Local Football Facility Plan West Devon

West Devon is in the South West Region.

The current population of the Authority (ONS 2017 Mid-Year Estimate) is 55,329. This is expected to rise to 59,139 by 2039.

West Devon is ranked 11 out of 37 LAs in the Region, and 140 out of 326 LAs nationally on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ONS).

West Devon's ethnic composition is primarily white (98.46%). This is higher than the national average (85.4%).

The proportion of West Devon’s population represented by the BAME community is 1.54%. This is below to the national average (14.6%).

Local authority

The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan was adopted in March 2019. It sets a shared direction of travel for the long term future of the area, within the context of wider integrated strategic plans, up to the period 2034.

The local authority Playing Pitch Strategy was adopted in 2016 and has not been refreshed. However, a key joint action plan has been updated and managed to help inform the priority projects within the LFFP

County football association

West Devon 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). Plymouth Argyle Community Trust runs a variety of health, education, engagement, football and sporting activities within the local area.

Local leisure operator

Fusion Lifestyle is the key leisure operator in West Devon. It currently runs the following sites on behalf of the Council:

• The Parklands Leisure Centre
• Meadowlands Leisure Pool

Local consultation

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

• North Tawton Youth FC
• Okehampton Argyle Youth
• Plymouth Argyle Youth
• Hatherleigh Youth

(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. West Devon has a total of 86 teams, which is a lower number than local areas of a similar size.

The FA is investing to support clubs both on and off the pitch which includes an aim to have a qualified FA coach with every youth team by 2020/21. In addition, it will support 1,000 clubs to create full player pathways from youth to adult teams and develop 150 community football hubs with male and female pathways, disability and recreational playing opportunities.

Over the last 10-years there has been a significant national increase in the number of large multi-team football clubs. In West Devon, three clubs have more than 10 registered teams. These (based upon 2018-19 affiliation data) are:

• Okehampton Argyle – 16 teams
• Tavistock Community - 14 teams
• Horrabridge Rangers - 13 teams

Leagues

11 leagues cater for teams and clubs in West Devon. They offer competitive opportunities for many different players, including women and girls, disability, youth and adults. The largest of these (2018-19) include:

• The Exeter & District Youth League – 339 teams – home and away
• The Devon & Exeter League – 147 teams – home and away
• The Devon Junior & Minor League – 415 teams – home and away.

The County FA reports limited levels of cross boundary migration to/from West Devon.

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 West Devon there are five 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. West Devon does not have a FA Wildcats girls football centre and it is a priority to develop one.

At one, West Devon’s number of female teams is low. 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 provision in future years. The local adult female league is the Devon Women’s League in which matches are also played on a home and away basis. It too 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 South Hams. 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. There is no affiliated small-sided football in West Devon.

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 is currently no futsal team in West Devon. It is a priority for the County FA to grow the small sided game and futsal for adult and youth players.

Recreational football

Recreational football is played where facilities are typically booked and there might be someone to help organise. Examples include FA Just Play sessions, walking football and casual pitch hire for small-sided match play.

There is currently no FA Just Play centre nor are there any walking football sessions in West Devon. Walking football and Just Play are County FA priorities for growth and development. Other local recreational football programmes include pro-club community scheme activity which are delivered by a range of organisations including Argyle Community Trust and Exeter City Community Trust.

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 West Devon is played particularly in the areas of Chagford and Tavistock. Jubilee Park and Tavistock Park are key well-used site locations.

The key strengths of local football in West Devon include youth and adult charter standard club provision and it is recommended that this is sustained and also encouraged to grow further. However, there are aspects of provision that are lower than that in local authorities of a similar size, these include youth female, adult female, walking football, small-sided and futsal. It is therefore recommended that the future football development priorities for West Devon are:

1. 11v11 adult
2. Age appropriate formats of competition in youth
3. Female
4. Small-sided football and/or futsal
5. Weight-loss/health clubs, walking football & other casual participation

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 West Devon. 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 investment prioritis 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 West Devon located at:

• Tavistock College
• The Ashbury Hotel

The one small-sided 3G FTP is located at Okehampton Primary School. It has no floodlighting and is not available for community use.

There is no current PPS and, therefore, demand for full sized 3G FTPs has been calculated using the FA training ratio model 1:38. On the basis that there are 86 teams in West Devon, there is a requirement for two full sized 3G FTPs. The facility at Tavistock College is available for community use whilst the one at The Ashbury Hotel is a commercial venture and offers only very limited community use. There is, thus, a shortfall of one full sized 3G FTP. Both the full sized 3G FTPs are on the FA Register for 3G FTPs (meaning they are quality checked and can be used for football match play).

In addition, two 3G FTPs are located in close proximity to West Devon in the neighbouring authorities of Cornwall (Launceston College, youth 11v11) and Torridge (Great Torrington, 7v7).

In addition to the 3G FTP shortfall, the one full-sized community available 3G FTP at Tavistock College requires replacement. It was previously funded by the Football Foundation and has a partial sinking fund in place.

The facilities are located in the Authority's main settlements; Tavistock and Okehampton and the rural nature of the area means there are provision gaps in West Devon, however the LFFP steering group agreed not to identify a location to address the shortfall until a refresh of the PPS has been undertaken due to the complex geography of the Authority.

Local consultation reveals common issues related to meeting the costs of hiring 3G FTP facilities and it is recommended that this is addressed.

While there is a need for a second full-sized 3G FTP, no specific priority project for potential investment is identified at this 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 seven grass pitch sites in West Devon with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three pitches but deemed to be of strategic importance). These contain 13 grass pitches. Of these, two offer good quality pitches and five have pitches that are of standard / poor quality.

Local consultation confirms concerns in respect of pitch quality and it is recommended that these are addressed.

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

Five priority projects for potential investment are identified based upon a rationale of selecting sites in poor condition that are, or offer the potential to be, well utilised for football.

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

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

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

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

Of the seven key grass pitch sites in West Devon with three or more full-size pitch equivalents (or with fewer than three but deemed to be of strategic importance) four have suitable changing rooms and three have pavilions which require improvement/replacement.

Three 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 reveals that no indoor facilities currently require improvement to develop small-sided football.

Two potential opportunities for MUGAs are identified. In each case the rationale is based on the site being able to serve an area of relatively substantial population with corresponding high local demand for informal football.

Following local consultation, and assisted by the Sport England Green Spaces Mapping Tool one location is identified to support small sided informal football. This is a popular local park with suitable space / areas to increase 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:

• Specialist (Assets - Leisure/Recreation) - South Hams District Council & West Devon Borough Council
• North Tawton Youth FC - Chairman and Secretary
• Okehampton Argyle Youth - Secretary
• Plymouth Argyle Youth - Academy Manager
• Hatherleigh Youth - Chairman
• Offwell Rangers - Secretary
• Upottery - Secretary
• Bere Alston United Youth FC - Secretary
• Beer Albion - Secretary
• Axmouth United FC (via Survey)
• Cranbrook Town Council - Clerk (via Survey)