Local Football Facility Plan Rother

Rother is located in the South East region. The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 94,997. This is expected to rise to 110,802 by 2039.

Rother’s ethnic composition is primarily White (97.09%) and this is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Rother’s population represented by the BAME community is 2.91%. This is below the national average (14.6%).

Local Authority

Rother’s Core Strategy is a key document within the Rother Local Plan. It sets the overall vision for future land use and provides the framework for the scale and distribution of development up to 2028. The strategy has identified 10 strategic development issues, one of these being the need for better facilities for sports, leisure and culture.

In 2015, Rother District Council developed an indoor sports and leisure facilities strategy, which looked to update the 2009 - 2020 Rother and Hastings Leisure Facilities. The strategy makes recommendations for each sports facility type to either protect, enhance or provide. There is a key recommendation to provide a new single site leisure centre, incorporating swimming pools, sports hall, gym and studios, so as to increase and broaden the sports and physical activity participation.

The local authority has a joint Playing Pitch Strategy in place with Hastings Borough Council; this was published in 2016. The key findings and stated overarching priorities are that there is a deficit of 3G FTP supply, with a recommended need for two 3G FTPs in the area. The PPS also reports that a common issues across the sites is the quality of ancillary facilities, which are in some cases unfit for purpose and urgently require redevelopment. For grass pitches, maintenance and general pitch quality were seen to require improvement.

County Football Association

Rother is covered by Sussex County FA which 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 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). There is no active CCO in Rother.

Local leisure operator

Freedom Leisure currently manages three sites on behalf of Rother District Council. These are:

• Bexhill Leisure Centre
• Bexhill Leisure Pool
• Rye Sports Centre (dual use site with Rye Academy Trust) (small sided 3G FTP)

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Rother. 14 individuals (representing 11 local organisations) were consulted. These include:

• Rother District Council
• Optivo
• S.C Pass + Move
• Little Common FC
• Bexhill United FC
• Sussex Futsal Club
• Sedlescombe Rangers

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. Rother has a total of 130 teams, which is lower than 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 Rother, four clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Bexhill United -10 teams
• Little Common -16 teams
• SC Pass & Move -17 teams
• Sedlescombe Rangers -18 teams

Four leagues operate in Rother. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including youth, disability and adults. While there are no specific teams playing in the Sussex County Women’s & Girls’ League, it does cover the area.

Rother's largest local leagues (2018-19) include:

• Crowborough & District Youth football League – 441 teams home and away
• Sussex Sunday Youth Football League – 362 teams home and away

The County FA reports that there is some cross boundary migration in Rother due to leagues covering more than one area.

Disability football

There are 9.4million 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 Rother there are eight 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. Rother has one FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At three, Rother’s number of female teams is lower than 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 Sussex Women & Girls Football League .League and 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 Sussex Women & Girls Football League. League and matches are played on a home and away basis and the league is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Brighton & Hove Albion Women which is located in Adur. 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 Brighton & Hove Albion Women 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 & 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’s 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 no futsal teams in Rother. 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 in Rother. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Bexhill Leisure Centre. Walking football and Just Play are formats that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include man vs fat.

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 Rother is played particularly in the Bexhill area of the District. Little Common Recreation Ground, Sidley Recreation Ground and Egerton Park are key site locations that are heavily used.

The key strengths of local football in Rother include disability provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of football provision that are lower than local authorities of a similar size, these include female.

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

1. Introduce Flexi Football including Walking Football
2. Grow Female Football
3. Introduce Youth Futsal
4. Introduce FA Mars Just Play

The facilities required to assist this are now set out in the Assets and Opportunities section.

Additionally, 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 Rother. 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 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.

PitchFinder data states that there is currently one full size 3G FTP in Rother; this is a shortfall of two pitches relative to assessed demand.

The existing 3G FTPs in Rother is:

• Bexhill College Sports Centre

In addition, there are two small sided 3G FTPs in Rother:

• Battle Area Sports Centre
• Rye Sports Centre

All three pitches are available for community use and the pitches at Bexhill College Sports Centre and Battle Area Sports Centre are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play).

The geographical spread of existing facilities is even; with facilities being located within the three larger towns. Provision gaps do however still exist in Bexhill due to high levels of population and high levels of deprivation in this area and it is recommended this is addressed.

Local consultation reveals common issues with long travel distances and lack of availability and it is recommended that these are addressed.

Two priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Undersupply was calculated using the FA 3G FTP demand and supply model. Each site was selected by local partners based on a rationale of good access, high population, geographical spread, success and 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 1 in 6 games are 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.

In many local areas the key challenge is to create a sustainable approach to provide good quality football pitches for the long-term. Many 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 16 key grass pitch sites in Rother with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with less than three pitches but of strategic importance as determined by the steering group), containing 25 grass pitches. Of these 16 sites, three are considered to have good quality pitches, whilst 13 are of standard or poor quality.

Local consultation shows common issues with poor quality and it is recommended that this is addressed However, the level of maintenance required to obtain good quality standards is regularly affected by restricted budgets and limited knowledge / training both by those responsible for managing the facilities.

13 priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Each site has three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or less but of strategic importance) of either poor or standard quality. Pitch quality was evidence by the PPS and qualified by local partners. The prioritisation was informed by local partners with the rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition, that had the most pitches or were the most important in servicing football.

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 16 key sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents in Rother (or with less than three pitches but of strategic importance determined by the steering group), 11 have suitable changing room pavilions / clubhouses, four have facilities that need improvement / replacement and one has no facilities and requires a new changing pavilion.

In addition to the key site, Sidley Sports Ground and the North Bexhill housing allocation will require new changing pavilions should a 3G FTPs be developed at these sites.

Seven priority projects for potential investment have therefore been identified. Each project has three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with less than three pitches but 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 & 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 reveals there is one new indoor facility required to help develop small-sided football.

One potential opportunity for a MUGA has been identified. The rationale is based on the site being in an area of high levels of lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, six 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.

• Rother District Council - Sports Development
• Rother District Council - Development Officer
• Rother District Council - Planning
• Rother District Council - Contracts Manager
• Optivo - Neighbourhood Manager
• Little Common - Chairman
• Battle Baptist FC - Secretary
• S.C Pass + Move - Chairman
• Icklesham Casual FC - Honorary Secretary
• Rye Town FC - Secretary
• Sedlescombe Rangers FC
• Sussex Futsal Club
• Burwash Playing Fields Association
• Westfield FC - Chairman