Local Football Facility Plan Teignbridge

Teignbridge is in the South West Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 131,437. This is expected to rise to 151,949 by 2039.

Teignbridge is ranked 18th out of 37 LAs in the region, and 180th out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Teignbridge's ethnic composition is primarily white (98%). This is significantly higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Teignbridge’s population represented by the BAME community is 2%. This is below the national average (14.6%)

Local Authority

The Teignbridge Council Strategy (2016 – 2025) has the stated vision to “make Teignbridge a healthy and desirable place where people want to live, work and visit”. To achieve this, it lists eight objectives:

• More affordable housing.
• Reducing carbon emissions.
• Job creation.
• Sustainable travel options.
• Community-led planning.
• Encouraging our young people to stay.
• Keeping the District clean, green and safe.
• Improve health and wellbeing of residents and visitors.

To achieve the last objective, the Authority will ensure that communities have access to high quality leisure facilities and a range of open spaces that are safe, inclusive, multifunctional and encourage healthy lifestyles.

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) was produced in 2018. It identifies that there is one full sized 3G FTP (at South Dartmoor Academy), two small sided 3G FTPs and a requirement for a further full size 3G FTP which needs to be centrally located. In addition, the PPS highlights the reduced demand for adult 11v11 football and notes a small increase in youth football which will necessitate changes in pitch configuration to accommodate more youth matches.

The Authority manage the key leisure facilities in the District which are: Newton Abbot Leisure Centre, Broadmeadow Sports Centre and Dawlish Leisure Centre. There is no 3G FTP at any of these sites.

County football association

Teignbridge is covered by the Devon 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 Teignbridge.

Local leisure operator

All key facilities are currently operated by the Authority.

Local consultation

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

• Teignbridge Council
• A range of clubs- see appendices for full details

(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. Teignbridge has a total of 193 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 Teignbridge, four clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These are:

• Dawlish United - 16 teams
• St Martins - 12 teams
• Buckland Athletic- 11 teams
• Watts Blake Bearne- 10 teams

Leagues

Ten leagues serve clubs and teams in Teignbridge. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults. The largest of these (2018-19) are:

• The Exeter & District Youth League – 339 teams– home and away
• The Pioneer Youth League – 167 teams – home and away
• The Devon & Exeter League – 147 teams– home and away
• South Devon Football League – 73 teams – home and away
• Devon Girls Football League - 35 teams – home and away

The County FA reports some cross boundary migration to/from Teignbridge primarily due to the teams which play in the Pioneer Youth League.

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 Teignbridge there are two 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 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. Teignbridge has two FA Wildcats girls football centre and the priority is to sustain this activity.

At 16, Teignbridge’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 Devon County Girls League 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 Devon Women’s League. It too plays matches on a home and away basis and is expected to grow provision in future years

There is no FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) in Devon, however, the Devon FA Girls Advanced Coaching Centre is located in the Authority. 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

• Ashmoor Sports Centre
• Teignmouth Community School

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.

Currently there are no futsal teams in Teignbridge. It is a priority for the County FA to grow and sustain futsal for all 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 is currently one FA Just Play centre in Teignbridge. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Devon County FA. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities or 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).

Currently, informal football in Teignbridge is played at the following parks, including Barkers Park and Dawlish Leisure Centre.

The key strengths of local football in Teignbridge include youth and adult football provision and it is recommended that these are sustained and encouraged to grow further. However, certain aspects of football provision fall below the levels found in local authorities of a similar size, these include futsal and disability football. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Teignbridge are:

1. (Re)grow adult 11 v 11 football
2. Continue to develop all age appropriate formats of competition in youth football
3. Disability football
4. Female football
5. Small-sided football and/or futsal
6. Weight-loss/health clubs, walking football and other casual participation programmes

This section reviews existing football facility assets in Teignbridge. 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, local areas are reviewed applying a standard approach, supplemented by input from consultation with local partners and stakeholder organisations.

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

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

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

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

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

There is one full-sized (11 v 11) 3G FTPs in Teignbridge:

• South Dartmoor Academy

In addition there are two small-sided 3G FTPs in Teignbridge at:

• Coombeshead Academy; 60x40 3G FTP
• Teignmouth Community School; 11V11 Youth 3G FTP

A new 3G FTP has been approved at Devon FA's headquarters in Newton Abbot. Work is expected to commence over the autumn period, with the pitch expected to be available for community use by spring/summer 2020. The pitch will support the County FA's strategic objectives and also provide training and match play opportunities for local clubs.

A second new 3G pitch is also proposed at a secondary school on the Teignbridge/Exeter border as part of the South West Exeter Housing Growth Area. The Ted Wragg Trust will manage the site and consultation with the Trust indicates that the facility will be developed to meet the FA standard, be on the Register (see below) and provide both training and match play opportunity. It is anticipated that the new school will be open September 2020.

The PPS calculated a shortfall of one full sized 3G FTP and the recommendation it made was that this should be located centrally. Since the PPS has been produced, this requirement will be addressed via development of a new full sized 3G FTP in Newton Abbot at the Devon FA headquarters. This means that, based upon demand assessment, no further 3G FTPs are required. The addition of the 3G FTP at the proposed school will further increase available supply.

South Dartmoor Academy 3G FTPs is available for community use and on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning it is quality checked and can be used for football match play). Although still on the Register, the carpet at the South Dartmoor Academy venue will need to be replaced within the next two years. It was originally funded through the Football Foundation, therefore it will be the responsibility of the School to replace this through its sinking fund.

Once the pitch is installed at Newton Abbot, the geographic spread of existing facilities will be even; with the key areas of population served by facilities.

No priority projects for potential investment are identified at this point in time.

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 10 grass pitch sites in Teignbridge with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 28 grass pitches. Of these, two are considered to have good quality pitches and eight have poor quality pitches.

Local consultation confirms the issues faced in respect of with poor pitch quality (especially drainage) and it is recommended that this is addressed.

Of the 10 key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that eight of these should be prioritised. This will result in quality improvements to 22 pitches:

Eight priority projects for potential investment are identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by the PPS and ratified by local partners. Prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition which are, or have the potential to be, 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 10 key grass pitch sites in Teignbridge with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance), five have suitable changing rooms, four require improvement/replacement and one has no facility and requires a new pavilion.

Five priority projects for potential investment are identified:

Good facilities are important to all small sided football players, but it is important to understand the different formats of the small-sided game and the various facility types they relate to.

Research suggests that small-sided players in teams and leagues, and in recreational sessions, prefer a 3G surface type because it replicates a good standard natural turf pitch. These facilities have already been covered in the 3G FTP section of this LFFP.

Indoor environments currently accommodate 20% of football participation and are also popular with players in teams 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.

Local consultation has unearthed two potential opportunities for MUGAs. In each case the rationale is based on the site being in an area which has a relatively high proportion of people from lower social economic groups and corresponding high local demand for informal football. New facilities would also allow local organisations to deliver engagement programmes at the respective sites.

Local consultation indicates that, at present, no indoor facilities require improvement to develop small sided 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:

Teignbridge Council- Interim Head of Operations

Buckland Athletic- Club Chairman

Watcombe Wanderers- Club Chairman

Ipplepen FC- Club Chairman

Bovey Tracy (Youth)- Club Chairman

Watts Blake Bearne FC- Club Chairman

Kingsteignton Athletic- Club Chairman

Ted Wragg Trust- Club Chairman

Newton Town Youth- Club Chairman

Ipplepen FC- Club Chairman