Local Football Facility Plan Rossendale

Rossendale is in the North West Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 70,365. This is expected to rise to 73,594 by 2039.

Rossendale is ranked 19 out of 39 LAs in the region, and 99 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Rossendale's ethnic composition is primarily white (93.82%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Rossendale’s population represented by the BAME community is 6.14%. This is below the national average (14.6%)

Local authority

The Rossendale Council Core Strategy (2017-2021) commits to ensuring that the borough is a healthy and vibrant place to live and visit. To achieve this it sets out several key actions for success which include:

• Working to prevent homelessness, loneliness and domestic abuse
• Ensuring a legacy from the pilot Living Well, Living Better Project by supporting resilient communities through preventing crisis, intervening early to reduce risk and establishing good neighbour awards and volunteers
• Working with partners to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents, particularly through sport, leisure within its stock of parks and open spaces
• Protect the most vulnerable in its communities

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy was finalised in 2016. The key findings and stated overarching priorities are to increase the quality of natural turf football pitches at key strategic sites throughout the borough. It also recommended that additional full size 3G FTPs are provided to meet localised demand.

County football association

Rossendale is covered by the Lancashire 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.

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). The Burnley FC In the Community runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities in the local area.

Local leisure operator

Rossendale Leisure Trust is the key leisure operator in Rossendale. It currently runs two sites within the borough; Marl Pits Sports Centre and the Adrenaline Centre. Neither site is currently considered to be a key strategic site for football.

Local consultation

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

• Lancashire County FA
• Active Lancashire
• Rossendale Borough Council
• Rossendale Leisure Trust

(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. Rossendale has a total of 107 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 Rossendale, four clubs have more than 10 registered teams. There (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Rossendale Valley Juniors – 30 Teams
• Rossendale United Juniors – 16 Teams
• Whitworth Valley – 16 Teams
• Junior Hoops – 11 Teams

Leagues

No leagues operate specifically in/for Rossendale although the Authority is serviced by several whose coverage extends across several boroughs. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, youth and adults and suitable provision is made in neighbouring Accrington (Hyndburn), Bury and East Lancashire generally. Rossendale’s nearest and largest local leagues (2018-19) include:

• Accrington & District
• North Bury
• East Lancashire Alliance

Unsurprisingly, the County FA reports significant cross boundary migration to/from Rossendale due to teams which play in the Accrington & District JFL, North Bury JFL and the East Lancashire Football Alliance.

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 Rossendale there is no football team / session 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.

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. Rossendale has one FA Wildcats girls football centre and the priority is to grow this activity.

At nine, Rossendale’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 North Bury JFL 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 Womens County League in which matches are played on a home and away basis. It is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is at Blackburn Rovers FC. 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 teams are Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC with Blackburn Rovers FC also competing in the FA Womens Championship. Collectively, these clubs provide 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.

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 Rossendale. It is a priority for the County FA to grow futsal for youth 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 or walking football sessions taking place in Rossendale. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities 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).

Informal football in Rossendale is played particularly in the central part of the local authority. Victoria Park, Whitaker Park & Marl Pitts Leisure Centre are key, well-used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Rossendale include the substantial grassroots football club provision; it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps do exist and there are aspects of provision that are substantially below those to be found in other local authorities of a similar size, these include futsal, women & girls football, recreational football and walking football. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Rossendale are to:

1. Develop 3G training and match facility
2. Support development in changing and flexible space build to support growth in youth football.
3. Develop access to small sided facility for recreational activity

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 Rossendale. 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 is reviewed applying a standard approach, supplemented by input from consultation with local partners and stakeholder organisations.

While 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 Rossendale are located at:

• Fearns Community Sports College
• Alder Grange High School

In addition, there are five small-sided 3G FTPs at:

• Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School
• Marl Pits Sports Centre (x4)

The Rossendale PPS which was adopted in 2016 indicates a shortfall of one full size 3G FTP in Rossendale. However, since it was prepared there has been an increase in the number of teams playing locally and the shortfall has, as a consequence, increased to two full size 3G FTPs.

The 3G FTP at Fearns Community Sports College is available for community use. The one at Alder Grange High School is not floodlit and in recent years has removed its third party management lettings provider, thus reducing opportunity for community use. Fearns Community Sports College is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning it is quality checked and can be used for football match play).

The facility spread is uneven. There are facility gaps in the east and west despite the substantial local settlements; it is recommended that this is addressed.

Local consultation confirms the issues associated with limited 3GFTP availability and this plan sets out proposals to address this .

Three priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population, geographic spread, existing facility quality and high proportions of people from lower social economic groups :

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, 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 seven grass pitch sites in Rossendale with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 27 grass pitches.

Local consultation confirms the issues faced in respect of the poor quality of pitches and it is recommended that this is addressed.

Of the seven key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that four should be prioritised. This will result in quality improvements to 18 pitches:

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by the Rossendale PPS and ratified by local partners. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and that that are, or have the potential 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 seven key grass pitch sites in Rossendale with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), three have suitable changing rooms, one requires improvement/replacement and three have no facilities and require a new changing room/toilet facilities.

Four 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 indicates that, at present, no indoor facilities require improvement to develop small sided football.

Two potential opportunities for MUGAs are identified. In each case the rationale is based on the proposed facility being able to service a significant local population containing a relatively high proportion of people from lower social economic groups and responding to high local demand for informal football.

No opportunities to provide facilities in parks and open green spaces were identified through consultation.

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:

• Planning Manager - Rossendale Borough Council
• Economic Development and Property Services - Rossendale Borough Council
• Operations Team Leader - Rossendale Borough Council
• Engagement Officer - Football Foundation
• Head of Facilities & Investment - Lancashire County FA
• Secretary - Bacup Borough FC
• Secretary - Rossendale United Juniors FC
• Secretary - Rossendale Valley Juniors FC
• Secretary - Haslingden Girls and Ladies FC
• General Manager - Burnley in the Community
• CEO - Rossendale Leisure Trust
• Football Development Officer - Rossendale Leisure Trust