Local Football Facility Plan Somerset West and Taunton

Somerset West & Taunton is in the south west region.

The current population of the authority (ONS 2018 Mid-Year Estimate) is 153,866. This is expected to rise to 170,159 by 2039.

Somerset West & Taunton is ranked 10 out of 30 LAs in the region, and 142 out of 317 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Somerset West & Taunton's ethnic composition is primarily white (98%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Somerset West & Taunton’s population represented by the BAME community is 2%. This is much below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

The Somerset West and Taunton Corporate Strategy (2020-2024) identifies four priority strategic themes; Our Environment and Economy, A Transparent and Customer-focused Council, Homes and Communities and An Enterprising Council. One of the Council's objectives relating to Our Environment and Economy outcomes is to 'shape and protect our built and natural environment, supported by a refreshed Local Plan and develop our heritage, cultural and leisure offer including a clear vision and delivery plan for the Taunton Garden Town.' Also of note, Somerset West and Taunton is the location for the Hinckley Point C development which is expected to see significant commitments and investments in creation of new job and economic opportunities in the local authority.

There exists a Playing Pitch Strategy in place for Taunton undertaken by Taunton Deane Borough Council in 2017, though this was undertaken prior to the creation of a new local authority covering the former local authorities of Taunton Deane and West Somerset to form a single authority. Amongst the findings was an identified requirement for increased 3G FTP provision in the Taunton area.

County football association

Somerset West & Taunton is covered by Somerset 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). There is no active CCO in Somerset West & Taunton.

Local leisure operator

Everyone Active took over managing Somerset West and Taunton Council’s leisure facilities from 1 August, 2019. It manages the Council’s five facilities; Blackbrook Leisure Centre and Spa; Wellsprings Leisure Centre; Wellington Sports Centre; Taunton Pool and Vivary Golf and Adventure Centre. Pitches are directly adjacent to Blackbrook Leisure Centre, whilst Wellsprings Leisure Centre is based at The Taunton Academy which has pitch provision.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Somerset West and Taunton. Twenty two individuals (representing 22 local organisations) were spoken to.

Please 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. Somerset West & Taunton has a total of 206 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 Somerset West & Taunton, eight clubs have more than 10 registered teams. They are (based upon 2019-20 affiliation data):

• Wellington FC - 28 teams
• Bishops Lydeard FC - 22 teams
• Staplegrove FC - 22 teams
• Galmington Dragons FC - 18 teams
• Minehead AFC - 17 teams
• Tone Youth FC - 16 teams
• Ruishton Youth FC - 10 teams
• Watchet Town FC - 10 teams

Leagues

Three leagues operate in Somerset West & Taunton. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including youth and adults. While there are no specific league opportunities for Women and Girls and Disability within Somerset West & Taunton, there is however suitable provision provided through the Somerset Girls League, Somerset Women’s League and Somerset FA Ability Counts League (all countywide leagues). There is also a County Men’s league (Somerset County League), County U18 League, County Veterans League and County Walking Football League which includes teams from Somerset West & Taunton.

Somerset West & Taunton's largest local leagues (2019-20) include:

• Taunton & District Youth League – 226 teams (home and away)
• Taunton & District Saturday Men’s League – 37 teams (home and away)
• Taunton Sunday Men’s League – 21 teams (home and away)

The County FA reports that there is some cross boundary migration in Somerset West & Taunton due to teams migrating outwards to the Bridgwater Sunday Men’s League and various Devon Leagues

Disability football

There are 9.4 million people in England with a long-standing limiting disability, illness or condition which equates to 18% of the population – almost one in five. Football playing opportunities should be flexible, inclusive and accessible for everyone, whatever their level of ability. This could entail inclusion in mainstream activity or teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability.

In Somerset West & Taunton there are 6 football teams and two 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.

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. Somerset West & Taunton has four FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow this activity.

At 17, Somerset West & Taunton’s number of female teams is higher 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 Somerset Girls 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 Somerset County Women’s League and matches are played on a home and away and the league is expected to sustain its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Bristol City which is located in Bristol. However, the Somerset FA Girls Advanced Coaching Centre is available to any talented female players from across the county. 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 Bristol City 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

• Powerplay – Castle School
• Powerplay – West Somerset Leisure
• Soccer Sixes – Bishop Foxes School
• Soccer Sixes – Taunton Vale

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 four Futsal teams in Somerset West & Taunton. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal for male, female, youth and adult players. The County FA also run numerous club and school festivals throughout the season that feed into The FA’s National Futsal Competition. The local league (Taunton Youth League) also run Futsal fixtures for U7 and U8’s. It is a priority for the County FA to grow Futsal 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 three FA Just Play Centres in Somerset West & Taunton. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisations such as Taunton Town FC & Taunton YMCA. Walking football and Just Play are areas that the County FA has prioritised for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include the Man vs Fat initiative which is delivered at Castle School in Taunton.

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 Somerset West & Taunton is played particularly in the north and south of the local authority. Bishop Foxes School, The Princess Royal Complex and Castle Sports Centre are key site locations that are heavily used.

The key strengths of local football in Somerset West & Taunton include adult male, youth, female, disability and small sided football 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 FA Just Play

It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Somerset West & Taunton are:

1. Sustain & Increase Adult Male 11v11 Football
2. Increase Womens & Girls Participation
3. Increase the number of Recreational Playing Opportunities
4. Grow Disability Provision
5. Increase Futsal Opportunities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is just one existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Somerset West and Taunton at The Castle School.

Additionally, there are currently three small-sided 3G FTPs at sites in Somerset West and Taunton:

• Taunton Vale Sports Club (7v7)
• YMCA Taunton (5v5)
• Nerrols Primary School (5v5 - no floodlighting)

The existing pitch at The Castle School is available for community use and is on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning it is quality checked and can be used for football match play).

Demand for full sized 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38 and using the previous TBDC PPS assessment (2017). On the basis that there are 222 teams in Somerset West and Taunton, there is a requirement for five full sized 3G FTPs. There is currently one full sized 3G FTP in Somerset West and Taunton and there is thus a shortfall of four full sized 3G FTPs. The LFFP steering group established that focus areas for 3G development are Taunton (two pitches), Minehead (one pitch) and Wellington (one pitch).

There are a number of options to be further investigated in the Taunton area. There are 3 housing growth areas allocated in Taunton and the Staplegrove development might provide a (9v9) 3G FTP or equivalent. The Richard Huish College has been identified as a priority and is progressing.

If the above 2 projects are delivered then further feasibility work will need to be undertaken because there are a number of potential options to consider. Partners identified that Hamilton Park (Taunton Town FC), Taunton Academy and Bridgwater and Taunton College as future possibilities. This work should be progressed by partners to identify the most suitable option.

Further analysis and investigation is required to understand more regarding football team demand in the Minehead area and the potential impact on existing provision.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; the existing pitch (and small-sided pitches) is located in the south east of the local area in Taunton. There are no facilities in the north, south and central areas despite high levels of population and it is recommended that these are addressed. There is lesser demand to the west which is mostly land within Exmoor National Park. Local consultation reveals no common issues.

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified. Each was selected based upon a rationale of good access, high population and geographic spread:

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 13 grass pitch sites in Somerset West and Taunton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance), containing 41 grass pitches. Local consultation shows no common issues.

Furthermore, a project has been identified to develop a new football pitch site at Longforth Farm as a club site to be used by Wellington FC, allowing relocation from current venue Wellington Playing Fields in order that it can be used for other sports. This additional project increases the number of key grass pitch sites to 14 and it has been assumed that there would be up to three pitches to be developed at the new site, increasing the number of pitches requiring investment to 44.

Of the 14 key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that six of these should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 15 pitches, as well as development of four new pitches across sites at Longforth Farm and Greenway Playing Fields Pavilion (North Curry), totalling 19 pitches.

Six priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Pitch quality rating was ratified by local partners. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites that were most well utilised:

These can provide a number of different benefits. While the primary function is normally the provision of changing rooms to accommodate match-play and training (for players and officials), there can be equal value in facilities such as community and education rooms, catering facilities and spectator toilets.

Each project will take a progressive approach to pavilions and clubhouses (beyond the provision of changing rooms) and be open to new opportunities to engage the whole community. That means, creating environments that are welcoming to players, spectators, volunteers, officials and all sections of the community.

Such assets should support other investment priorities (e.g. 3G FTPs and grass pitches) and be located at sites that will have the greatest impact on local communities. To ensure this, focus is given to sites with three or more full-size pitch equivalents. However, as pitch quality is the number one priority for players this is prioritised before investment in changing room pavilions /clubhouses.

Clearly, facilities need to be well managed and maintained to keep them in a good state of repair. Consideration will be given to reviewing the best operator solution for key sites and the installation of revenue generating features such as catering facilities and community rooms. To achieve this, business plan support will be given to each priority project as it progresses to an application to the Football Foundation.

Of the 13 existing key grass pitch sites in Somerset West and Taunton with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), 12 sites have suitable changing rooms and one (Taunton Green) requires improvement.

In addition to the 13 key sites identified above, the proposed new site at Longforth Farm will also require a new build pavilion.

Football Foundation grant funding was recently awarded to improve the changing room pavilion at Irnham Road Recreation Ground (Minehead AFC) with works to be completed mid-2020.

Two 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.

An aspiration was identified for the development of an indoor facility in Minehead at which to be able to host indoor football, particularly Futsal, however further investigation is required into levels of demand for these formats of participation to determine whether a facility of this nature is required.

Local consultation reveals that no MUGAs are required to develop small sided football.

Following local consultation, one location (Victoria Park Playing Fields) has been identified to support small sided informal football. Here, the rationale is based on potential to improve provision in this open space which is reportedly well used for informal football.

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:

• Football Development Manager – Somerset FA
• Strategy Specialist (Planning Policy) – Somerset West & Taunton Council
• Planning Manager - Sport England
• General Manager – Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust Leisure Ltd.
• Senior Operations Manager – Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership
• Business Manager – Court Fields School
• Engagement Manager (South West) – Football Foundation
• Minehead AFC
• Wellington AFC
• Taunton Town FC
• Staplegrove Youth FC
• Galmington Dragons
• Bishops Lydeard AFC
• Ruishton FC
• Watchet Town FC
• King of Wessex (survey)
• North Curry Youth FC (survey)
• Old Inn 98 (survey)
• Alcombe Rovers (survey)
• Huish Tigers Ability (survey)
• Huish Tigers FC (survey)
• Taunton Pumas (survey)
• Creech FC (survey)