Local Football Facility Plan Waverley

Waverley is in the South East Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 123,768. This is expected to rise to 132,087 by 2039.

Waverley has a relatively low level of deprivation, being ranked 64 out of 67 LAs in the region, and 323 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

Waverley's ethnic composition is primarily white (96.01%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of Waverley’s population represented by the BAME community is 3.99%. This is significantly below the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

The Waverley Borough Council Core Strategy (Waverley in 2027) outlines the Council’s vision of ‘Making Waverley a better place to live and work’.

The strategies values include:

• Openness - communication is clear and constructive and actions are transparent.
• Excellence - working in a consistent and professional way to achieve the highest standards possible, taking the time to recognise and celebrate success.
• Fairness - working with integrity to ensure that everyone is treated well and has equal access to the opportunities available.
• Team work - and collaboration, with approachable staff actively contributing to shared corporate goals.
• Taking ownership - where everyone feels personally committed to issues at hand and is working towards a positive outcome.

With regard to planning policy, the Council’s priorities are to:

• Consider the potential for a new settlement of 1,800 homes on a brownfield site.
• Delivering high-quality developments that meet the needs of its communities.
• Update the Council’s Local Plan to respond to the pro growth agenda.
• Support delivery of 10 neighbourhood plans.
• Continue to meet Government targets for the speed with which it deals with major applications.
• Protect the Borough’s historic environment by continuing to undertake a raft of conservation reviews and develop a programme of environmental improvements.
• Maintain its position as of one of the top planning authorities in determining planning applications.
• Maintain excellence in design including the running of its highly successful biennial Design Awards.

The Authority Playing Pitch Strategy was produced in 2018. The key findings and stated overarching priorities identify a current shortfall of five full size 3G FTPs (calculated using the FA's previous training demand model 1:42). Further to this, it is identified that there is a shortfall of adult and youth 9v9 grass pitches.

County football association

Waverley is covered by the Surrey County FA. It provides governance for, and development support to, all aspects of local football including coaches, referees, volunteers, clubs and leagues; supporting football for all. The County FA has a designated facilities investment lead officer who works to ensure the right facilities are located in the right locations.

Football Foundation

The Regional Engagement Manager and Regional Technical Project Manager at the Football Foundation work collaboratively with the County FA to provide pre-application support to priority projects for potential investment.

Sport England

Has a network of planning managers who have a statutory role in the planning system to protect playing fields and provide consultation responses to planning applications relating to sporting facilities. They also play a key role in strategic planning for sports facilities, providing advice and support to local authorities to assess need for facilities in their local area.

Professional community club organisations (CCOs)

These offer a variety of programmes and services to support local communities (sporting and non-sporting). The Chelsea FC Foundation runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Places Leisure is the leisure operator in Waverley. It currently runs five key leisure centres in; Cranleigh, Godalming Farnham and Haselmere (two centres). The Edge Leisure Centre has two full sized sand dressed AGPs which are used for recreational football and affiliated team training.

Local consultation

This has taken place with a broad and diverse set of community groups in Waverley. 11 individuals (representing 11 local organisations) were spoken to. The agencies consulted include:

• Waverley Borough Council
• Milford Pumas Youth FC
• Farnham Town (Youth) FC

(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. Waverley has a total of 349 teams, which is higher 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 ten years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In Waverley, 13 clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Milford Pumas Youth FC - 40 teams
• Badshot Lea Colts FC - 34 teams
• Farncombe Youth FC - 31 teams
• Beacon Hill Juniors FC - 24 teams
• Bourne Blades FC - 24 teams
• Churt Junior FC - 24 teams
• Farnham Town (Youth) FC - 24 teams
• Ewhurst Junior (The Rams) FC - 23 teams
• Cranliegh Youth FC - 18 teams
• Elshtead Sharks FC - 18 teams
• Haslemere Town Youth FC - 14 teams
• Chiddingfold Youth FC - 11 teams
• Farnham United Youth FC - 10 teams

Leagues

14 leagues serve clubs and teams in Waverley. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults. While there is no specific league opportunity for disability football within Waverley, suitable provision is made in neighbouring Elmbridge via the Surrey Football For All League. Key leagues serving the local area include:

• South Surrey Youth League – 89 teams– home and away
• Surrey Primary Youth League – 38 teams– home and away
• Surrey County Women’s & girls League – 20 teams– home and away

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

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 Waverley 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. Waverley has two FA Wildcats girls football centres and the priority is to grow and sustain this activity.

At 14, Waverley ’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 Surrey County Women & 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 not in operation within Surrey currently, however a flexible small sided ladies league is played on a home and away basis. It too is expected to grow its provision in future years.

For talented players, the most local FA Regional Talent Club (RTC) is Chelsea FC which is located in Kingston-upon-Thames. 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 Chelsea 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.

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced, small sided team game that is widely played across the world. Typically it is played on an indoor surface with hockey-sized goals and a size 4 football with reduced ball bounce. It is the FA’s aim to ensure that futsal is available across the country.

There are currently no futsal teams in Waverley. It is a priority for the County FA to grow the game 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 no FA Just Play centre in Waverley. Walking football sessions are delivered by a range of community organisation such as Godalming Walking Football. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for further growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include recreation programmes and casual bookings which are delivered by a range of organisations including the Late Birthday Project.

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 Waverley is played particularly in the west/central part of the local authority. Farnham Park and Holloway Hill Sports Association are key, well-used, site locations.

The key strengths of local football in Waverley include youth, girls and adult male provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, gaps in provision do exist these include adult disability football, recreational football and adult female football. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for Waverley are:

1. Adult disability
2. Recreational – male and female
3. Adult female 11v11 and flexible football
4. Small sided

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 Waverley. It identifies current issues and presents opportunities for improvements, including a list of priority projects for potential investment. Local assets and opportunities have been reviewed in line with four investment priorities:

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

To ensure a consistent and high quality approach, each local area is been 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 are two full-sized (11v11) 3G FTPs in Waverley - both at Weydon School. There are also two small-sided 3G FTPs:

• Cranleigh School Sports Centre (one 5v5)
• Grafham Grange School (one 9v9)

The following sites are already being planned without funding from the Football Foundation:

• Glebelands School - there is potential for a full size (11v11) 3G FTP at this site. Funding is potentially being sourced via developer contributions from proposed housing developments on existing grass pitches at Cranleigh C of E Primary School. The primary school site is in close proximity to the Glebelands School site. Any proposed development at this site will help reduce the shortfall in the Cranleigh PPS analysis area.
• Broadwater School - potential has been identified to develop a 7v7 3G FTP.

The abovementioned proposed developments have the potential to help reduce the shortfall in Cranleigh (Glebelands School) and Godalming (Broadwater School) analysis areas.

As noted earlier, the Waverley PPS (2018) indicates a current shortfall of five full size 3G FTPs, and a future shortfall of six. This differs with a shortfall of seven (rounded down from 7.18) pitches based on a 1:38 ratio and 2018/19 FA affiliated total team numbers. The agreed shortfall has, thus, been set at five as the PPS provides a more robust evidence base. All of the existing full-sized and small sided 3G FTPs are available for community use.

The 3G FTPs at Weybourne School and Grafham Grange School are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play).
The existing community accessible venues are located in the west (Farnham) of the local area meaning that there are provision gaps to be addressesd in the Cranleigh, Godalming and Haslemere areas as well as a need for further provision in Farnham to serve affiliated football demand and the areas of significant population in the Authority.

Local consultation reveals common issues with facility hire charges and the limited opportunity to train on 3G. Implementation of this plan will go some way to addressing this.

Four priority projects for potential investment are identified. Proposed sites were selected based upon a rationale of servicing the affiliated games and catering for key settlements:

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, 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 grass pitch sites in Waverley with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 46 grass pitches. Of these sites, three are considered to have good quality, nine standard quality and four poor quality pitches respectively.

One, Bourne Blades FC is a new site which has potential to be developed within the lifespan of the LFFP.

Of the 16 key pitch sites referenced above it was determined that eight should be prioritised for improvements. This will result in quality improvements to 24 pitches:

Eight priority projects for potential investment (including the Blades FC site) have been identified. Pitch quality rating was evidenced by PPS and ratified by local partners. In general, prioritisation was based on a rationale of selecting sites in the poorest condition and that are, or have the potential to be, best utilised.

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

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

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

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

Of the 16 key grass pitch sites in Waverley with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but of strategic importance) 11 have suitable changing rooms and five require improvement/replacement.

In addition to the five key sites identified above, one new potential site (Dunsfold Aerodrome) will also require a new build pavilion.

Six priority projects for potential investment are, thus, 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 & 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 no indoor facilities presently require improvement to develop small-sided football.

One potential opportunity for a MUGA is identified. It will serve an area of relatively high population which has corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, and assisted by the Sport England green spaces mapping tool no locations have been identified to support small sided 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:

• Area Director (London & South East) - StreetGames
• Club Representative - Badshot Lea Colts FC
• Club Representative - Bourne Blades FC
• Club Representative - Churt Junior FC
• Club Representative - Ewhurst Junior FC
• Club Representative - Farncomb Youth FC
• Club Representative - Farnham Town (Youth) FC
• Club Representative - Milford Pumas FC
• Engagement Manager - Football Foundation
• Football Development Manager - Surrey FA
• Greenspaces Manager - Waverley Borough Council