club - Club Secretary
• South Park Juniors FC - Club Secretary
• Horley Town Youth - Club Secretary
• Redhill Youth FC - Club Secretary
• Kingswood TFC - Club Secretary
• Perrywood Sports FC - Club Secretary
• Reigate College - Club Secretary
• Walton Heath FC - Club Secretary
• Reigate Youth FC - Club Secretary