Local Football Facility Plan South Norfolk

Demographics for the area can be seen below:

Local authority

South Norfolk Council’s sporting needs and ambitions are incorporated into the Greater Norwich Physical Activity and Sport Strategy (PASS), accepted by the Greater Norwich Growth Board in 2022, which provides recommendations to implement an integrated and more inclusive understanding of physical activity and sport, considering its effects on mental as well as physical health whilst also seeking to address barriers to participation.

Within the PASS, the local authority has a Playing Pitch Strategy in place; also adopted in 2022. The key football findings and stated overarching priorities for the authority are:

• There are shortfalls on youth 11 v 11 and youth 9 v 9 pitches in the west and south of the authority, with shortfalls increasing in the future.
• There is a need to increase the number of 3G FTPs in the authority, with a total shortfall of six full-sixed pitches; two in the east, two in the west, and two in the south.
• The majority of pitches are either standard (68 pitches) or good (40 pitches), with only 18 identified as poor.
• Similarly, ancillary provision is rated as mostly standard (22 sites) or good (15 sites), however six sites are identified as poor, and therefore in need of improvement.

County Football Association

South Norfolk is covered by the Norfolk 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 Delivery 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. The Regional Facility Planning Manager (FPM) will lead and be responsible for all aspects of strategic planning and will lead on refreshing of LFFPs.

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 Norwich City Community Sports Foundation (CSF) runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area. The foundation delivers a number of Premier League projects reaching the heart of the community and is an experienced 3g operator with The Nest, Carrow Park and Brundall.

Local leisure operator

Leisure facilities in South Norfolk are managed in house by the District Council. It provides five key facilities in the District which serve the major settlements. Of these, Ketts Park and Framingham Earl Sports Centre are considered to be key sites for grassroots football, providing artificial pitches and several grass pitches for use by grassroots football clubs.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in South Norfolk. The agencies consulted include:

• South Norfolk Council
• Norfolk County FA
• Active Norfolk
• Norwich City Community Sports Foundation
• Local Football Clubs
• National Governing Bodies of sport, including:
  • England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
  • England Hockey
  • The Rugby Football Union (RFU)
  • The Rugby Football League (RFL)

Local consultation took place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in the original LFFP. As part of the refresh process a survey was sent via the County FA to all football clubs in the area. Furthermore, it is a requirement that all projects that move through to application phase undertake detailed community engagement to ensure that facilities fully serve the communities they are being designed for.

Clubs

There are over 91,000 community football teams in England, spread over an expansive network of clubs and leagues. South Norfolk has a total of 264 teams.

Survive. Revive. Thrive is the FA Grassroots Football Strategy 2020-2024. To deliver the goals for male and female football, there must be a vibrant, best-in-class club network around the country. The FA will work to encourage as many clubs as possible to achieve FA-Accredited status, assuring quality in everything they offer, including ever-safer and stronger player pathways. This will be coupled with a commitment to improve the quality of thousands of pitches up and down the country, with a particular focus on grass pitches.

Over the last 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In South Norfolk, ten clubs have more than 10 registered teams. The largest of these (based upon 2022-23 affiliation data) are:

• Mulbarton Wanderers FC - 28 teams
• Wymondham Town United FC - 26 teams
• Cringleford FC - 22 teams
• Hethersett Athletic - 21 teams
• Stoke United FC - 19 teams
• Long Stratton FC - 18 teams
• Loddon United - 16 teams
• Morley Youth FC - 16 teams
• UEA FC - 14 teams
• Diss Town FC - 12 teams

Leagues

Seven leagues operate in South Norfolk, with fixtures taking place across a broader geographical area incorporating other local authorities. They offer competitive opportunity for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults.

The largest local leagues (2022-23) include:

• Norfolk Combined Youth Football League – 602 teams – home and away
• Norfolk & Suffolk Football League - 220 teams - home and away
• Norfolk Women & Girls Football League – 159 teams – home and away
• Anglian Combination Football League – 97 teams – home and away
• Central & South Norfolk Football League – 46 teams – home and away
• Norwich & District Sunday League – 41 teams – home and away
• Norfolk FA Veteran League – 40 teams – home and away

The County FA reports low levels of cross boundary migration to/from South Norfolk.

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 South Norfolk there are no football teams / sessions specifically for people with a disability. It is a priority of the County FA to grow this provision. For talented players the FA runs regional centres and England national squads.

Women and girls

The FA had big ambitions for women and girls football and managed to double levels of participation between 2017 and 2020. To achieve this required a combined effort across four pathways: education, recreation, competition and talent. Despite achieving this ambitious target more places to play are still required for women and girls. The focus now is to give all girls equal access to football by 2024 and this will be a key objective of any facility investment. The FA’s four-year strategy, titled Inspiring Positive Change, pledges to create a sustainable future for women’s and girls’ football in England. The strategy outlines eight transformational objectives to be achieved by 2024, the following across grassroots football:-

• Early Participation – Every primary school-aged girl to have equal access to football in school and in clubs.
• Development Participation – Every girl to have equal access to participate for fun, for competition and for excellence.
• Club Player Pathway – Collaborate with clubs to develop an effective high-performance, inclusive player-centred pathway.
• Football For All – Recruit and support a motivated, diverse range of local leaders organising football for their communities.
• Coaching – Support the development of exceptional coaches at every level of the game who are representative of our society.
• Refereeing – Ensure that every female referee afforded high-quality bespoke learning and development opportunities from grassroots through to the elite game.

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. South Norfolk has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow the female game.

There are 30 female teams in South Norfolk across adult, youth and mini soccer formats. The County FA’s priority is to support existing clubs to grow and encourage more clubs to develop playing opportunities for females. The local women and girls’ league is the Norfolk Women & Girls Football 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 Essex FA located in Colchester. 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 West Ham United 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:

• Leisure Leagues - Easton College
• Soccer Sixes - Ketts Park

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 South Norfolk. There are currently no walking football sessions in South Norfolk, however Horsford FC deliver sessions at the Football Development Centre (FDC) in neighbouring Norwich. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include PL Kicks and casual bookings which are delivered by a range of organisations including Norwich City Community Sports Foundation and Norfolk County FA.

The key strengths of local football in South Norfolk include growing female participation provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are priorities of Norfolk County FA to improve provision in a number of areas across the authority, including:

1. Increased accessibility to disability football in grassroots clubs.
2. Continued growth of the affiliated female game, particularly in foundation ages.
3. Provision of recreational opportunities, including walking football.
4. Increased access to coaching CPD opportunities for affiliated clubs.

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. 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
• Off pitch and ancillary facilities (e.g. toilets, changing rooms, catering)
• 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.

Existing full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in South Norfolk include:

• Easton and Otley College
• Ketts Park Community Recreation Centre

Additionally, there are currently six small-sided 3G FTP centres in South Norfolk:

• Diss Town FC (5 v 5)
• Heywood Sports & Leisure Club (5 v 5)
• Long Stratton Leisure Centre (9 v 9)
• Norwich City FC (two 9 v 9 pitches, one 5 v 5 pitch)

South Norfolk has a PPS undertaken in undertaken in 2022. The PPS indicates that there is a shortfall of six full size 3G FTPs, two of which are required in the east sub analysis area, two in the west, and two in the south.

All existing pitches are available for community use, with the exception of the three pitches at Norwich City FC. Both full size 3G FTPs are on the FA 3G Pitch Register, as is the smaller sized 3G FTP at Long Stratton Leisure Centre.

The geographic spread of existing facilities is uneven; however this is largely a result of pitches being located in high-density population areas, such as in proximity to Norwich.

Local consultation reveals no common issues with high pricing, however given the current pitches are operating at capacity, there is an evident lack of capacity on existing pitches.

Six 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 areas of demand highlighted through steering group and club consultation:

The Football Foundation is on a mission to transform the quality of grass football pitches across England, because great facilities enhance physical and mental wellbeing, strengthen communities and empower people. The quality of football pitches is a huge issue for community football; 150,000 matches were postponed due to poor pitches during the last full football season. We are therefore on a mission to improve 20,000 grass pitches across England.

The Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund is a £21m fund that provides eligible clubs and leagues with a tapered six-year grant to help them sustain pitches already at a 'good' level and enhance pitches that are either considered 'poor' or 'basic'. In order to be eligible, clubs and leagues must use the PitchPower app to assess their pitches. This provides a detailed assessment report with recommendations on improving the quality of grass pitches. The PitchPower app is available to all pitch owners as a way to assess grass pitch quality and gain access to grass pitch improvement recommendations. See Football Foundation | PitchPower

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.

Through the use of PitchPower we are able to identify the demand for investment into new or additional machinery and equipment and see this as an important step towards sustainability for the voluntary sector. Ensuring clubs and leagues can maintain their own sites, supplemented by contracted out major works (e.g. aeration) is potentially a more cost effective approach in the long term.

While the education sector (23.8%) and local authorities (51.8%) are still the principal asset owners of grass pitches and have the heaviest reliance for affiliated matches, clubs / leagues own or maintain an increasing share and we will continue to prioritise investment into sites that are maintained by clubs or leagues.

PitchPower has allowed all Club owned and leased sites to apply for funding to improve grass pitch maintenance. In South Norfolk, the following sites have applied for this funding and the aim now should be to get the pitches up to the 'good' standard and work to sustain them:

• Earsham Playing Field (Earsham FC)
• Morley Village Hall (Morley Youth FC)
• Stoke Holy Cross Playing Field (Stoke United FC)
• Woodton Football Pitch (Woodton United FC)
• Hethersett Memorial Playing Field (Hethersett Athletic FC)
• Cringleford Recreation Ground (Cringleford FC)
• Hempnall Playing Field (Hempnall FC)

Additional sites eligible for funding to improve their grass pitches are included in the priority project list, these include:

• Framingham Earl High School
• Ketts Park Community & Recreation Centre (Wymondham Town United FC)
• Mulberry Park (Mulbarton Wanderers FC)
• Scole Community Centre & Playing Fields (Scole United FC)
• Manor Road Playing Field (Long Stratton FC)

Furthermore, the South Norfolk PPS identifies 11 sites as having community-accessed grass pitches that are poor quality and/or experience overplay. Each of these have been included in the priority project list to improve pitch quality and alleviate overplay. Of the grass pitches in the authority, 19 have been assessed via PitchPower and are known to be of good quality, 16 are of basic quality and 13 are poor.

Of the 26 key pitch sites with three or more grass pitches, or deemed of strategic importance for football, it was determined that 14 of these should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 51 pitches.

14 priority projects for potential investment have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PitchPower [or the PPS and ratified by local partners where PitchPower data isn't available]. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and/or where overplay was evidenced.

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.

The South Norfolk PPS identifies 15 sites containing football pitches available for community use that have ancillary provision assessed as good. There are 22 sites where ancillary provision was assessed as standard and six as poor.

One of the poor sites, Hethersett Memorial Playing Field, has undergone improvement since the PPS. Another site identified as poor in the PPS - Hethersett Academy - is considered a priority for improvement.

Through stakeholder consultation during the production of this plan, four further sites are identified as priorities for development and are included in the priority project list.

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, the audiences and the various facility types they relate to.

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams and leagues, and in organised 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.

Whilst our priorities will always be football led, we believe Small sided facilities provide a good opportunity to collaborate with other sports to deliver high quality spaces for people to play recreational sport. This will be achieved via our PlayZones Programme:

Football Foundation PlayZone Programme

PlayZones are modern, safe, and engaging facilities that are designed for recreational football and at least one other sport. There are a range of facility types to meet the needs of different sports.

Through this programme we want to address stubborn inequalities in activity levels and access to sports facilities within four priority groups:

• Lower socio-economic groups
• Women and girls
• Disabled people and people with long-term health conditions
• Ethnically diverse communities

Our research also shows us that when it comes to small sided facilities one size does not fit all and localised design and ownership will yield the greatest engagement from under represented groups. Activation is also as important as the facility itself for these groups. This section of the LFFP will concentrate on suitable places for PlayZones.

Suitable places will be identified through a combination of mapping, to include identification of our priority groups and crossover with other multi-sport priorities. Further community engagement will be required for design and delivery. Where some engagement has already been carried out projects will appear in the project list.

All projects will then need to be developed by a cross sector consortium where partners who understand and represent the people and the place come together to drive the project forward and create access and opportunities for priority groups.

Our research shows us that community engagement is the key to developing great small sided facilities and that we shouldn't try and identify sites without first identifying two key things:

• Key priority places within the local authority
• Key priority groups within the local authority

Once these two things are identified local community engagement is required to identify potential sites for investment. In South Norfolk the starting point for priority places, identified through previous Local Authority work around deprivation and inactivity, is:

• Costessey
• Long Stratton
• Diss
• Harleston

The key priority groups in South Norfolk are:

• Lower socio-economic groups
• Women and girls
• Disabled people and people with long-term health conditions
• Ethnically diverse communities

This priority group of places and people will be ratified throughout the process and the next step is to now begin community engagement to help identify where the specific sites are that will help to tackle inequalities and provide spaces for activity.

A range of local agencies and local football clubs were invited to participate in the LFFP consultation. Those that contributed are listed below:

• South Norfolk Council
• Norfolk County FA
• Norwich City Community Sports Foundation
• Active Norfolk
• National Governing Bodies of sport, including:
  • England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
  • England Hockey
  • The Rugby Football Union (RFU)
  • The Rugby Football League (RFL)
• Cringleford FC
• Diss Town FC
• Easton-Otley College FC
• Harleston Town FC
• Hempnall FC
• Long Stratton FC
• Mulbarton Wanderers FC
• Norwich CEYMS FC
• Poringland Wanderers Youth FC
• Scole United FC
• Stoke United Youth FC
• Wymondham Town United FC