EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE
PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT & STRATEGY
DRAFT REPORT
AUGUST 2015
Integrity, Innovation, Inspiration
1-2 Frecheville Court off Knowsley Street Bury BL9 0UF T 0161 764 7040 F 0161 764 7490 E [email protected] www.kkp.co.uk
Quality assurance Name Date Report origination PA/CMF May 2015 Quality control JBE May 2015 Client comments EDLC/Sport Scotland August 2015 Final approval
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
CONTENTS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 PART 2: PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY METHODOLOGY ...... 2 PART 3: CONTEXT ...... 7 3.1: National context ...... 7 3.2: Sports Governing Body (SGB) context ...... 8 3.3: Local Community Planning Context ...... 10 3.4: Planning context ...... 11 PART 4: FOOTBALL ...... 12 4.1: Introduction ...... 12 4.2: Supply ...... 13 4.3: Demand ...... 20 4.4: Capacity analysis ...... 24 4.5: Supply and demand analysis ...... 26 4.6: Conclusions ...... 27 PART 5: RUGBY UNION ...... 29 5.1: Introduction ...... 29 5.2: Supply ...... 29 5.3: Demand ...... 35 5.4: Capacity analysis ...... 37 5.5: Supply and demand analysis ...... 40 5.6: Conclusions ...... 40 PART 6: HOCKEY ...... 42 6.1: Introduction ...... 42 6.2: Supply ...... 42 6.3: Demand ...... 43 6.4: Supply and demand analysis ...... 43 6.5 Conclusions ...... 44 PART 7: SYNTHETIC TURF PITCHES (STP) ...... 45 7.1 Introduction ...... 45 7.2 Current provision ...... 45 7.3 Availability ...... 48 7.4 Quality...... 52 7.5 Supply and demand analysis ...... 55 PART 8: EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE STRATEGY ...... 59 8.1 Draft general recommendations ...... 59 8.2 Draft site specific recommendations ...... 61
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
This is the Draft Playing Pitch Assessment and Strategy Report prepared by Knight Kavanagh & Page (KKP) for East Dunbartonshire. It has been commissioned by East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) and East Dunbartonshire Council (EDC).
In agreement with sportscotland, the report presents a supply and demand assessment of playing pitch facilities in accordance with Sport England’s 2013 Guidance ‘Developing a Playing Pitch Strategy’. It has been followed to develop a clear picture of the balance between the local supply of, and demand for, playing pitches.
The guidance details a 13 step approach to developing a playing pitch strategy (PPS). These steps are separated into five distinct sections:
Stage A: Prepare and tailor the approach Stage B: Gather information and views on the supply of and demand for provision Stage C: Assess the supply and demand information and views Stage D: Develop the strategy Stage E: Deliver the strategy and keep it robust and up to date
Stages A-C are covered in Parts 1 to 7 of this report. Draft general and site-specific recommendations are added to the end of this report (Part 8) to form a draft strategy for second stage consultation.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 1
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 2: PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY METHODOLOGY
Stage A: Prepare and tailor the approach
Why the PPS is being developed
East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture and East Dunbartonshire Council commissioned a Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) for the area in order to provide a robust and objective assessment of provision. The process involves carrying out a comprehensive assessment of supply and demand issues in respect of outdoor field sports pitch site provision for football, rugby and hockey, including synthetic turf pitches. It includes all facilities whether managed within the public, private, voluntary or education sectors.
It identifies local need for provision within East Dunbartonshire and will serve as the key evidence base to inform future strategic planning and priorities in sport and recreation facilities across the area. It looks to examine:
The current supply of all outdoor sports pitch provision The identified provisions capacity and current use Current and future demand identified from clubs and population growth Demand pressures created as a result of specific sports development pressures (e.g. growth of mini soccer, wider use of artificial grass pitches). Identify any inequalities in supply and demand across the area Highlight priority sites in terms of development and improvement opportunities.
It provides a picture of current and future demand which will assist in establishing provision priorities. It will particularly help to identify areas in need of protection and improvement in order to meet the current and future demand for outdoor pitch sports.
The following types of outdoor pitch facilities are included within the study:
Football pitches Rugby pitches Hockey pitches Synthetic turf pitches (STPs)
Other sports facilities not included in the study are considered to be covered by the scope of the emergent Culture, Leisure & Sport Strategy drafted by EDC and EDLC.
Study area
The study encompasses the whole of East Dunbartonshire. Assessment of provision and examination of spare capacity and overplay is undertaken for the whole of the area and where applicable at a local level. The areas and settlements recognised within the report are:
Bearsden Milngavie Bishopbriggs Milton of Campsie Kirkintilloch/ Lenzie Torrance Lennoxtown Twechar
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 2
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Stage B: Gather information and views on the supply of and demand for provision
It is essential that a PPS is based on the best and most accurate and up-to-date information available about the supply of and demand for playing pitches. This section provides detail about how this information has been gathered in East Dunbartonshire.
An audit of playing pitches
The following definitions for a playing pitch and playing field are used within the context of the study.
Playing pitch – a delineated area which is used for association football, rugby, cricket, hockey and other sports (e.g. lacrosse, rounders, baseball, softball, American football, Australian football, Gaelic football, shinty, hurling, polo or cycle polo). Playing field – the whole of a site which encompasses at least one playing pitch.
Quantity
All playing pitches including potentially disused ones are included irrespective of ownership, management and use. Playing pitch sites were identified using data provided by East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture in collaboration with EDC. The process was supported by EDLC checking and updating the initial data. This was also verified against information supplied by clubs. For each site the following detail is recorded in the project database (is supplied as an electronic file):
Site name, address (including postcode) and location Ownership and management type Security of tenure Total number, type and quality of pitches A description and the quality of the ancillary facilities.
Accessibility
Not all pitches offer the same level of access to the community. The ownership and accessibility of sports pitches also influences their actual availability for community use. Each site is assigned a level of community use as follows:
Available for community use and used - pitches in public, voluntary, private or commercial ownership or management (including education sites) recorded as being available for hire and currently in use by teams playing in community leagues. Available but unused - pitches that are available for hire but are not currently used by teams which play in community leagues; this most often applies to school sites but can also apply to sites which are expensive to hire. No community use - pitches which as a matter of policy or practice are not available for hire or use by teams playing in community leagues. This should include professional club pitches along with some semi-professional club pitches where play is restricted to the first or second team.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 3
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Quality
The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for competitive play, training and other activity over a season is most often determined by their quality. As a minimum, the quality and therefore the capacity of a pitch affects the playing experience and people’s enjoyment of a sport. In extreme circumstances it can result in a pitch being unable to cater for all or certain types of play during peak and off peak times.
It is not just the quality of the pitch itself which has an effect on its capacity but also the quality, standard and range of ancillary facilities. The quality of both the pitch and ancillary facilities will determine whether a pitch is able to contribute to meeting demand from various groups and for different levels and types of play.
The quality of all pitches identified in the audit and the ancillary facilities supporting them is assessed regardless of ownership, management or availability. Along with capturing any details specific to the individual pitches and sites, a quality rating is recorded within the audit for each pitch.
The ratings are used to help estimate the capacity of each pitch to accommodate competitive and other play within the supply and demand assessment.
In addition to undertaking non-technical site visit assessments, using the templates provided within the guidance (a template is provided in the appendix), users and providers were also consulted with regard to quality and in some instances the quality rating adjusted to reflect this.
Developing a picture of demand
Current demand
Presenting an accurate picture of current demand for playing pitches (i.e. recording how and when they are used) is important in order to carry out the full supply and demand assessment.
Demand for playing pitches in East Dunbartonshire tends to fall within the categories:
Organised competitive play Organised training Informal play.
In addition, unmet and displaced demand for provision is also identified on a sport by sport basis. Unmet demand is defined as the number of additional teams that could be fielded were access to a sufficient number of pitches (and ancillary facilities) available. Displaced demand refers to teams generated from residents of the area but, due to any number of factors; do not currently play within the area.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 4
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Future demand
Alongside current demand it is important for a PPS to assess whether the future demand for playing pitches can be met. Using population projections and club development plans/ aspirations, an estimate can be made of the likely future demand for playing pitches in East Dunbartonshire. Current and future demand for playing pitches is presented on a sport by sport basis within the relevant sections of this report.
Consultation
A variety of consultation methods were used to collate demand information. Two open invitation forums were held to give clubs the opportunity to comment and voice their opinion on current provision and issues. Face to face consultation was carried out with key clubs from each sport (identified from Governing Bodies of Sport and local officer consultation). In addition, an online survey, converted to postal where required, was also utilised. This was sent to all clubs. A list of consultees is provided in the Appendix.
This allowed for collection of detailed demand information and exploration of key issues to be interrogated and more accurately assessed.
Stage C: Assess the supply and demand information and views
Supply and demand information gathered within Section B was used to assess the adequacy of playing pitch provision in East Dunbartonshire. It focused on looking at how much use each site could potentially accommodate (on an area by area basis) compared to how much use is currently taking place.
Understand how a site is being used
Qualitative pitch ratings are linked to a pitch capacity rating derived from guidance and tailored to suit a local area. The quality and use of each pitch is assessed against the recommended pitch capacity to indicate how many match equivalent sessions per week (per season for cricket) a pitch could accommodate. This is compared to the number of matches actually taking place and categorised as follows to identify:
Potential spare capacity: Play is below the level the site could sustain. At capacity: Play is at a level the site can sustain. Overused: Play exceeds the level the site can sustain
Develop the current picture of provision
Once capacity is determined on a site by site basis, actual spare capacity is calculated on an area by area basis via further interrogation of temporal demand. Although this may have been identified it does not necessarily mean that there is surplus provision. For example, spare capacity may not be available at when it is needed or the site may be retained in a ‘strategic reserve’ to enable pitch rotation to reduce wear and tear.
Capacity ratings assist in the identification of sites for improvement/development, rationalisation, decommissioning and disposal.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 5
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Section D: Develop the strategy
By completing Sections B and C it is possible to identify several findings and issues relating to the supply, demand and adequacy of playing pitch provision in East Dunbartonshire. This report seeks to identify and present the key findings and issues, which should now be checked, challenged and agreed by the Steering Group prior to development of the Strategy (Section E).
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 6
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 3: CONTEXT
3.1: National context sportscotland Corporate Plan: Raising the bar (2015-2019)
The document set out the plan and mission to build a world class sporting system for everyone in Scotland. It explains how such system will be built by working together with a wide range or organisations, ensuring that the people of Scotland have the support they need to find the right path in their sporting lives.
The system will form a key part of the Scottish Government’s new Active Scotland Outcomes Framework – and will help everyone in Scotland enjoy sport at every stage of life. To do this, a range of functions and services are set out, including:
Providing a range of sports expertise to Scottish Government to support policy development and policy delivery through our key activities and partnerships Leading, supporting and coordinating the key deliveries of sport whilst also strengthening and extending the relationships and interactions across the sporting system Investing National Lottery and Scottish Government funding Adding value to Scottish sport on the back of major events and our partners’ investments Delivering high quality performance programmes and providing expert support services to Scottish athletes on the world stage through the sportscotland institute of sport Offering high quality courses and training opportunities for a wide range of sports participants and people working in sport Collaborating with UK and international sporting systems to ensure Scotland’s ambitions for sport are well represented and well integrated at UK and international levels Understanding and promoting the contribution of sport to wider social and economic outcomes.
Active Scotland Outcomes Framework
The Active Scotland Outcomes describes Scotland’s the ambitions for sport and physical activity. They contribute to the delivery of National Outcomes and ultimately to the Scottish Government’s overarching purpose of creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all to flourish.
It describes the key outcomes desired for sport and physical activity in Scotland over the next ten years. Highlighting that success will rely on the collective efforts of communities, individuals and a wide range of partners. The headline measure of progress is the proportion of the population who meet the recommended level of physical activity. The outcomes include:
Encourage and enable the inactive to be more active Encourage and enable the active to stay active throughout life Develop physical confidence and competence from the earliest age Improve our active infrastructure – people and places
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 7
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Support wellbeing and resilience in communities through physical activity and sport Improve opportunities to participate, progress and achieve in sport
Commonwealth Games Legacy Plan 2014
The document sets out the aims and current successes as part of the Legacy for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It highlights that 50 national legacy programmes and counting have already been carried out. The Plan also identifies that £10 million Active Places Fund has already supported 64 projects helping to build and improve community facilities.
As part of the legacy for the Commonwealth Games, 150 Community Sport Hubs will be created across Scotland by 2016.
Giving Children and Young People a Sporting Chance 2014
This aims to make sport as accessible and enjoyable as possible in order to increase levels of physical activity for young people. It focuses on boosting participation in sport for pre-school children to further and higher education students.
3.2: Sports Governing Body (SGB) context
Scotland United: A 2020 vision
At the core of the document is the strategic pyramid, which sets the Scottish FA’s aims of winning, growing, funding, leading and supporting the game at all levels. Also set out within the plan are the four strategic goals designed to touch all aspects of the game:
Performing and winning Strong quality growth Better financial returns Respected and trusted to lead.
Supplementary goals and aims are set within each of these four goals over a five year period. Under the delivery of the strong quality growth area the level one goal is to double the number of registered players in recreational football. One of the supplementary goals in achieving this is to provide a more attractive modern game for all participants by 2015.
This will be done through:
Supporting clubs and local authorities with facility related projects and policy Rollout a ‘new season’ initiative (February to November) for all U18 boys football. Address touchline behaviour and referee mistreatment.
One National Plan: a vision for grassroots football
The vision of the plan is to grow the national game through developing improved performance levels (at all levels), to take the game to a wider audience and expand on the benefits, enjoyment and value football brings across the country. The six main objectives set out within the plan are to:
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 8
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Increase participation Create an attractive modern game Improve coach education and development Create a vibrant volunteer workforce Develop club and school football Produce more talented young players.
By 2015, the outcomes of the plan include 130,000 registered players, 600 Quality Mark Clubs, 14,000 coaches developed and 1,152 Talented Young Players involved in 36 2020 Development Centres.
The Big Pitch
This is the Scottish FA’s first facility focused strategy. It identifies many of the most common facility related issues across the country and what is required for new and improved facilities in the future. In it, it states that many grass football pitches are ‘not fit for purpose’ due to poor drainage, uneven surfaces and budgetary pressures. This can potentially lead to a poor introduction to the game for young players resulting in a loss to the game. As the first document of its kind, it is expected to evolve in order to reflect the challenges facing the game. Fundamental to the Strategy is the impact of local authority playing field and pitch strategies.
An emphasis is placed on synthetic turf pitches (STPs) due to the Scottish climate and substantial quantity of play taking place on natural turf pitches. Importantly the Scottish FA’s view on new SGPs is for surfaces to preferably be to a 3G standard as a minimum.
Inspiring Scotland Through Rugby: The Journey to 2016
The document sets out the vision and key aims for Scottish Rugby Union. It builds upon the previous SRU Strategic Plan (2007-2012). The Plan focuses on five core aspects:
Winning teams Thriving club game Increasing match attendance Increasing commercial revenue Improving the customer experience.
A key action under the aim of ‘thriving club game’ is to increase the number and quality of adult and age grade male and female teams playing rugby regularly in clubs across Scotland. Another related action is to support the delivery of school and university rugby. The need to support facility development across Scotland is also set out under the ‘customer experience’ aim. These are to be achieved by continuing to grow the game at grass roots through work with partners at clubs and local authorities. It states that SRU development officers across Scotland will assist in delivering these actions.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 9
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Scottish Hockey Facility Strategy
The strategy, completed in 2007 and updated in 2009, advises sportscotland and local authorities with regard to the placement and maintenance of facilities across the country. It sets out the purpose of the document as being to highlight Scottish Hockey’s (SH) priorities in relation to the continuation of existing hockey activity, the development of increased standards and amounts of activity, the location of facilities and the type of facilities needing to be in place. It also identifies the need for maintenance, access and management issues to be considered in order for facilities to achieve their optimum use.
A key principle for SH is development of a mixed facility stock within each local authority. This is in order to meet the diverse range of several sports and not just individual ones. The strategy states that sport specific surfaces, such as water based or 3G, should only be installed after multi-sport facilities have been provided (especially at school sites).
On a local level facilities are required for regular training and matches as well as contributing to the development of club and school hockey. They should also encourage people to play, coach, umpire and volunteer. In addition, the strategy details minimum and ideal specifications/requirements for facilities.
3.3: Local Community Planning Context
East Dunbartonshire Single Outcome Agreement 2014 - 2017
VISION
Working together to achieve the best with the people of East Dunbartonshire
Long-Term Outcomes
- We have reduced inequality and disadvantage across East Dunbartonshire - Our communities are more engaged in the design of services
Three year Outcomes
1. East Dunbartonshire has an expanding economy with a competitive and diverse business and retail base. 2. Our people are equipped with knowledge, skills and training to enable them to progress to employment. 3. Our children and young people are safe, healthy and ready to learn. 4. East Dunbartonshire is a safe and sustainable environment in which to live, work and visit. 5. Our people and communities enjoy increased physical and mental wellbeing and health inequalities are reduced. 6. Our older population are supported to enjoy a high quality of life and our more vulnerable citizens, their families and carers benefit from effective care and support services.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 10
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
3.4: Planning context
Scottish Planning Policy
Set out in Scottish Planning Policy 2014 (SPP) is the importance of outdoor sports facilities as resources for sport, and the need for them to be provided in sufficient quantity, quality and accessibility to satisfy current and likely future community demand. Paragraph 226 states that Local Development Plans should identify sites for new indoor or outdoor sports, recreation or play facilities where a need has been identified in a local facility strategy, playing field strategy or similar document.
Furthermore, the paragraph identifies that outdoor sports facilities should be safeguarded from development except where:
The proposed development is ancillary to the principal use of the site as an outdoor sports facility, The proposed development involves a minor part of the outdoor sports facility and would not affect its use and potential for sport and training, The outdoor sports facility which would be lost would be replaced either by a new facility of comparable or greater benefit for sport in a location that is convenient for users, or by the upgrading of an existing outdoor sports facility to provide a facility of better quality on the same site or at another location that is convenient for users and maintains or improves the overall playing capacity in the area, or The relevant strategy (see paragraph 224) and consultation with sportscotland shows that there is a clear excess of provision to meet current and anticipated future demand in the area, and that the site could be developed without detriment to the overall quality of provision.
Paragraph 224 states that local development plans should identify and protect open space identified in the open space audit as valued and functional or capable of being brought into use to meet local needs.
In a planning context, the Pitches Strategy is a component part of the East Dunbartonshire Culture, Leisure & Sport Strategy, and also relates to the Open Space Strategy and the Local Development Plan.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 11
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 4: FOOTBALL
4.1: Introduction
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) is the main governing body for both professional and non-professional football in Scotland and East Dunbartonshire. It has a number of affiliated associations that manage different formats of the game which are summarised below:
Table 4.1: Summary of affiliated associations
Organisation Role and responsibilities Scottish FA (SFA) The SFA is the governing body for the sport in Scotland, with ultimate responsibility for the administration and running of the professional game and strategic responsibility for the affiliated associations beneath it, as follows. Scottish Amateur FA The purpose of the SAFA is to legislate for, and to foster, the game (SAFA) of football as played by amateurs. It organises a number of cup competitions at national and district level. Scottish Junior FA (SJFA) The Scottish Junior Football Association aims to foster and develop the game of football among all junior clubs in Scotland. Scottish Schools Football The Scottish Schools Football Association oversees primary and Association (SSFA) secondary school football at regional, national, and international level. Scottish Women’s The Scottish Women’s Football Association was formed in 1972. To Football (SWF) date there are c. 4,000 players registered with the SWF. Women’s football is considered to be one of the major growth sports in Scotland. Scottish Youth FA (SYFA) SYFA is the governing body of youth football in Scotland. It is responsible for every day, recreational, grassroots football in Scotland and includes age groups up to (and including) the age of 21. Scottish Welfare FA Mostly concurrent with the SAFA, it oversees c. 500 clubs for summer and winter football.
Scottish Youth FA Review
The Scottish FA, in partnership with the SYFA implemented a player pathway in 2011 (mandatory) which has resulted in an increase in the small sided format of the game; providing a better transition through the system.
Playing smaller-sided games has been proven to give children an increased number of touches of the ball, while providing more goals and scoring attempts, more one-v-one encounters and a greater chance to attempt dribbling skills.
Predominantly this has led to smaller sided formats of the game being played on synthetic turf pitches. Across East Dunbartonshire, the majority of smaller sided formats of the game take place on synthetic and grass pitches (often with pitches being over marked across adult pitches).
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 12
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Consultation
An electronic survey was sent to all identified East Dunbartonshire football clubs. In addition, two open invitation forums were hosted so clubs could have an opportunity to provide feedback and opinions in person.
27 football clubs are identified as using pitches within East Dunbartonshire. A total of 16 clubs completed and returned a survey. A number of clubs which did not complete the survey are believed to not be from East Dunbartonshire and/or are identified as being single team clubs. This may be one of the reasons for such clubs not returning the survey. The results of completed surveys are used to inform key issues within this section of the report.
4.2: Supply
The audit identifies a total of 45 football pitches across 26 sites in East Dunbartonshire. Of these, 35 are available for community use. All pitches are identified as adult size with the exception of the pitch at Westerton Park which is identified as Youth 11v11.
A senior size 11v11 pitch is recommended by sportscotland at 120m x 90m (maximum) to 90m x 45m (minimum); average pitch size is therefore 100m x 60m (not inclusive of a 3m runoff on each side).
Accessibility
The club survey indicates that the majority of clubs (68%) playing in East Dunbartonshire rent pitches on a regular basis with the remaining either leasing (18%) or owning (14%) their home ground.
The survey reveals that 41% of players travel up to two miles with a further 32% travelling between two and five miles; a lower proportion (14%) of players travel over 5 miles. This suggests that in the majority of instances players travel locally to compete.
A few clubs, such as EDFC, Lenzie YFC and West Park FC, identify having teams that access pitches outside of East Dunbartonshire for matches. This is often due to a requirement to travel to a central venue as part of the league.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 13
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Figure 4.1: Location of football pitches
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 14
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Key to map:
Ref Site Area Community Grass use pitches 1 Allan Glens Sports Club Bishopbriggs Yes 1 2 Bearsden Academy Bearsden Yes 1 Kirkintilloch & Yes 5 Boghead Pavilion 1 Villages 6 Celtic FC Training Ground Lennoxtown Limited 3 7 Colquhoun Pavilion Bearsden Yes 6 8 Douglas Academy Milngavie Yes 1 9 Ferguson Pitch Lennoxtown Yes 1 10 High Park Pavilion Lennoxtown Yes 21 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Bishopbriggs Yes 3 13 King George V Pavilion Bearsden Yes 2 14 Kirkintilloch High School Kirkintilloch No 1 18 Luggie Park Pavilion Kirkintilloch Yes 1 19 Merkland Recreation Centre Kirkintilloch Yes 1 21 Milton of Campsie Pavilion Milton of Campsie Yes 1 22 Oakburn Pavilion Milngavie Yes 1 23 Rangers Football Academy Milngavie Limited 6 24 St Ninian's High Kirkintilloch Yes 1 25 Station Road Pitch Lennoxtown Yes 1 26 Thorn Park Pavilion Bearsden Yes 2 27 Tintock Pitch Kirkintilloch Yes 2 28 Torrance Community Initiative Torrance Yes 1 30 Twechar Pitch Twechar Yes 2 31 Waterside Pavilion Kirkintilloch Yes 1 33 Westerton Park Bearsden Yes 1 34 Whitegates Pitch Kirkintilloch Yes 1 44 Adamslie Park Kirkintilloch Site closed 1
The grass pitches at the Celtic Training Ground and Rangers Academy are not used on a regular basis. However some use of the STPs is available as set in the STP section. The grass pitch at Kirkintilloch High School is the only pitch not available for community use.
Pitch quality
The quality of football pitches in East Dunbartonshire has been assessed via non- technical assessments (as determined by PPS Guidance from national sports agencies). Assessment criteria consider elements such as grass coverage, evenness of pitch, line markings, goal posts etc. An example of the template used to assess provision is provided in the Appendix. Users were also consulted to establish their views towards quality of provision.
1 Second pitch on site undergoing drainage improvements at time of visit
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 15
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
The percentage parameters used for the non-technical assessments were as follows; Good (>80%), Standard (50-80%), Poor (< 50%). Pitch quality is used primarily to influence the carrying capacity of the sites. The table below summarises the quality of grass pitches that are available for community use.
Table 4.2: Pitch quality assessments (community use pitches)
Adult pitches Youth pitches Good Standard Poor Good Standard Poor 9 / 27% 19 / 58% 5 / 15% - 1 -
Three of the five pitches to score poor for quality are at school sites, these are; Bearsden Academy, Douglas Academy and St Ninian’s High School. None are used for competitive club matches. However, all three have STPs located on site. The two other poor quality sites, King George V and Twechar, are both in use by clubs. The Twechar site, where the EDLC pitch is poor, is run by a local community group. Subsequently EDLC has no control over the facility including the aspect of changing accommodation.
The one youth pitch identified in East Dunbartonshire is rated as being of standard quality.
In general, club consultation indicates that pitch quality over the previous 12 months has not changed. Over half of responding clubs (55%) believe there has been no difference in pitch quality in the last year.
However, a total of 23% of clubs were of the opinion that pitch quality has got slightly poorer; whilst 9% thought it had got much poorer. Only 5% of clubs report that pitch quality was slightly better than last season. The quality ratings assigned to sites in East Dunbartonshire also take account of the user quality ratings gathered from consultation.
A number of specific comments relating to the condition of pitches at sites are highlighted; as set out in the table below.
Table 4.3: Pitch quality club comments
Site Club comments Boghead Increase in occurrence of flooding. Drainage and upgrade work underway. Colquhoun Seems to hold more water than compared to previous seasons Ferguson Park Constant work needed as pitches are thought to be old. High Park Luggie Park Poor drainage. Merkland Uneven; grass grows in clumps with some bare patches. Dog foul. Oakburn Poor drainage and issue with open access nature of site.
Lack of appropriate drainage and flooding are the main reasons highlighted by clubs for the issues with current pitches.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 16
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Consultation identifies that the Colquhoun site had drainage works undertaken approximately three years ago. This, along with the natural banked nature of the site, means drainage is generally considered to be good. Thorn Park has also had drainage works carried out in recent years. However, the site does still suffer from occasional flooding.
The issues of flooding means clubs have to access STPs if grass pitches are unavailable due to adverse weather. Clubs highlight having to contact the Council to gauge availability of 3G provision (with EDLC being the main agency for booking the majority of grass pitches as well as STPs at Huntershill and Merkland). The absence of synchronisation between the two parties causes a problem as pitches are declared unplayable by EDLC on the Thursday, yet 3G pitches cannot be booked through the Council after 16.00 that day. Clubs therefore have to rush to find an available STP on a Thursday or face being left without a pitch to play on that weekend.
Clubs voice frustration at this fragmented approach. It is felt to make the booking process extremely difficult and that a more coherent, organised approach is required. It also reportedly means that clubs are keen to fill spare capacity regardless of location and often end up booking different facilities outside of the local area. The nature of STP facility use is therefore scattered and ever changing. More detail is set out in Part 7.
Ancillary facilities
In addition to assessing the quality of pitch provision, assessments were also undertaken to establish the quality of ancillary facilities (i.e. changing accommodation). An example of the template used to assess provision is provided in the Appendix. The table below sets out the quality ratings of provision.
Table 4.4: Quality of changing accommodation
Site Changing facility quality Exterior Interior Bearsden Academy Good Good Boghead Pavilion Adequate Good Colquhoun Pavilion Adequate Good Douglas Academy Good Good High Park Pavilion Good Good Kirkintilloch High School Good Good King George V Pavilion Adequate Adequate Luggie Park Pavilion Poor Good Merkland Recreation Centre Good Good Milton of Campsie Pavilion Poor Poor Oakburn Pavilion Poor Good Station Road Pitch Good Not accessed St Ninian's High Good Good Thorn Park Pavilion Adequate Poor Torrance Community Initiative Poor Not accessed Twechar Pitch Good Not accessed Waterside Pavilion Adequate Good
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 17
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Only four sites are considered to be of poor quality externally. However, two of these are rated internally as good; Luggie Park and Oakburn.
The only changing facilities to be rated as poor externally and internally is at the Milton of Campsie site. This is thought to be predominantly due to communal elements such as showers. The facility is currently having some refurbishment works undertaken to redress these elements. In general, the majority of facilities are viewed as good or adequate.
Clubs responding to the consultation were also asked to rate the quality of changing provision. A total of 41% of clubs view the quality of changing facilities as being poor; a further 23% rate provision as standard quality whilst 18% view accommodation as good. The remaining 18% of clubs do not give a rating for quality of changing facility.
Table 4.5: Clubs response to quality of changing facilities
Good Standard Poor 18% 23% 41%
Sites considered by clubs to have poor quality changing accommodation include:
Boghead Lenzie Academy Colquhoun Merkland High Park Oakburn Huntershill
However, the independent site assessments undertaken by KKP only identified Oakburn changing as poor externally, with the others above rated as either adequate or good.
The Huntershill site was not assessed due to it currently undergoing major redevelopment as part of the plans to provide a further floodlit STP on site. A new changing accommodation facility will also be built part of the plans. This will include 10 rooms with shower and toilet facilities.
The changing accommodation at Colquhoun is large (10/12 rooms) but considered by clubs as old and dated with communal showers. Despite being relatively new, provision at Boghead and Oakburn are also perceived as small. A number of clubs report incidents of vandalism within the last 12 months. Most relate to graffiti in changing facilities however other issues are also noted.
Table 4.6: Ancillary facility club comments
Site Club comments Oakburn Dog foul Colquhoun Copper pipes stolen resulting in flooding Merkland Astro surface and pavilion damaged. Goal nets are also constantly damaged. Thorn Park Graffiti. Ferguson Goal nets damaged (Clubs provide their own goal nets at this site) High Park Dog foul, litter and car burnt out and abandoned.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 18
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Grass Pitch hire and costs
The maximum cost for an adult pitch and changing facilities from EDLC is £45. Cost for hire of a single adult pitch with no changing facilities is £26. Although slightly higher than those in neighbouring local authorities and against the Scottish national mean charge for 2014/15, in general, cost of hire appears competitive.
Table 4.7: Grass Football pitch hire costs
Organisation Adult teams Youth teams East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust £25.84 £12.10 (Pitch Only) East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust (including changing facilities & for a 3 hour £44.65 £22.35 let period; 9-12 or 1-4pm) West Dunbartonshire Council £31.50 £15.00 North Lanarkshire Council / Leisure Trust £36.00 £18.00 (including changing facilities) Scottish mean charge2 - pitch only £29.71 £14.80 (per pitch per game) Scottish mean charge – plus changing £37.62 £19.07 facilities (per pitch per game)
Future development
As highlighted earlier, the Huntershill site is currently undergoing redevelopment as part of plans to provide a second floodlit STP on site. This will have a 3G surface and meet World Rugby 22 Regulations for contact rugby. However, the size of the pitch including run-offs will not be able to accommodate senior match play for rugby due to overall site space restrictions. It will be able to help meet demand for rugby training and potentially for some junior match play. The facility will also be available for football use. A new changing accommodation facility will also be built as part of the plans. This will include 10 rooms with shower and toilet facilities.
As highlighted earlier, the pitches at Boghead are having drainage and upgrade work being carried out before summer 2016. In addition, the changing facilities at Milton of Campsie are also having refurbishment works undertaken.
2 Charge based on 2014 sportscotland pricing research report
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 19
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
4.3: Demand
Through the audit and assessment, a total of 167 teams were identified as playing competitive matches on football pitches within East Dunbartonshire. This consists of 21 men’s, 56 youth and 90 mini soccer teams.
Table 4.8: Summary of competitive teams currently playing
No. of teams playing Adult Youth 11v11 Mini 7v7 Mini 5v5 21 56 69 21
The highest numbers of teams falls into the mini categories (69 + 21 teams), followed by youth (56 teams) and then adult (21 teams). A breakdown of teams by club is set out in the Appendix.
Clubs were asked whether there had been a change in the number of teams over the previous three years. The response rates for those which responded to the relevant questions can be seen in the table below:
Table 4.9: Change in the number of teams over the previous three years
Team type Clubs response Increased Stayed the same Decreased Adult 20% 40% 10% Youth/mini 32% 32% 16%
For most formats of the game, team numbers at clubs have remained the same. However, the highest increase is in the youth/mini soccer format. It is to be expected that this will, in time, translate to more youth teams, which is observed, and eventually more adult teams.
One reason that an increase in mini and youth teams does not always lead to an increase in the number of adult teams is that nationally there has been a trend of 11-a-side adult men’s teams decreasing due to many players opting to play small sided versions of the game instead. The way in which people, especially adult men, wish to play football is changing. People want to be able to fit it in to their busy lifestyle and the small sided formats and shorter games allow players to do this. Such a trend may increase demand for more access to STP provision.
A small percentage (10%) of clubs reports a decrease in the number of adult teams. Of those to report this, reasons given included a lack of, or loss of interest from, players.
Unmet demand
Unmet demand is existing demand that is not getting access to pitches. It is usually expressed, for example, when a team is already training but is unable to access a match pitch or vice versa, or when a league has a waiting list due to a lack of pitch provision. Unmet demand in East Dunbartonshire is expressed predominantly for additional training facilities by clubs.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 20
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
A total of 13 clubs indicate demand for additional floodlit 3G surface facilities particularly for training purposes. It is important to note that no training takes place on grass pitches.
Latent demand
During the consultation process a number of clubs identify that if more pitches were available, at their home ground or in the local area, they could develop more competitive match teams in the future (latent demand). The table below highlights latent demand expressed by the clubs that could potentially be fielded if more grass pitches were available.
Table 4.10: Summary of latent demand expressed by clubs
Club Area Site(s) Latent demand Pitch requirement Number3 Type Campsie FC Milton of High Park, Ferguson, Mini (4v4) & Youth 0.5 4v4 Campsie Milton of Campsie (7v7) 0.5 7v7 Campsie Milton of High Park, Ferguson 2nd Men’s Team 0.5 11v11 Minerva FC Campsie Rossvale FC Bishopbriggs Huntershill Various across age 0.5 11v11 groups Milngavie FC Milngavie Oakburn Approximately 10 1.5 4v4 across age groups 1.5 7v7 1.5 11v11 Harestanes Kirkintilloch Merkland U21’s and ladies 1 11v11 Amateurs team West Park Bishopbriggs Various schools Four teams at U12- 2 7v7 U9 Totals 2 4v4 4 7v7 3.5 Adult
Latent demand expressed for 7v7 and 4v4 pitches should be met by STP provision. The greatest need to address identified latent demand is for the 3.5 11v11 pitches. Both Rossvale FC and Milngavie FC suggest they could provide several teams across different age groups. For Rossvale FC a requirement of only 0.5 11v11 pitches has been identified as it is recognised that all other requirements can be met by the STP development at the Huntershill site.
Displaced demand
Displaced demand refers to East Dunbartonshire teams that currently access pitches outside of the Area for their home fixtures, normally because their pitch requirements cannot be met. This is usually because of pitch supply or in some cases quality issues.
3 Two teams require one pitch to account for playing on a home and away basis. Therefore 0.5 pitches can therefore be seen in the table where there is latent demand for one team.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 21
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Currently four clubs report having teams displaced i.e. playing outside of East Dunbartonshire. The u15’s and u18’s at EDFC play in Glasgow at Broomfield Park and Milton respectively. Both Lenzie Youth FC (u11, u9, u8 & u7’s) and Kirkintilloch Rob Roy (u16’s & u17’s) have teams playing at the Ravenswood Central Venue in North Lanarkshire. Furthermore, West Park United has an u21 team playing at the 3G pitch at Springburn Park in Glasgow.
Future demand
Population increases
Team generation rates are used below as the basis for calculating the number of teams likely to be generated in the future based on population increase4. It should be noted that increase in households through residential developments does not necessarily directly equate to a similar level of population increase.
Table 4.11: Team generation rates
Age group Current Current Team Future Predicted Additional population no. of Generation population future teams that within age teams Rate within age number may be group group of teams generated from the increased population Adult Men (16-45) 17,461 21 831 15,470 18.6 -2.4 Adult Women (16-45) 17,379 - - 13,469 - - Youth Boys (10-15) 3,842 56 69 3,396 49.5 -6.5 Youth Girls (10-15) 3,529 - - 3,201 - - Mini-Soccer Mixed (6-9) 4,574 90 51 4,112 80.9 -9.1
Future population projections forecast no increase in demand for football at any age group. The predicted decline in population within East Dunbartonshire indicates that the future focus should lie with maintaining the current level of provision and satisfying current demand expressed within the area. It is important to recognise that changes in population and household numbers do not always equate to people’s perceptions towards housing development.
4 Data source: 2013 Mid-year population estimates for Scotland
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 22
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Participation increases
Some clubs plan to increase the number of teams, mostly at the youth and mini levels.
Table 4.12: Summary of future demand expressed by clubs
Club Site(s) Comments Baljaffray FC Colquhoun, Bearsden Plans to add one youth team at Bearsden Academy. Academy Campsie FC High Park, Ferguson, Hopes to add two youth teams in the Lennoxtown Milton of Campsie area possibly at High Park. EDFC Merkland, Thorn Club has plans to add one youth team at Merkland or Thorn. Harestanes Merkland Looking to add a youth team (boys) at Merkland. Amateurs Lenzie Youth Lenzie Academy, Possibly looking to add two youth teams at FC Millersneuk PS, Boghead Millersneuk Primary School. Milngavie FC Oakburn Would like to add a senior men’s, women’s and four youth teams (3x boys and 1x girls). No new teams will be started yet as there is a lack of available pitches in the area to accommodate additional teams. Rosebank Waterside Pavilion, Looking to add one youth team. FC Tintock, St Ninian’s HS Rossvale FC Huntershill Plans to add three senior teams (including a ladies team) and eight youth/mini teams (5x boys & 3x girls). Will look to be accommodated at redeveloped Huntershill site. Westerton Kirkintilloch HS, Club has plans to increase by two senior men’s United Colquhoun teams and one youth teams (1x boys). West Park Kirkintilloch HS, Club plans to increase by two adult men’s team and United Bishopbriggs Academy, five youth teams (4x boys, 1x girls).
A total of 10 clubs report plans to increase the number of teams they provide. Most identify that additional teams will be accommodated at sites currently being used. West Park United, Westerton United and Milngavie FC all indicate plans to add extra teams but highlight not knowing where such teams will be accommodated.
Where quantified, the table above shows that clubs plan to provide an additional nine adult and 26 youth/mini teams, (including two women’s and five girls’ teams). Based on a home and away basis (i.e. two teams on one grass pitch) there is a potential need for an additional 4.5 adult pitches and 13 youth pitches. The number of youth pitches is likely to be lower as their matches can take place on STPs depending on the age of the additional youth teams that could be provided. In a worst case scenario, a third of the identified 13 youth pitches (four pitches) may be required as grass pitches.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 23
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
4.4: Capacity analysis
The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for competitive play and other activity over a season is most often determined by quality. As a minimum, the quality and therefore the capacity of a pitch affects the playing experience and people’s enjoyment of playing football. In extreme circumstances it can result in the inability of the pitch to cater for all or certain types of play during peak and off peak times. Pitch quality is often influenced by weather conditions and drainage.
As a guide, PPS guidance sets a standard number of matches that each grass pitch type should be able to accommodate without adversely affecting its current quality (pitch capacity). Demand is only based on match play and does not take into account training as it is understood that no training takes place on grass pitches. Taking into consideration the guidelines on capacity the following was concluded in East Dunbartonshire:
Adult pitches Youth pitches Mini pitches Pitch Matches per Pitch Matches per Pitch Matches per quality week quality week quality week Good 3 Good 4 Good 6 Standard 2 Standard 2 Standard 4 Poor 1 Poor 1 Poor 2
Table 4.13 applies the above pitch ratings against the actual level of weekly play recorded to determine a capacity rating as follows:
Potential capacity Play is below the level the site could sustain At capacity Play matches the level the site can sustain Overused Play exceeds the level the site can sustain
Peak time
The peak time varies for the different formats of the game. Most adult football is played on Saturday afternoons with some play occurring at other times. For Youth 11v11 the peak period is Saturday mornings.
Spare capacity
The next step is to ascertain whether or not any identified ‘potential capacity’ can be deemed ‘spare capacity’. There may be situations where, although a site is highlighted as potentially able to accommodate some additional play, this should not be recorded as spare capacity against it. For example, it may be managed to regularly operate slightly below full capacity to ensure that it can cater for a number of regular friendly matches and activities that take place but are difficult to quantify on a weekly basis.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 24
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Table 4.13: Football pitch capacity and spare capacity analysis
Site Site name Available Management Area Pitch Quality rating No. of Current Site Overused (+), At Pitches Match Comments ID for type pitches play capacity Capacity (/) or available in equivalent community Potential to peak period sessions in use? Accommodate peak period additional play (-) 1 Allan Glen Sports Club Yes Club Bishopbriggs Adult Standard 1 0.5 2 -1.5 0.5 1 Over marked on a rugby pitch therefore limited spare capacity 2 Bearsden Academy Yes School Bearsden Adult Poor 1 - 1 -1 1 2 Poor quality and access may limit usage by clubs 5 Boghead Pavilion Yes EDLC Lenzie Adult Standard 1 1 2 -1 1 2 Quality of pitch may limit genuine spare capacity 7 Colquhoun Pavilion Yes EDLC Bearsden Adult Good 6 5.5 18 -12.5 2.5 5 Spare capacity identified 8 Douglas Academy Yes School Milngavie Adult Poor 1 - 1 -1 1 2 Poor quality and access may limit usage by clubs 9 Ferguson Pitch Yes EDLC Lennoxtown Adult Standard 1 1 2 -1 0.5 1 Quality of pitch questioned by clubs plus no changing facilities on site. 10 High Park Pavilion Yes EDLC Lennoxtown Adult Standard 1 1 2 -1 0.5 1 Drainage improvement work on 2nd pitch (not counted) will also provide extra capacity. 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Yes EDLC Bishopbriggs Adult Standard 3 7.5 6 1.5 0 0 No spare capacity. Development of STP will help rectify overplay. 13 King George V Yes EDLC Bearsden Adult Standard/ Poor 2 1.5 3 -1.5 1 2 Poor quality of 2nd pitch limits amount of spare capacity. 18 Luggie Park Yes EDLC Kirkintilloch Adult Standard 1 0.5 2 -1.5 0.5 1 Spare capacity identified 19 Merkland Recreation Centre Yes EDLC Kirkintilloch Adult Good 1 1.5 3 -1.5 0 0 No pitches available in peak period 21 Milton of Campsie Yes EDLC Milton of Adult Good 1 3 3 0 0 0 No pitches available in peak Campsie period 22 Oakburn Yes EDLC Milngavie Adult Standard 1 8 2 6 0 0 No pitches available in peak period 24 St Ninian’s High School Yes School Kirkintilloch Adult Poor 1 - 1 -1 1 2 Quality of pitch may limit genuine spare capacity 25 Station Road Yes EDLC Lennoxtown Adult Standard 1 0.5 2 -1.5 0.5 1 Spare capacity identified 26 Thorn Park Yes EDLC Bearsden Adult Standard 2 2 4 -2 0.5 1 Spare capacity identified 27 Tintock Yes EDLC Kirkintilloch Adult Standard 2 0.5 4 -3.5 2 3 Spare capacity identified 28 Torrance Community Initiative Yes Voluntary Torrance Adult Standard 1 1 2 -1 0.5 1 Spare capacity identified 30 Twechar Yes EDLC/HLC Twechar Adult Standard/ Poor 2 1.5 3 -1.5 1.5 3 Spare capacity identified 31 Waterside Pavilion Yes EDLC Kirkintilloch Adult Good 1 2 3 -1 0 0 Limited availability in peak period 33 Westerton Park Yes EDLC Bearsden Youth Standard 1 - 2 -2 1 2 Spare capacity identified 34 Whitegates Yes EDLC Kirkintilloch Adult Standard 1 1.5 2 -0.5 0 0 Limited availability in peak period 44 Adamslie Park Yes Club Kirkintilloch Adult Standard 1 0.5 2 -1.5 0.5 1 Site now closed
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 25
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
4.5: Supply and demand analysis
Actual spare capacity has been aggregated up (highlighted as green in the comments column in the table above) by area and by pitch type.
Table 4.14: Actual spare capacity summary
Area Actual spare capacity (match sessions per week) Adult Youth (11v11) Bearsden 10 2 Bishopbriggs 1 - Kirkintilloch/ Lenzie 8 - Lennoxtown 2 - Milngavie 2 - Milton of Campsie - - Torrance 1 - Twechar 3 - EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE 36 2
The table shows a total of 38 match sessions of actual spare capacity. In addition, there are four sites which are available for community use but have no recorded play:
Bearsden Academy (one poor adult pitch) Douglas Academy (one poor adult pitch) St Ninian’s High School (one poor adult pitch) Westerton Park (one standard youth pitch).
Three currently unused pitches are located on school sites and are of poor quality. Each school offers community use in the form of clubs using their STPs. The lack of use of the grass pitches is, thus, likely to reflect their poor quality and possibly access issues.
Overplay
Overplay occurs when there is more play accommodated on a site than it is able to sustain (which can often be due to the low carrying capacity of the pitches).
In summary, four pitches are overplayed across two sites, by a total of 7.5 match equivalent sessions per week. As none of these are assessed as poor quality; overplay at both sites can be attributed to the large number of teams using them for matches (i.e. pitch quality is not impacting on capacity). In both cases the number of matches occurring at the sites is felt by clubs to reflect a lack of available pitches.
Table 4.15: Overplay summary
Site Site name Area Pitch No. of Capacity rating ID type pitches (match sessions) 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Bishopbriggs Adult 2 1.5 22 Oakburn Milngavie Adult 1 6
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 26
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
4.6: Conclusions
Having considered supply and demand, the tables below identify the overall spare capacity in each of the areas for adult pitches, based on match equivalent sessions. Future demand is based on clubs indicating plans to provide additional teams. Clubs indicating youth/mini team development plans for the 7v7 and 4v4 formats are assumed to be able to be served by existing STP provision.
Table 4.16: Summary of demand for adult pitches
Area Actual Demand (match equivalent sessions) spare 5 Overplay Latent Current Future club Total capacity demand total demand Bearsden 10 - - -10 - -10 Bishopbriggs 1 1.5 1 1.5 5 6.5 Kirkintilloch/ Lenzie 8 - 2 -6 - -6 Lennoxtown 2 - - -2 - -2 Milngavie 2 6 3 7 2 9 Milton of Campsie - - 1 1 - 1 Torrance 1 - - -1 - -1 Twechar 3 - - -3 - -3 EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE 36 7.5 7 -21.5 96 -12.5
The table above shows that overall in East Dunbartonshire there is spare capacity to accommodate teams using adult pitches both now and in the future.
There appears to be a current and future shortfall in the Bishopbriggs, Milngavie and Milton of Campsie areas. However, across East Dunbartonshire there are currently approximately 36 spare capacity match sessions (an equivalent to eighteen actual pitches). Taking into account current demand this reduces to 21.5 match sessions (an equivalent to 11 pitches) and reducing further to 12.5 (an equivalent of 7 pitches) based on club development plans.
Note that this does not take into account developments in 2015/16 such as the Huntershill site refurbishment, drainage improvement works at Boghead, work on the pavilion at Milton of Campsie or the planned resurfacing of the STP at Merkland in 2017.
There are evidently sufficient pitches within the area. The focus in East Dunbartonshire therefore needs to be on ensuring that quality issues at specific sites are addressed and that access to provision meets the current and future identified needs of clubs.
5 In match equivalent sessions 6 Clubs indicate a total of nine match equivalent sessions. Only seven can be aligned to an area
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 27
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Football summary There are 44 football pitches in East Dunbartonshire. Of these, 34 are available for community use Most (58%) of those available for community use are assessed as being standard quality, 27% are good quality and 15% poor. 167 teams play within East Dunbartonshire. Most matches for mini teams occur on STP provision. There are several sites where pitch and ancillary facility quality are poor. There is unmet demand from some clubs for additional training provision; normally this demand is for floodlit 3G facilities. Displaced demand is highlighted by three teams. Latent demand is expressed for seven adult teams plus 12 youth/mini teams. Future demand is most significant for youth/mini formats; a total of an additional 26 new teams is predicted. Conversion of these figures into demand for pitches is significant lower as most matches for them can take place on STPs. However, clubs also note the ambition to create an extra nine adult teams. There are 36 match sessions of actual spare capacity across East Dunbartonshire. Four sites in the area are available for community use but are unused (includes three school sites) Two sites are overplayed by a total of 7.5 match sessions per week as a consequence of the number of teams and a lack of access to pitch provision. There is a sufficient pitch provision to meet current and future demand. The focus needs to be on addressing site specific quality issues to enable current and future demand from clubs to be satisfied.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 28
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 5: RUGBY UNION
5.1: Introduction
Scottish Rugby (SR) administers development, coaching, governance and competitions in rugby union in Scotland. There are three main rugby union clubs based within East Dunbartonshire:
Allan Glens RFC Lenzie RFC West of Scotland RFC.
Club consultation
Each was given the opportunity to provide its views on rugby union provision in East Dunbartonshire via an online Sports Pitch Survey, hosted on the EDLC website and sent to clubs by email. All three clubs submitted a response.
5.2: Supply
In total, 16 senior rugby union pitches are located across nine sites in East Dunbartonshire plus one youth pitch located at Lenzie Academy. All are available for community use at some level, with the exception of Kirkintilloch High School which is not. Pitches are located across a combination of sports club, school and Council managed sites. NB: The audit only identifies dedicated, line marked pitches. For rugby union pitch dimension sizes please refer to the SRU guidelines.
There are currently no World Rugby Regulation 22 STPs in East Dunbartonshire. However, there are two developments in the area (West of Scotland RFC and Huntershill) looking to provide World Rugby Reg 22 pitches. More detail is provided later in the section.
Table 5.1: Summary of senior grass rugby union pitches
No. of sites No. of available pitches 9 16
Allan Glens RFC has three senior rugby union pitches. Two pitches are used exclusively for rugby union, whilst a third is also used for football. Located between the three pitches is a small cricket square which overlaps the outfield. The Club has two senior teams, five junior teams and five mini teams.
Lenzie RFC has two senior pitches, neither of which is floodlit. It has two adult teams playing on Saturday afternoons, five junior teams and five mini teams.
West of Scotland RFC is the largest of the three clubs in the area and plays at the highest level in the national leagues. It has three senior rugby union pitches with a covered spectator stand and a standalone scoreboard on the main pitch. It runs two senior teams, five junior teams and six mini teams
For a key to the map overleaf see Table 5.5.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 29
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Figure 5.1: Location of rugby union pitches in East Dunbartonshire
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 30
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Ownership/management
Both Lenzie RFC and West of Scotland RFC own their home grounds, whilst Allan Glens RFC has lease of the site. All three clubs are therefore considered to have secure tenure of their respective sites.
Three pitches across two sites are managed at by EDLC; two at Boghead Pavilion and one at Colquhoun Pavilion. Lenzie RFC and West of Scotland RFC both rent the pitches as additional sites to accommodate the large number of junior and mini teams.
Six of the 17 rugby union pitches in East Dunbartonshire are located at education sites. Only the pitch at Kirkintilloch High School is unavailable for use; due to limitations on the hours of use allowed for each grass pitch at the school each week – as stipulated by the school PPP provider. Curriculum use accounts for all of the permitted play on the site; therefore there is no further room for use by community clubs. Pitches at all other schools are available but are not, at present, used.
Pitch quality
The methodology for assessing rugby pitch quality considers two key elements; the maintenance programme and the level of drainage on each pitch. An overall quality rating based on both drainage and maintenance can then be generated.
The agreed rating for each pitch type also represents actions required to improve pitch quality. A breakdown of actions required based on the ratings can be seen below:
Table 5.2: Definition of maintenance categories
Category Definition M0 Action is significant improvements to maintenance programme M1 Action is minor improvements to maintenance programme M2 Action is no improvements to maintenance programme
Table 5.3: Definition of drainage categories
Category Definition D0 Action is pipe drainage system is needed on pitch D1 Action is pipe drainage is needed on pitch D2 Action is slit drainage is needed on pitch D3 No action is needed on pitch drainage
Table 5.4: Quality ratings based on maintenance and drainage scores:
Maintenance Poor (M0) Adequate (M1) Good (M2)
Natural Inadequate (D0) Poor Poor Standard Natural Adequate (D1) Poor Standard Good Pipe Drained (D2) Standard Standard Good
Drainage Pipe and Slit Drained (D3) Standard Good Good
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 31 EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
The table below shows quality ratings for each of the sites in East Dunbartonshire based on non-technical site assessment scores.
Table 5.5: Grass Pitch Site quality ratings
Site Site name Ownership/ Community Pitch Non tech Quality No. of Comments ID Management use? type score rating pitches (club use) Two rugby union pitches, one of which is used as designated training pitch. The Club reports that pitches have deteriorated slightly over the past Allan Glens 2 season due to lack of resources to facilitate Yes Sports Club Private/ required and regular maintenance. Grass cover 1 Senior M0 / D0 Poor Sports Club (Allan Glens RUFC) and surface drainage were highlighted as particularly poor Pitch 3 is a dual use pitch and is used by both the 1 Club for rugby and Glasgow Harp FC for football The pitch has had pipe drainage installed however the work was initially not done to an Bearsden 2 Yes - M0 / D2 adequate standard, requiring further drains to be Academy School Senior Poor 1 unused drilled. Grass cover fairly sparse and not really thick enough for rugby The School has two pitches which drain quite well Boclair Yes - as a slope carries water off. They are maintained 4 School Senior M0 / D1 Poor 2 Academy unused by the Council but line markings are reported as not being done frequently enough Lenzie RFC junior section reports that pitches have got slightly worse over the past season and Boghead Council/ Yes 5 Senior M0 / D0 Poor 1 that instances of waterlogging have increased. Pavilion EDLC (Lenzie Rugby Club) The Club also highlights littering and dog fouling as particular issues Boghead Council/ is the second pitch onsite; which is over marked 5 Yes Senior M0 / D0 Poor 1 Pavilion EDLC with one adult football pitch
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 32
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Site Site name Ownership/ Community Pitch Non tech Quality No. of Comments ID Management use? type score rating pitches (club use) Yes One poor quality pitch which is used as an Colquhoun Council/ 7 (West of additional site by West of Scotland RFC Pavilion EDLC Scotland Senior M0 / D1 Poor 1 Rugby Club) One senior pitch located very close the houses on one side and behind one post, which causes Douglas Yes- 8 School M0 / D1 disruption to play as balls frequently get lost. Academy unused Senior Poor 1 Slight slope carries water off and the pitch subsequently drains fairly well One senior pitch with use restrictions in place as Kirkintilloch part of school PPP agreement. School use 14 School No M0 / D1 Poor High School Senior 1 accounts for all of permitted play and therefore community use is not made available Small sized pitch only big enough for use by S1 and S2 pupils. Pitch doesn’t drain so well and Lenzie Yes- when relocating the adjacent long jump pit it was 15 School M0 / D0 Poor Academy unused Youth 1 found that nothing was draining out of the pipes. Considered as natural inadequate drainage as pipes are likely to be blocked Two poor quality senior pitches often subject to Lenzie Yes unofficial use and littering. The Club highlights 16 M0 / D1 Poor Rugby Club Sports Club (Lenzie Senior 2 grass coverage and the evenness of the surface Rugby Club) as notably poor Yes There are two senior pitches onsite, with a West of spectator stand beside the main pitch. The Club is 32 Scotland Sports Club (West of Senior M1 / D1 Standard 2 Rugby Club Scotland of the opinion that the pitches are good quality Rugby Club) and highlights no specific quality issues
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 33
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Ancillary facilities
All three clubs in East Dunbartonshire have access to changing room provision for home games at their main sites. West of Scotland RFC and Allan Glens RFC rate changing and ancillary facilities at the home ground as good and average respectively. Neither club highlights any issues or particular problems.
Lenzie RFC is of the opinion that changing facilities onsite are of poor quality and that this a key issue. It states a desire to increase participation to include girls’ rugby and believes that there is a requirement for youth and sex appropriate changing rooms in order to comply with child safeguarding procedures. Vandalism is also a frequent problem; examples include damaged floodlights, graffiti and motorbikes driven across the site.
Development
West of Scotland RFC is part way through the construction of an onsite, new World Rugby Reg 22 pitch. It reached an agreement to sell some of its existing land for a retail development; this included the loss of its third pitch by the roadside. Club funds alongside developer contributions will finance the pitch which is to be built on the opposite side of the site on the existing scrubland, including an access way and bridge. This new STP will not only provide a good quality floodlit training facility for all teams but also potential for use by other clubs in the area (subject to effective management).
Similarly the 3G STP development at Huntershill will be to a World Rugby Reg 22 standard. This will offer opportunities for rugby training and it is believed Allan Glens RFC is a key stakeholder. However, the pitch dimensions including run-offs prohibits match play for senior rugby, due to overall site space constraints
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 34
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
5.3: Demand
Demand for rugby pitches in East Dunbartonshire tends to fall within the categories of organised competitive play, organised training and casual use.
Competitive play
Three rugby union clubs in East Dunbartonshire run a total of 37 teams. There are six senior teams, 15 junior boy’s teams and 16 mini teams. There are no specific women’s or girls teams although girls are permitted to play within mixed teams at mini level.
Table 5.6: Summary of demand by analysis area
Club Team type Team No. of rugby union teams play Senior Juniors Mini Allan Glens RFC Club Sat PM 2 1 - Allan Glens RFC Club Sun AM - 2 - Allan Glens RFC Club Sun PM - 2 5 Lenzie RFC Club Sat PM 2 1 - Lenzie RFC Club Sun PM - 4 5 West of Scotland RFC Club Sat PM 2 1 - West of Scotland RFC Club Sun AM - - 6 West of Scotland RFC Club Sun PM - 4 - EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE TOTAL 6 15 16
Two men’s teams play senior league rugby At Allan Glens RFC. The junior section has five teams most of which play matches on Sundays and the mini section has five teams playing friendly matches on an inter-club basis on Sunday mornings. It has experienced an increase in participation in the junior section in recent seasons as a product of working alongside the local part time SRU club development officer to consolidate the delivery of the SRU primary schools curriculum.
West of Scotland RFC also has a strong youth setup, with four junior boys’ teams and six mini teams playing on Sundays. Its two senior teams both play on Saturday afternoons. It is one of the largest clubs in Scotland and plays at the highest level of the three clubs in East Dunbartonshire in the national leagues.
Lenzie RFC fields two senior teams playing on Saturday afternoons, alongside a strong junior section which consists of five junior boys’ and five mini teams which generally play on Sundays. It is eager to continue to increase junior participation and is working alongside Lenzie Academy to deliver the School of Rugby programme which will see pupils get regular timetabled access to qualified coaching. This allows the club and school to operate more coherently with regards to rugby union and may lead to greater interest and participation. No clubs in the area currently have specific girl’s teams but Lenzie RFC expresses a desire to offer girl’s teams in the future.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 35
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Training
At Allan Glens RFC all senior and junior training takes place on the designated floodlit training pitch. Senior teams train and older junior teams train twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday with matches played at weekends. Mini teams play matches organised against other clubs on a home and away basis – but infrequently. On the weeks when there is no fixture, mini teams continue to train on Sunday mornings and so use of the site is almost every week.
Lenzie RFC has a partially floodlit training area separate from the grass pitches on which senior training takes place two nights a week. Junior training also takes place here in the lighter months whilst throughout winter the junior section hires STPs at St Ninians High School and Merkland Recreation Centre. The site backs onto Lenzie Academy and both the Club and the School would like teams to train on the STP there. However, the lack of floodlighting on the facility means it cannot be used during the winter months when evenings are darker. The Club believes that there is a requirement for a World Rugby Reg 22 STP in the area to accommodate match play as well as existing training demand, particularly from the large number of junior and mini teams.
West of Scotland RFC trains at its home ground on a partially floodlit area between pitches. Senior players train twice a week whilst junior teams train once. Like the other clubs in East Dunbartonshire, mini teams play matches infrequently on a friendly basis but continue to train on the weekends where no fixture is arranged. A number of junior teams train at Colquhoun Pavilion on Sundays when there is no fixture rather than onsite but the Club believes there is a need for greater access to school rugby pitches on Sundays. In future it is likely that all training will be accommodated by the World Rugby Reg 22 STP which is currently under construction. This may also have the potential for further community use, particularly by other rugby union clubs although early enquiries from a number of football clubs are also reported.
Unmet demand
Unmet demand is existing demand that is not getting access to pitches. It is usually expressed, for example, where a team is already training but is unable to access a match pitch or where a league has a waiting list due to a lack of pitch provision, which in turn is hindering its growth. No teams in East Dunbartonshire identify existing unmet demand. However, all three clubs believe that the number of teams could be increased if access to more pitches could be gained.
Future demand
Team generation rates are used below as the basis for calculating the number of teams likely to be generated in the future based on population growth.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 36
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Table 5.7: Team generation rates
Age group Current Current Team Future Predicted Additional population no. of Generation population future teams that within age teams Rate within age number may be group group of teams generated from the increased population Senior Mens (19-45) 15,399 6 2567 13,782 5.4 0 Senior Women (19-45) 15,547 0 0 11,940 0.0 0 Junior Boys (13-18) 4,120 15 275 3,424 12.5 0 Junior Girls (13-18) 3,666 0 0 3,142 0.0 0
Future population projections forecast no increase in demand for rugby union at any age groups. The predicted decline in the population of East Dunbartonshire suggests that future focus should be on maintaining the current level of provision and satisfying demand expressed within the area. It is important to recognise that changes in population and household numbers do not always equate to people’s perceptions towards housing development.
Lenzie Academy has recently achieved School of Rugby status alongside Lenzie RFC where it already plays some school fixtures. This sees the academy and club come together to operate as one and requires the academy to field five teams. Pupils at S1 and S2 year groups get increased access to rugby union coaching as part of the school day through the School of Rugby course and it is likely that demand for rugby union at junior level will therefore increase. Lenzie RFC also intends to link into St Ninian’s High School and Kirkintilloch High School as part of the School of Rugby programme.
5.4: Capacity analysis
The capacity for pitches to regularly accommodate competitive play, training and other activity over a season is most often determined by quality. As a minimum, the quality, and therefore the capacity, of a pitch affect the playing experience and people’s enjoyment of playing rugby. In extreme circumstances it can result in the inability of the pitch to cater for all or certain types of play during peak and off peak times.
To enable an accurate supply and demand assessment of rugby pitches, the following assumptions are applied to site by site analysis:
All sites that are used for competitive rugby matches (regardless of whether this is secured community use) are included on the supply side. All competitive play is on senior sized pitches (except where mini pitches are provided). From U13 upwards, teams will look to play 15v15 and use a full pitch (smaller sided team sizes can be accommodated if required). Mini teams (U7-12) play on half of a senior pitch i.e. two teams per senior pitch. For senior and youth teams the current level of play per week is set at 0.5 for each match played based on all teams operating on a traditional home and away basis (assumes half of matches will be played away).
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 37
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
For mini teams, play per week is set at 0.25 for each match played based on all teams operating on a traditional home and away basis and playing across half of one adult pitch. All male adult club rugby takes place on a Saturday afternoon. Most U13-18 rugby takes place on a Sunday morning7. Training that takes place on club pitches is reflected by the addition of team equivalents.
As a guide, the RFU has set a standard number of matches that each pitch should be able to accommodate. Capacity is based upon a basic assessment of the drainage system and maintenance programme ascertained through a combination of the quality assessment and the club survey as follows:
Table 5.8: Pitch capacity (matches per week) based on quality assessments
Maintenance Poor (M0) Adequate (M1) Good (M2)
Natural Inadequate (D0) 0.5 1.5 2
Natural Adequate or Pipe Drained (D1) 1.5 2 3
Pipe Drained (D2) 1.75 2.5 3.25 Drainage Pipe and Slit Drained (D3) 2 3 3.5
This guide should only be used as a very general measure of potential pitch capacity and does not account for specific circumstances at time of use and assumes average rainfall and an appropriate end of season rest and renovation programme. The figures are based upon a pipe drained system at 5m centres that has been installed in the last eight years and a slit drained system at 1m centres completed in the last five years.
Education sites
There are six rugby union pitches at school sites in East Dunbartonshire. All are available for community use but presently unused. The exception is at Kirkintilloch High School where provision is not available for use. The nature of rugby union in the area is that clubs own or manage their own grounds. West of Scotland RFC reports a lack of access to school pitches in the Milngavie and Bearsden area on Sundays. All school pitches are assessed as poor and there is little potential for additional use without improving pitch quality.
Peak period
In order to fully establish actual spare capacity, the peak period needs to be established. Peak time for senior rugby union matches in East Dunbartonshire is Saturday afternoons with youth and mini teams playing on Sundays on senior pitches (although changes from the 2015/16 season will see at least half of youth matches being played on Saturdays). Therefore, the peak time for requirement of senior pitches is actually Sundays, but not for senior rugby as the majority of demand emanates from youth and mini teams.
7 From the 2015/16 youth rugby will be played on Saturdays for at least half the season.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 38
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Table 5.9: Rugby union provision and level of community use within East Dunbartonshire
Site Site name Available for Security Pitch Quality No. of Match equivalent Site capacity Capacity Comments 8 ID community of tenure type rating pitches sessions (sessions per rating use? (per week) week) Main pitch is used for senior and some junior matches on both Saturdays and 2 0.5 1.5 Sundays 2 Pitch 2 is used for both junior matches and all team training as it is partially Allan Glens M0 / D0 5.5 0.5 5 1 Yes Senior covered by some floodlighting Sports Club Secure (Poor) Pitch 3 is a dual use pitch and is used for both rugby union on Sunday mornings 1 1.25 + 0.5 0.5 1.75 and football on Saturday afternoons. Glasgow Harp FC play here, therefore 0.5 match sessions have been added to reflect fortnightly football use The pitch is mainly used for school PE and has no community users. The school Bearsden M0 / D2 2 Yes-unused Secure Senior has no rugby teams but has a development group. Two match sessions added Academy (Poor) 1 2 1.75 0.25 per pitch to account for group training and curriculum use The pitches drain well due to a slope which causes water to run off them. Both Boclair M0 / D1 are available but there is no demand beyond school usage and fixtures are 4 Yes-unused Secure Senior Academy (Poor) 2 4 3 1 infrequent. Two match sessions added per pitch to account for training and curriculum use Two senior pitches used by Lenzie RFC junior section for U18-S1 fixtures. One Boghead M0 / D0 5 Yes Secure Senior 2 2.5 1 1.5 of the pitches is over-marked with football; therefore some capacity for rugby Pavilion (Poor) usage is limited based on football use Colquhoun M0 / D1 One poor quality senior pitch used by West of Scotland RFC junior and mini 7 Yes Secure Senior Pavilion (Poor) 1 3 1.5 1.5 teams for fixtures and training The rugby pitch has a mild slope which allows water runs off and means that it Douglas M0 / D1 drains fairly well. No current community users, only school use amounting to 40 8 Yes-unused Secure Senior Academy (Poor) 1 2 1.5 0.5 minutes of training per week and one fixture every few months. Two match sessions added to account for training and curriculum use PPP stakeholder limits weekly usage on the pitch in order to protect quality. School use accounts for permitted match sessions and so no further use is available. The pitch is uneven and there isn’t much soil, causing rocks and Kirkintilloch M0 / D1 14 No Secure Senior boulders to protrude through the surface. One side backs onto houses and is High School (Poor) 1 3 1.5 1.5 very close meaning balls frequently get kicked over disrupting games. Approximately one school match per month and two training sessions per week. Three match sessions added to account for training and curriculum use Small sized pitch not quite suitable for senior play and only used by S1 and S2 pupils. Pitch drains poorly and the existing pipe drainage seems to have been Lenzie M0 / D0 compromised as discovered when the long jump pitch was relocated and nothing 15 Yes-unused Secure Youth Academy (Poor) 1 2 0.5 1.5 was draining out. Available for use but no demand as Lenzie Rugby Club is so close in proximity. Two match sessions added to account for school training and curriculum use Two poor quality pitches with poor grass coverage and uneven surface as Lenzie Rugby M0 / D1 indicated by the Club. Used by both senior teams and mini teams for training 16 Yes Secure Senior Club (Poor) 2 2.25 + 0.5 3 0.25 when not playing matches. Also used by Lenzie Academy for fixtures for S3 and older age groups. 0.5 match sessions added to reflect school fixtures West of Scotland M1 / D1 Two standard quality senior pitches used for senior matches on Saturdays and 32 Yes Secure Senior Rugby Club (Standard) 2 3.25 4 0.75 junior and mini matches on Sundays. No training on match pitches.
All junior play takes place on adult pitches and this has been added to calculate the actual play on sites. Team equivalents for training sessions taking place on match pitches have also been added.
8 Where university training usage is unknown two match equivalent sessions have been added to current play.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 39
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
5.5: Supply and demand analysis
Spare capacity
The next step is to ascertain whether or not any identified ‘potential capacity’ can be deemed ‘actual capacity’. There can be situations where, although a site is highlighted as potentially able to accommodate some additional play, this should not be recorded as spare capacity. For example, a site may be managed to regularly operate slightly below full capacity to ensure that it can cater for a number of regular friendly matches and activities that take place but are difficult to quantify on a weekly basis.
Only two sites show any form of spare capacity; Lenzie Rugby Club and West of Scotland Rugby Club. However, at both sites this spare capacity is small and therefore limited.
As noted earlier, a number of school sites are available but are not currently used by clubs. This is likely to reflect the poor quality of provision identified as well as club views in respect of the management of such sites. Without pitch improvements, use of these sites is likely to continue to be limited.
The lack of spare capacity on pitches (at schools and clubs) is a reflection of general poor pitch quality and a subsequent limitation in recommended pitch capacity per week. Limited maintenance programmes in some cases are also doing little to offset or compensate persistent use.
Overplay
Three sites used by community clubs are overplayed by a total of 11.25 match equivalent sessions per week.
Table 5.10: Sites overplayed
Site ID Site name No. of pitches Capacity rating 1 Allan Glens Sports Club 3 8.25 5 Boghead Pavilion 2 1.5 7 Colquhoun Pavilion 1 1.5
5.6: Conclusions
Allan Glens Sports Club accounts for the majority of overplay on rugby union pitches in East Dunbartonshire. It is overplayed by 8.25 match equivalent sessions a week in total although much of this derives from the four match sessions of training on pitch two due to the partial floodlighting it has at one end. All three pitches are of poor quality and this limits the number of match sessions available for use each week. Transferring training demand off competitive match pitches as well as improvements in pitch quality and subsequent available capacity would help to reduce the level of overplay onsite.
The STP development at Huntershill (which Allan Glens is a key stakeholder) may help to alleviate some of the overplay being caused by match pitches being used for training purposes.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 40
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Both Boghead Pavilion and Colquhoun Pavilion are each overplayed by 1.5 matches per week. Each acts as an additional venue to accommodate youth and mini teams, of which there are several at Lenzie RFC and West of Scotland RFC - the user clubs. All three pitches across the two sites are assessed as poor quality and the subsequent limitation in capacity is the key contributing factor in the level of overplay at each site. The Boghead site is currently undergoing drainage improvement works which will look to improve pitch quality.
Improvements in pitch quality through increased maintenance would help to reduce the existing level of overplay, as would transfer of training and mini rugby off match pitches and onto general grass areas.
Furthermore, the STP development at West of Scotland should offer opportunities to accommodate training demand from other clubs.
Rugby union summary 16 senior rugby union pitches (plus one youth pitch) are located across nine sites in East Dunbartonshire. All are available for community use at some level. Pitches are located at a combination of sports clubs, schools and council managed sites. The majority are assessed as poor quality. Two are standard and none are good. Lenzie RFC rates the changing facilities at its site as poor quality and highlights a desire to provide better changing rooms in order to accommodate girls’ teams. The three clubs in East Dunbartonshire field a total of 37 teams: six senior men’s, 15 youth and 16 mini teams. Only two sites have any spare capacity; Lenzie Rugby Club and West of Scotland Rugby Club. This is, however, limited at both sites. Three sites used by clubs are overplayed by a total of 11.25 match sessions per week. Most of this overplay (8.25 sessions) is due to the poor quality and training on match pitches at Allan Glens Sports Club. Overplay in general is due to the poor quality of existing pitches and use of some sites for training. Overall there are insufficient pitches in East Dunbartonshire to service current and future demand, signalling a future requirement for a further 11.25 match equivalent sessions. The STP development at Huntershill and by West of Scotland Rugby Club, both to World Rugby Regulation 22 specification, will help to meet training and match play demand. This should also help alleviate overplay at certain pitches caused by the need to train on them.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 41
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 6: HOCKEY
6.1: Introduction
Hockey in Scotland is governed by Scottish Hockey (SH). Competitive league hockey matches can only be played on sand based, sand dressed or water based pitches. Although 40mm 3G is considered suitable for some recreational and school use this surface is not suitable for club matches.
It is considered that a hockey pitch can accommodate a maximum of four matches on the peak day (Saturdays) provided that the pitch has floodlighting.
Club consultation
Western Wildcats HC is the only community hockey club within East Dunbartonshire. The Club submitted a response via the online survey.
6.2: Supply
There are three full size synthetic turf pitches (STPs) in East Dunbartonshire suitable for competitive hockey, of which two are sand based and one is water based. See STP Part 7 for full details on all types of STPs. A summary of hockey suitable STPs are shown below:
Table 6.1: STPs suitable for hockey
Site ID Site name Surface type Quality 4 Boclair Academy Sand filled Standard 8 Douglas Academy Sand dressed Standard 20 Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club Water based Good
Quality
Both sand based pitches are assessed as standard quality, whilst the pitch at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club is rated as good. The latter has recently been resurfaced as a water based surface.
Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club is the home to Western Wildcats HC which, as noted above, is the only hockey club in East Dunbartonshire. The pitch is solely used for hockey training and matches. It is, as a consequence of its refurbishment, relatively new and was part funded by sportscotland which contributed over £130,000 to the project.
Availability
All STPs suitable for hockey in East Dunbartonshire are available for community use at some level but only the pitch at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club is currently used for club hockey.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 42
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
The water based STP at Milngavie & Bearsden is mainly used for club training midweek and for matches at weekends. Its primary use is to provide for the facility needs of Western Wildcats HC as a section of the overarching Milngavie & Bearsden Sport Club.
Beyond this, the pitch is available for wider community use. For example it is available for use by schools and other clubs or groups. The pitch is used a lot throughout the week by clubs for training Monday to Thursday and there is a small amount of spare capacity on Friday nights and Sundays. The Club holds a long term lease agreement on the site until 2075 and is, therefore, considered to have secure tenure.
The STP at Douglas Academy is sand based but not currently used for club hockey. The School reports that it is available to hire 18.00 – 22.00 during the week. However the absence of floodlighting limits its potential use particularly during the winter months. The pitch is available at weekends but the lack of floodlighting would limit use to two or three hockey games per day. The School has a keen hockey interest and has a number of successful school teams made up of 108 girls and 20 boys, many of whom also train and play for Western Wildcats HC.
Boclair Academy STP is available for community use during the evenings and at weekends. However, the sand filled surface is principally used for football by both the school and local community. During the week the pitch is mostly used by football teams for training or school teams for fixtures. The school also reports that a limited amount of curriculum hockey takes place on the adjacent red ash pitch (as the ball travels quicker across the surface - which is preferable).
6.3: Demand
Western Wildcats has five senior men’s and three senior ladies teams playing regular fixtures. It also fields an infrequent Veterans team and ten junior teams, with five teams each at boys and girls level playing occasional festival style tournaments. The Club is strong and the premier teams in both the Men’s and Ladies sections play in the national leagues, having produced a number of international players over previous years. It has a similarly strong junior emphasis and has an active involvement in schools having received grant funding to enable the delivery of sessions to P4-7 children across five primary schools. It also has strong links to Boclair Academy which is a school with a keen emphasis on hockey and has a number of pupils which already play at the Club.
6.4: Supply and demand analysis
Milngavie and Bearsden Sports Club is currently the only venue accessed by the Club and it is able to accommodate all current demand without the need to access additional pitches. However, there is no spare capacity available on Saturdays and so any further growth at senior level will require use of an alternative STP or potentially matches to be played on Sunday if possible.
Demand for junior matches is infrequent and typically occurs on Sundays when there is generally spare capacity. The nature of competition means that teams tend to compete at tournaments held over one day which are hosted at a variety of other venues.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 43
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Both Douglas Academy and Boclair Academy are possible alternative venues, each located approximately three miles away (or less than ten minutes by car). The pitch at Douglas Academy is not floodlit which would reduce the number of start times available through the day and limit potential for use as an additional training venue in the evenings.
6.5 Conclusions
East Dunbartonshire is adequately provided for with regards to STPs suitable for hockey matches at present. Western Wildcats HC, the only club in the area, is effectively self- sufficient when it comes to facilities requirements, with unrestricted access to its own home pitch throughout the week. The Club reports having intentions to increase the number of teams but could not quantify by how many, though it was unable to field an additional sixth men’s team last season as was originally hoped. It believes that an additional training area may be required onsite in order to increase the area available for coaching and facilitate growth in membership. At present, the facilities onsite and the available pitches at school sites means there is sufficient provision to accommodate current demand.
Hockey summary There are three STPs suitable for competitive hockey within East Dunbartonshire, of which there is one water based and two are sand based surfaces Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club is rated as good quality and has recently (2012) been resurfaced as a FIH certified water based pitch. The remaining two sand based STPs are assessed as standard quality Western Wildcats HC is the only community hockey club in the area and fields eight senior teams as well as a junior section and several occasional teams; it plays at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club Neither Boclair Academy or Douglas Academy have any current community use The Club plans to continue to increase membership and field more junior and senior teams It believes that there is a requirement for a training area onsite in order to enable greater increases in participation and to be able to deliver more coaching to more people East Dunbartonshire is adequately provided for with regard to hockey STPs. Future demand from Western Wildcats HC may necessitate access to additional pitch space, particularly at senior level due to fact that there is no available peak time capacity at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club. Both Boclair Academy and Douglas Academy represent local alternatives should future growth create the need to access an additional venue, though the lack of floodlighting at Douglas Academy could limit the hours available for use
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 44
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
PART 7: SYNTHETIC TURF PITCHES (STP)
7.1 Introduction
There are several surface types that fall into the category of synthetic turf pitches (STP). The three main groups are rubber crumb (third generation turf 3G), sand (filled or dressed) and water based.
Competitive football can take place on 3G surfaces that have been FIFA certified and a growing number of 3G pitches are now used for competitive match play at mini soccer and youth level. Competition up to (but not including) regional standard can take place on a 40mm pile surface; otherwise the pitch requires a valid FIFA Two Star Test certification. Football training can take place on sand and water based surfaces but is not the preferred option.
As noted in the previous section, hockey is played predominantly on sand based/filled or water based STPs. Although competitive play cannot take place on 3G pitches, 40mm pitches may be suitable, in some instances, for beginner training and are preferred to poor grass or tarmac surfaces.
World Rugby produced the Performance Specification for Artificial Grass Pitches for Rugby’ more commonly known as ‘Regulation 22’ that provides the necessary technical detail to produce pitch systems that are appropriate for rugby union (this is also adopted by rugby league). The artificial surface standards identified in Regulation 22 allows matches to be played on surfaces that meet the standard. Full contact activity, including tackling, rucking, mauling and lineouts can take place.
Table 7.1: STP type and sport suitability
Surface Category Comments Rubber crumb Long Pile 3G (60mm with Rugby surface – must comply with World Rugby shock pad) type 22, requires a minimum of 60mm. Rubber crumb Long Pile 3G (55-60mm) Preferred football surface Rubber crumb Short Pile 3G (40mm) Acceptable surface for some competitive football Sand Sand Filled Competitive hockey and football training Sand Sand Dressed Preferred hockey surface and suitable for football training Water Water based Preferred hockey surface and suitable for football training if irrigated.
7.2 Current provision
The table overleaf provides a list of the current supply of STPs identified in East Dunbartonshire. There are 15 full size STPs in the Authority area, 12 of which have floodlights. Three do not have floodlighting; Douglas Academy, Lenzie Academy and St Helens Primary School.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 45
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Figure 7.1: Location of STPs across East Dunbartonshire
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 46
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Table 7.2: Full size STPs in East Dunbartonshire
ID Site name Ownership/ No. of Pitch type Management pitches 2 Bearsden Academy EDC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 3 Bishopbriggs Academy EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 4 Boclair Academy EDC 1 Sand filled 6 Celtic FC Training Ground Private 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 8 Douglas Academy EDC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 8 Douglas Academy EDC 1 Sand dressed 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre EDC/EDLC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 14 Kirkintilloch High School EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 15 Lenzie Academy EDC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 19 Merkland Recreation Centre EDC/EDLC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 20 Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club Sports Club 1 Water based 24 St Ninian's High School EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 23 Rangers Football Academy Private 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 29 Turnbull High School EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 35 St Helens Primary School EDC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm)
The most common type of surface is 3G, of which there are 12 full size pitches consisting of five short pile and seven medium pile surfaces. There are also an additional three full- size STPs in East Dunbartonshire suitable for hockey play; a sand dressed, a sand filled and a (certified Federation International Hockey) water based pitch.
There are also a number of smaller sized STPs (i.e. they are not full size).
Table 7.3: Smaller-sized STPs in East Dunbartonshire
ID Site name Ownership/ No. of Pitch type Management pitches 14 Kirkintilloch High School EDC 1 Sand dressed 19 Merkland Recreation Centre EDC/EDLC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 24 St Ninian's High School EDC 1 Sand filled 38 Millersneuk PS EDC 1 Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 39 St Matthew's PS EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 40 Torrance PS EDC 1 Sand filled 41 Wester Cleddens PS EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm) 42 Woodhill PS EDC 1 Sand Dressed 43 Craighead PS EDC 1 Short Pile 3G (40mm)
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 47
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
7.3 Availability
The table overleaf summarises the availability of STPs for community use in East Dunbartonshire. In addition, it records the availability of provision within the peak period based on information provided by each organisation during consultation. PPS Guidance recommends an overall peak period for STPs of 34 hours a week (Monday to Thursday 17:00-21:00; Friday 17:00-19:00; Saturday and Sunday 09:00-17:00). This has been applied in conjunction with findings from consultation to provide a total number of hours available for community use per week during peak periods.
Tenure of a site is considered secure if it is likely to be retained and available for community use for the following three years. Tenure is described as unsecure where there is some uncertainty with regard to the future of the site, potential development, or a change in policy or management.
Table 7.4: STP availability defined security of tenure
Site Site name No. of Community Security of Availability Average bookings Equivalent 9 ID pitches use? tenure? per week hours per week 2 Bearsden Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 23 17.25 Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 3 Bishopbriggs Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday : 10.5hrs 22 16.5 Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 4 Boclair Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday : 10.5hrs 26 19.5 Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 6 Celtic FC Training 1 Yes Unsecure Wednesday: 4hrs - - Ground Total: 4hrs 8 Douglas Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 15 11.25 (3G Football) Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs
9 Based on average bookings recorded for November 2014. A booking is equivalent of half an 11v11 pitch size for 1.5 hours.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 48
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Site Site name No. of Community Security of Availability Average bookings Equivalent 9 ID pitches use? tenure? per week hours per week 8 Douglas Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs (sand based) Weekend: 16hrs - - Total: 26.5hrs 12 Huntershill Recreation 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 18hrs 26.75 24.75 Centre Weekend: 16hrs (existing STP) Total: 34hrs 14 Kirkintilloch High 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 18 13.5 School Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 15 Lenzie Academy 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 8 6 (not floodlit) Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 19 Merkland Recreation 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 18hrs 13.5 20.25 Centre Weekend: 16hrs Total: 34hrs 20 Milngavie & Bearsden 1 Yes Secure On request - - Sports Club 23 Rangers Football 1 Yes Secure Unknown - - Academy 24 St Ninian's High 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 15 11.25 School Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 29 Turnbull High School 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 24 18 Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs 35 St Helens Primary 1 Yes Secure Monday-Friday: 10.5hrs 1 0.75 School Weekend: 16hrs Total: 26.5hrs
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 49
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Please note that the second STP at Huntershill Recreation Centre is not yet constructed. Subsequently no booking information is available for this pitch.
It is also important to recognise that the booking options at the Merkland Recreation Centre STP differ to other sites. Bookings are flexible in that they can be booked on 30 minute intervals with a minimum of one hour required (i.e. 60 minutes, 90 minutes etc.). In addition, the facility is booked out in thirds (for training/age group matches) or as a full 11- a-side. This has been converted in the table above to reflect hours of usage. At other sites booking are on a half pitch basis.
Availability of provision in the peak period is good. Where there is provision on education sites, this is generally made available after school and at weekends.
While there is spare capacity for hockey match play at Boclair Academy and Douglas Academy; a lack of floodlighting at the latter limits the number of matches particularly in the autumn and winter months. Reflecting this, the latter also has a slightly lower number of average bookings per week (15) compared to some other sites. No additional need for access to these pitches was identified as the STP at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club is currently able to accommodate existing demand from Western Wildcats HC onsite.
The pitch at Lenzie Academy has no floodlighting and so hours available after school are generally limited due to the lack of daylight visibility. The average number of bookings per week of eight reflects this. The school believes that this severely limits the potential for community use but opposition from neighbouring residents meant the school went ahead with plans for the pitch anyway with the future intention of working towards a solution for floodlighting. It is believed the option of portable lights is being explored.
The STPs at Bearsden Academy (23), Bishopbriggs Academy (22), Boclair Academy (26) and Turnbull High School (24) have the highest number of average bookings per week within East Dunbartonshire; reinforcing the popularity and usage of these sites.
The majority of STPs are located at school sites and bookings are generally managed by the Council. Club feedback highlights that the booking process is a key issue and limits potential STP use. If grass pitches are unfit for weekend matches they are called off by Fridays yet bookings for STPs cannot be made on Fridays for the coming weekend. This means, that clubs having discovered that their game has been called off, are unable to book a 3G pitch in time. The outcome is that games are postponed and people are not playing sport but also spare capacity on STPs at weekends is underused.
Another issue with STPs at school sites is booking logistics and timings. Pitches are let in 90 minute periods only. However, most mini and youth teams only require 45 minutes to an hour at most. Conversely, adult clubs report that the rigid nature of start times is problematic and that by the time they have access to the pitch, have set up and warmed up, a large portion of the allotted time has been used. In summary, clubs report that the booking process is the key challenge in accessing STPs and maximising their use.
STPs at Celtic FC Training Ground and Rangers Football Academy are used daily by the respective professional football clubs for both first team training and academy teams in the evenings, along with seasonal summer and skills camps.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 50
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Celtic FC Training Ground is subject to a service level agreement stipulating that facilities will be accessible to community clubs based in Lennoxtown (Campsie FC, Campsie Minerva FC and Campsie Black watch FC) on Wednesday evenings. The three community clubs have reported concern that this agreement is set to expire next year and should the arrangement not be maintained then it would mean a considerable shortage of floodlit training facilities in the Lennoxtown area (where there are no other 3G pitches). It is believed discussions are progressing in order to look to continue this agreement.
In a similar vein, the STP at Rangers Football Academy is also available for community use as agreed with sportscotland as part of grant funding contributed towards building of the site, though access hours are again limited.
Pricing and cost
All of the STPs in East Dunbartonshire are available for community use, yet it should be acknowledged that cost of booking may influence usage of certain sites and possibly causes some to travel outside of their own local community to access a site elsewhere in the local authority. For example, football clubs with a large number of junior teams can find it hard to identify capacity and pay for training slots for a high number of teams.
Table 7.5: Comparison of hire costs for East Dunbartonshire STPs
Site name Full pitch (per hour) Pitch segment (per hour)
Basic Concession Basic Concession EDLC Merkland Recreation and £50.12 £35.93 £32.70 £24.30 Huntershill Centres (one third) (one third) (full size) £56.58 £40.74 £28.29 £20.40 All EDC Secondary Schools (full size) (half pitch) (half pitch) EDC St Helens Primary School £49.82 £33.98 Unavailable (full size) EDC Primary School small STP £24.96 £17.02 N/A EDC Secondary School small STP £23.78 £8.76 N/A North Lanarkshire Council / Leisure £82.50 £41.25 £28 £14 Trust (one third) (one third) 3G STP (full size) (£66 weekend 2 hour match rate at NLL Leisure Centre-based pitches) City of Glasgow (full size) £47.45 35.70 unknown unknown West Dunbartonshire (full size) £69.18 £69.18 unknown unknown Scottish mean charge10 - 3G facility £52.47 £33.91 £30.44 £17.97 (full size) (one third) (one third)
The charge to hire a full size 3G STP (per hour) in East Dunbartonshire varies from £49.82 to £56.58. The cost of hire from the different STP providers is close although the
10 Charges based on 2014 sportscotland pricing research report
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 51
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
charge at secondary schools is slightly higher (£56.58). Concession charges for the hire of a third of a pitch in East Dunbartonshire are all above the Scottish mean. In general, prices are competitive in comparison to the Scottish mean charge of £52.47. They are significantly cheaper compared to the neighbouring authorities of North Lanarkshire (£82.50) and West Dunbartonshire (£69.18). North Lanarkshire offer a two hour weekend match rate for £66 for pitches located at Leisure Centre sites.
Key challenges
A large number of clubs in East Dunbartonshire state that the process of booking pitches and the administration of facilities is a key problematic issue with regard to STP hire.
Most STP bookings are managed by the Council as opposed to EDLC which is responsible for the majority of grass pitch bookings. This means that during the winter the majority of clubs call EDLC to find out whether their grass pitch is available for the weekend or if it is unplayable due to bad weather. Clubs highlight they are then have to contact the Council to gauge availability of most 3G provision. The absence of synchronisation between the two parties causes a problem as pitches are declared unplayable by EDLC on the Thursday, yet most 3G pitches cannot be booked through the Council after 16.00 that day. Clubs have to rush to find an available STP on a Thursday or face being left without a pitch to play on that weekend.
Clubs report this fragmented approach to be frustrating, stating that it makes the booking process extremely difficult and that a more coherent, organised approach is required. It also reportedly means that clubs are keen to fill spare capacity regardless of location and often end up booking different facilities outside of the local community – every other week. The nature of facility use is therefore scattered and ever changing, whilst the constant travelling across the area could be discouraging to some participants and therefore limiting club player retention and growth.
Another issue highlighted by clubs surrounds the confidence in lettings and the short notice of cancellation. A number of clubs report having frequently had lets cancelled by the school for events at short notice, often on the same day, despite the school not requiring use of the STP. Reports include music performances in the assembly hall or parents evenings which could present difficulties in access and car parking but do not require the STP to be made unavailable.
7.4 Quality
Of the 15 full size pitches in East Dunbartonshire, all are assessed as standard quality with the exception of Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club which is assessed as good. No sites are assessed as poor quality.
The carpet of an STP usually lasts for approximately 10 years. Most STPs in East Dunbartonshire were built as part of public private partnership (PPP) funded school sites as new within the last seven years. Only the STP at Rangers Football Academy is identified as being over 10 years of age.
Within the timeframe of this report it is likely that a number of STPs will reach their recommended lifespan and require resurfacing. STPs at PPP schools should incorporate
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 52
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
the need to resurface as part of their financial management. This further reinforces the importance of cost effective management and booking of STP provision from clubs.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 53
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Table 7.6: Summary of STP quality
Site ID Site name Surface type Year built Flood-lit? Quality Changing (refurbished) facility quality 2 Bearsden Academy Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2009 Yes Standard Good 3 Bishopbriggs Academy Short Pile 3G (40mm) 2011 Yes Standard Standard 4 Boclair Academy Sand filled 2013 Yes Standard Standard 6 Celtic FC Training Ground Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2007 Yes Standard Good 8 Douglas Academy Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2009 Yes Standard Good 8 Douglas Academy Sand dressed 2009 No Standard 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) Site currently Yes Standard Site currently being redeveloped being redeveloped 14 Kirkintilloch High School Short Pile 3G (40mm) 2009 Yes Standard Good 15 Lenzie Academy Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2012 No Standard Standard 19 Merkland Recreation Centre Short Pile 3G (40mm) 2006 Yes Standard Good 20 Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Water based 2012 Yes Good Good Club 23 Rangers Football Academy Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2001 Yes Standard Good 24 St Ninian's High School Short Pile 3G (40mm) 2008 Yes Standard Good 29 Turnbull High School Short Pile 3G (40mm) 2009 Yes Standard Standard 35 St Helens Primary School Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) 2008 No Standard Standard
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 54
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
A number of schools report specific issues with the quality of on-site STPs. Turnbull High School reports that its pitch is undulating and believes that this was caused by poor installation as it has always been that way. It is also reported to be too small due to the area of land available to build on. Areas of repair are present on the far side and the pitch does not drain well at times due to the presence of clay in the soil underneath.
Schools report damage to goalposts and equipment on STPs to be an issue. Almost all report frequent incidents of damaged goalposts, netting, or surface damage where goals have been dragged across the surface and in most cases not replaced. Schools highlight lack of accountability as a key factor; community lets may damage equipment but because it cannot be traced back schools has to foot the bill. In general, the condition of goalposts in reported as poor and it is more of a priority issue than surface quality.
STPs at school sites are generally left open throughout the day as they act as the designated emergency assembly point for pupils and staff. This means that they are susceptible to unofficial use during, for example, lunch breaks. This increases the level of use and risk of damage. Some schools do have staff supervise this use at break times but it nonetheless adds to the wear and tear on the surface and equipment.
7.5 Supply and demand analysis
In general, East Dunbartonshire is well served for STPs to accommodate both football and hockey demand. There is demand for a rugby union suitable surface in the area which is currently being accommodated on existing 3G pitches. This surface does not, however; allow for contact training and it is not, as a consequence, a facility suitable for the coaching of all skill aspects of the sport. In addition, the STP developments at Huntershill and West of Scotland RFC will also add to provision.
In relation to the number of football clubs in East Dunbartonshire there appears to be a sufficient number of STPs to cater for demand although availability is limited in some instances at peak midweek times. The key issue is not the availability of 3G pitch provision but affordability, costs and organisation. Location is another obstacle and the existence of historic bookings at local facilities means that clubs spread activity across the Authority, often making use of whatever spare capacity is available regardless of travel. A more coherent system partnering community clubs with local STP sites would allow for a more efficient booking system and help clubs to access spare capacity closer to them.
East Dunbartonshire is adequately provided for with regard to STPs suitable for hockey matches and training at present. As the only club in the area, Western Wildcats is effectively self-sufficient when it comes to facilities requirements, with unrestricted access to its home pitch throughout the week. The Club believes that a training area is required onsite in order to increase the area available for coaching and facilitate growth in membership but present facilities onsite and available pitches at school sites means there is sufficient provision in the area to accommodate current demand.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 55
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Local demand
Hockey
East Dunbartonshire is adequately provided for with regards to STPs suitable for hockey matches at present. All present demand comes from Western Wildcats HC which is currently able to accommodate all matches and training on the pitch at Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club as a self-serving club site. Should demand increase beyond capacity on this pitch, the two school pitches at Boclair Academy and Douglas Academy are available alternatives if required. Current provision is also enough to accommodate school demand, although Douglas Academy reports that start times for after school fixtures can be difficult sometimes due to the lack of floodlighting.
Football
Competitive football can take place on 3G surfaces and a growing number of 3G pitches are now used for competitive match play at mini soccer and youth level. Mini matches as part of the East Dunbartonshire Soccer Sevens Association take place exclusively on 3G pitches until players reach the 11 a side format at 13 years of age. Commonly used venues include St Helens Primary School, Douglas Academy, St Ninians High School and Kirkintilloch High School. All secondary schools play home football fixtures on STPs with none report playing on grass.
No adult football teams report using 3G pitches on a consistent basis as their home pitch, with most favouring grass pitches. This may be due to the comparative price differentiation and general good quality of grass pitches for matches. No training is permitted on EDLC grass pitches to ensure quality is maintained for match play. Use of 3G pitches for match play is on an ad hoc basis when grass pitches are unsuitable for use. It is common for adverse weather conditions to cause grass pitches to become unplayable for weeks if not months at a time over the winter season, during which demand for use of 3G pitches for match play is high. By contrast, the majority of schools play all football fixtures on STPs where possible.
Rugby union
Rugby union use of STPs currently extends to training sessions, though there is frequent use of the pitch at St Ninians High School especially by Lenzie Rugby Club. It has a high number of youth teams and reports existing demand for a World Rugby Reg 22 pitch in order to accommodate training demand on a surface suitable for full contact practice. It believes there is a lack of suitable facilities in the Lenzie area due to the lack of floodlighting at Lenzie Academy and that a Reg 22 pitch would benefit rugby union, football, Lenzie Academy and local primary schools.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 56
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Red Blaes pitches
There are several red blaes (ash) pitches or first generation all weather pitches in existence across East Dunbartonshire. A number of these transferred to EDLC.
Table 7.7: Red blaes in EDLC portfolio
Area Red Blaes Bishopbriggs Etive Crescent Hilton Park Huntershill Milngavie Lennox Park Oakburn Kirkintilloch & Villages Luggie Merkland Parkburn Station Road
Red blaes pitch sites have been purposefully excluded from the analysis as they are considered to be fundamentally poor quality in all cases, and blaes is generally no longer considered a suitable surface for sport. These pitches cannot be formally booked out and are hardly ever used; such is the lack of demand for this surface which is considered by most teams to be unsafe, unsuitable and undesirable particularly given the large number of 3G pitches in the area.
In addition, the majority of red blaes pitches remain on primary schools sites. This is of particular concern as the surface is generally considered not safe for young children. This is likely to impact on enjoyment and interest in PE and physical activity within schoolchildren from an early age, potentially influencing attitudes towards future participation. Due to the lack of demand, it would be advised that any potential for development of red blaes pitches at suitable sites should be considered where possible.
Should any proposals come forward for the disposal and redevelopment of red blaes pitches, or indeed any other pitch sites, sportscotland would be a statutory consultee and the requirements of Scottish Planning Policy paragraph 226 would apply in relation to the need for pitch compensation/replacement.
There is an opportunity for any disposal of red blaes pitches to provide developer contribution monies towards the upgrade of other pitch provision. This could be particularly relevant as part of the Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP); designed to tackle under-occupancy and ensure the primary estate is efficient and fit for purpose whilst maximising the additional opportunities constructing new schools can bring.
New developments
West of Scotland RFC is part way through development of a World Rugby Reg 22 pitch onsite. In 2014 the Club agreed to the sale of some of its existing land to enable a Waitrose store to be built on the current training pitch, with developer contributions helping to fund re- provision in the form of a Reg 22 pitch on the scrubland on the other side of the site.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 57
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH ASSESSMENT
Similarly the 3G STP development at Huntershill will be to a World Rugby Reg 22 standard. This will offer opportunities for rugby training. However, the pitch dimensions mean match play for senior rugby will not be possible due to overall site space constraints.
STP summary There are 15 full size STPs in East Dunbartonshire comprising 12 3G surfaces, two sand based surfaces and one water based surface. The latter is an FIH certified hockey pitch. Availability of provision in the peak period is generally good. Provision on education is generally made available after school and at weekends. However, spare capacity is noticeably at hard to let times such as Friday nights. Pitches at Celtic FC and Rangers FC training grounds have limited community access All pitches are assessed as standard quality, with the exception of Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Club which is assessed as good. Almost all pitches were installed within the last eight years and none require imminent surface replacement. However within a few years several will reach the limit of the recommended lifespan for carpet replacement. The booking process and coordination between EDLC and the Council is a key issue. A more coherent approach would ensure that clubs can access spare capacity on 3G pitches at weekends to maximise levels of play East Dunbartonshire is well served with both football and hockey STPs, whilst there is unmet demand identified for an artificial surface to accommodate rugby union training. Work is underway on construction of a new Regulation 22 STP at West of Scotland RFC to re-provide for one grass pitch which was sold to enable a supermarket development. The development at Huntershill will also include a 3G STP. The combination of these should address the unmet demand identified above.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 58
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
PART 8: EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE STRATEGY
8.1 Draft general recommendations
Issue Recommended actions Responsible Outcomes Timescales S – Short(1-2 years) M – Med (2-3 years) L – Long (3-5years)
Strategic Data & Overview Implementation of the Strategy. Steering Group to become a working EDC (Education, Improved planning and delivery of On-going for 5 year ‘Strategy Implementation and Review Neighbourhood, pitch provision and management. duration of Strategy Group’ (SIR) to address issue of inter- Development & Improved user experience. (with periodic agency strategic co-ordination Regeneration More flexible & efficient use of ED reviews, at six Services) Pitches months, one-year EDLC, then twice yearly) sportscotland SGBs as appropriate
Accompanying the Sports Pitch Strategy is a EDC and EDLC identify and allocate EDC/EDLC At any given time, the playing pitch 2016 first year database containing information on outdoor resources to the maintenance of database database provides a reliably review and sports pitch facilities sites and users. It is records and identify the process and timing accurate picture of supply of and reviewed annually essential that this database is kept up to date required to carry this out demand for outdoor sports facilities thereafter in order that EDC and EDLC can strategically in East Dunbartonshire plan in the medium to long term and respond appropriately to enquiries, funding opportunities etc
Management of Pitches
Different management regimes in operation Single/unified management regime in East EDC/EDLC One stop service for pitch user S across pitch providers Dunbartonshire for pitch programming groups. Greater clarity of understanding regarding pitch supply and demand patterns
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 59
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Issue Recommended actions Responsible Outcomes Timescales S – Short(1-2 years) M – Med (2-3 years) L – Long (3-5years) Users can be unaware of the range of sites Provide more holistic site information EDC/EDLC Better awareness of pitch sites S available to book whether EDC or EDLC required assisting in the deployment of available from a user and provider managed. This results in high demand for the pitch bookings across EDC and EDLC perspective. most popular/well known sites whilst some managed sites. Avoidance of waiting lists for pitches smaller sites have spare capacity There is no prioritisation of pitch booking Produce strategic guidance for EDC and EDC and EDLC Maximise use of the entire pitch S requests within EDC Schools Lettings system EDLC to use to allocate playing pitch SGBs as stock. to recognise strategic development clubs that facilities in East Dunbartonshire appropriate Support key clubs in East may for example be club accredited by the Dunbartonshire SGB or via ED MOR Club Scheme. Similarly Provision of appropriate age and there is no specific consideration on age and stage activity across ED provision stage development, e.g. younger age group bookings prioritised into early evening timeslots
Current separate booking procedures not Create single/connected database for pitch EDC/EDLC Maximise use of entire pitch stock S maximising use of pitch stock at peak time. If bookings/availability. Better community awareness of certain sites fully booked Clubs are not always Review booking procedures in order to facilities available aware of/directed to alternative sites streamline process and avoid waiting lists
Charging regimes are inconsistent, creating Harmonisation of prices across providers EDC/EDLC Parity of pricing for like-for-like S unclear pricing picture for users INSPIRED facilities Improved clarity for users
Restricted access to/cost of Schools -based Harmonisation of prices across providers EDC/EDLC Parity of charging for Clubs for S synthetic pitches INSPIRED STPs Improved clarity for users
Schools-based Synthetic Pitches half-pitch Consider one-third pitch standard industry EDC More ED Clubs teams can train at S booking allocation format restricts available allocation at Schools each venue week on week capacity for club development
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 60
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Issue Recommended actions Responsible Outcomes Timescales S – Short(1-2 years) M – Med (2-3 years) L – Long (3-5years) EDC and EDLC have different serial let Agree common policy and practice as part EDC/EDLC Parity of arrangement to provide S policies and practice (EDC annual & EDLC of unified management regime clarity for Clubs every 6 months), creating lack of clarity for users Pitch inspection timings/call off procedures for Closer co-ordination and improved EDC/EDLC Clubs experience seamless service S grass pitches causes scramble for pitches procedures to resolve the issue for the long to secure them a match pitch. close to match day term
Pitches Upgrading & Maintenance
Sites identified as requiring investment to Develop prioritisation process for informing EDC/EDLC Planned programme of pitch S-M upgrade their rating from Poor to Standard as the EDC Capital Programme process and improvements within capital minimum, need to be targeted for support via external funding sources programme capital programme and external funding sources Supporting Development Larger scale Clubs seeking to consolidate Work with Football Forum and Rugby Sports specific Clubs based at ‘Home’ venues S-M activity on single or small number of sites Development Groups to identify hub sites Development enabling them to concentrate on or single club venues Groups and the developing their sport rather than SIR Group. sourcing venues
8.2 Draft site specific recommendations
The following pages set out the site specific recommendations for each site across East Dunbartonshire. Information presented is based on the supply and demand analysis as part of the Assessment Report.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 61
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Site ID Site name Area Management No. of Pitch Pitch Overused (+), At Comments/Issues Proposed draft Recommendations Responsibility pitches type Quality Capacity (/) or rating Potential to Accommodate additional play (-) BISHOPBRIGGS
1 Allan Glens Sports Club Bishopbriggs Club 1 Adult Standard -1.5 Over marked on a rugby pitch therefore Improve pitch quality Football grass limited spare capacity Potential developer contributions to Club, Developer, EDC upgrade the 2 grass pitches Planning, 1 Allan Glens Sports Club Bishopbriggs Club 2 Rugby 1x Adult 1.5 Rugby pitches rated poor quality grass Poor 1 x 5 Junior grass 3 Bishopbriggs Academy Bishopbriggs EDC/School 1 STP Short Standard 26.5 hours available; Spare capacity, mostly Continue availability of STP for EDC Pile 3G 16.5 hours booked outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use. 12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Bishopbriggs EDLC 3 Adult Standard 1.5 No spare capacity. Current 2 pitches will Progress current STP capital EDLC, EDC, Football grass reduce to 1 when STP built. development to implementation.
12 Huntershill Recreation Centre Bishopbriggs EDLC 1 STP 3G Good Unknown. 2nd STP Capital Programme funded development Progress current STP capital EDLC/EDC (Planned) currently under at design and build stage development of STP to construction. implementation. 1 smaller Med Standard 26.75 hours STP on pile 3G available; 24.75 site hours booked 29 Turnbull High School Bishopbriggs EDC/School 1 STP Short Standard 26.5 hours available; Issue of drainage Investigate drainage. EDC Pile 3G 18 hours booked Spare capacity mostly Continue availability of STP for outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use.
35 St Helens Primary School Bishopbriggs EDC/School 1 STP Med Standard Monday-Friday: Full size not floodlit. Booking uptake is for Investigate potential for additional EDC Pile 3G 10.5hrs Saturday match play bookings Weekend: 16hrs 4hrs booked
Bearsden & Milngavie
2 Bearsden Academy Bearsden EDC/School 1 Adult Poor -1 Poor quality and access is may limit usage Further drainage improvements and EDC Football grass by clubs increased grass cover required
2 Bearsden Academy Bearsden EDC/School 1 Rugby Adult 0.25 EDC grass
2 Bearsden Academy Bearsden EDC/School 1 STP Med Standard 26.5 hours available; Spare capacity mostly Continue availability of STP for EDC Pile 3G 17.25 hours booked outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use.
4 Boclair Academy Bearsden EDC/School 2 Adult Poor N/A Both pitches drain well. EDC line marking Investigate reason for infrequent EDC Football grass (grass pitches not infrequent marking booked for community use) 4 Boclair Academy Bearsden EDC/School 1 STP Sand Standard 26.5 hours available; Spare capacity mostly Continue availability of STP for EDC Filled 19.5 hours booked outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use. 2G
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 62
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Site ID Site name Area Management No. of Pitch Pitch Overused (+), At Comments/Issues Proposed draft Recommendations Responsibility pitches type Quality Capacity (/) or rating Potential to Accommodate additional play (-) 7 Colquhoun Pavilion Bearsden EDLC 6 Adult Good -12.5 Spare capacity identified Transfer adjacent demand from EDLC Football grass Poor overplayed sites to Colquhoun 1 Rugby Improve pitch quality EDLC/EDC
1.5
13 King George V Bearsden EDLC 2 Adult Standard -1.5 Poor quality of 2nd pitch limits amount of Consider for targeted investment via EDLC Football grass & Poor spare capacity. capital programme / external funding
33 Westerton Park Bearsden EDLC 1 Youth Standard -2 Spare capacity identified Signpost Clubs to underplayed site EDLC Football grass 26 Thorn Park Bearsden EDLC 2 Adult Standard -2 Spare capacity identified Signpost Clubs to underplayed site EDLC Football grass
8 Douglas Academy Milngavie EDC/School 1 Adult Poor -1 Poor quality and access may limit usage by Consider for targeted investment via EDC Football grass clubs capital programme / external funding, if demand for access merits action.
1 Rugby Poor 0.5 8 Douglas Academy Milngavie EDC/School 2 STP 1 Med Standard 26.5 hours available; Pitch being refurbished Continue availability of STP for EDC Pile 3G 11.25 hours booked Spare capacity mostly community use & 1 outwith Mon- Thursday evenings Sand Dressed 2G 20 Milngavie & Bearsden Sports Milngavie Club 1 STP Water Good Data unavailable Recent conversion to FIH spec surface Retain provision for Hockey. Douglas Club Club Based and Boclair Academies considered as EDC alternative overspill venues Scottish Hockey 22 Oakburn Milngavie EDLC 1 Adult Standard 6 No pitches available in peak period Redirect overplay to underplayed EDLC/EDC Football grass sites locally including access to school STPs and/or grass pitches 32 West Of Scotland Rugby Club Bearsden Club 2 Rugby Adult Standard 0.75 Club progressing new World Rugby STP World Rugby STP will address issues Club grass of capacity Kirkintilloch, Lenzie & Villages
14 Kirkintilloch High School Kirkintilloch / EDC/School 1 Rugby Adult Poor 1.5 No community access to grass pitch. Pitch Consider for targeted investment via EDC Lenzie grass uneven with rocks/stones protruding. capital programme / external funding, if demand for access merits action. 14 Kirkintilloch High School Kirkintilloch EDC/School 1 STP Short Standard 26.5 hours available; Spare capacity mostly Continue availability of STP for EDC Pile 3G 13.5 hours booked outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use.
15 Lenzie Academy Kirkintilloch EDC/School 1 Rugby Junior Poor 1.5 Poor ineffective drainage Consider for targeted investment via EDC grass capital programme / external funding, if demand for access merits action.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 63
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Site ID Site name Area Management No. of Pitch Pitch Overused (+), At Comments/Issues Proposed draft Recommendations Responsibility pitches type Quality Capacity (/) or rating Potential to Accommodate additional play (-) 15 Lenzie Academy Kirkintilloch EDC/School 1 STP Med Standard 26.5 hours available; No floodlighting at pitch. Only non-adult EDC Lettings, Academy and EDC Pile 3G 6 hours booked team bookings taken. Play currently community clubs to consider/develop finishes 8pm latest. Potential of portable proposals, and progress through floodlighting to extend usable hours under relevant approvals processes. discussion. 16 Lenzie Rugby Club Kirkintilloch Club 2 Rugby Adult Poor 0.25 Rugby Club has been in dialogue with Consider for targeted investment via Club grass Council departments regarding potential capital programme / external funding. EDC partnership approach to development Further investigate the developing of links between School of Rugby, Rugby Club and new build Primary School programmes 18 Luggie Park Kirkintilloch EDLC 1 Adult Standard -1.5 Spare capacity identified Consider development options for EDLC/EDC Football Grass Level floodlit red ash pitch on site floodlit red ash pitch and (1 compensation upgrades at local grass pitches Floodlit Red Red Ash) Ash 19 Merkland Recreation Centre Kirkintilloch EDLC 1 Adult Good -1.5 No pitches available in peak periods. Full size STP surface scheduled for EDLC Football Grass replacement 2017 7s and 5s pitches on site also. Short 34 hours available; 1 STP Pile 3G Standard 20.25 hours booked
24 St Ninian’s High School Kirkintilloch EDC/School 1 Adult Poor -1 Quality of pitch may limit genuine spare Consider for targeted investment via EDC Football grass capacity capital programme / external funding, if demand for access merits action. 24 St Ninian’s High School Kirkintilloch EDC/School 1 STP Short Standard 26.5 hours available; Spare capacity mostly Continue availability of STP for EDC Pile 3G 11.25 hours booked outwith Mon- Thursday evenings community use.
27 Tintock Kirkintilloch EDLC 2 Adult Standard -3.5 Spare capacity identified Signpost Clubs to underplayed site. EDLC Football grass (Changing is at Merkland) Changing facilities may limit interest.
31 Waterside Pavilion Kirkintilloch EDLC 1 Adult Good -1 Limited availability in peak periods Retain current quality EDLC Football grass 34 Whitegates Kirkintilloch EDLC 1 Adult Standard -0.5 Limited availability in peak periods As minimum retain current quality or EDLC Football grass long term look to improve quality 44 Adamsile Park Kirkintilloch Club 1 Adult Standard -1.5 Site now closed Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club EDC Football grass is successor Project
5 Boghead Pavilion Kirkintilloch / EDLC 1 Adult Standard -1 Quality of pitch may limit genuine spare Currently being addressed by EDLC/EDC Lenzie Football grass capacity drainage works to be delivered by 2 Rugby Drainage works required Summer 2016 1.5 (one is Poor (works to Football pitch and both combined sports pitch) Football & Rugby)
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 64
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY
Site ID Site name Area Management No. of Pitch Pitch Overused (+), At Comments/Issues Proposed draft Recommendations Responsibility pitches type Quality Capacity (/) or rating Potential to Accommodate additional play (-) 6 Celtic FC Training Ground Lennoxtown Private 1 STP Med Good Community access Access Agreement with EDC currently Negotiations to continue access EDC (Kirkintilloch Pile 3G agreement ends 2016 arrangements sportscotland & Villages) availability = 4 hours per week 9 Ferguson Pitch Lennoxtown EDLC 1 Adult Standard -1 Quality of pitch questioned by clubs plus no Investigate pitch quality EDLC/EDC (Kirkintilloch Football grass changing facilities on site. & Villages) 10 High Park Pavilion Lennoxtown EDLC 1 Adult Standard -1 Drainage improvement work on 2nd pitch Deliver drainage improvements as EDLC/EDC (Kirkintilloch Football grass (not counted) will also provide extra planned. & Villages) capacity. 25 Station Road Lennoxtown EDLC 1 Adult Standard -1.5 Spare capacity identified Signpost Clubs to underplayed site EDLC (Kirkintilloch Football grass & Villages) 21 Milton of Campsie Milton of EDLC 1 Adult Good 0 No pitches available in peak period (as Pavilion improvements agreed and EDLC Campsie Football grass pitch at full capacity). Pavilion rated Poor being implemented 2015/16 season. (Kirkintilloch & Villages) 28 Torrance Community Initiative Torrance Voluntary 1 Adult Standard -1 Spare capacity identified Signpost Clubs to underplayed site EDLC/TCI (Kirkintilloch Football grass & Villages) 30 Twechar Healthy Living Centre Twechar EDLC(1) 2 Adult 1 Poor -1.5 Spare capacity identified. Insufficient Consider demand levels at venue Twechar HLC (Kirkintilloch HLC (1) Football grass 1 changing capacity for a game on each pitch & Villages) Standard at same time.
There are also a number of Red Ash (blaes) football pitches in East Dunbartonshire. Red blaes sites have been purposefully excluded from the analysis as they are considered to be fundamentally poor quality in all cases. They are hardly ever used; such is the lack of demand for this surface which is considered by most teams to be unsafe, unsuitable and undesirable particularly given the large number of 3G pitches in the area. Red blaes pitches in the EDLC portfolio include:
Area Red Blaes Bishopbriggs Etive Hilton Park Huntershill Crescent
Milngavie Lennox Park Oakburn
Kirkintilloch & Villages Luggie Merkland Parkburn Station Road
Red blaes pitch sites are considered to be fundamentally poor quality in all cases and blaes is generally no longer considered a suitable surface for sport. These pitches cannot be formally booked out - use is informal and they are hardly ever used; such is the lack of demand for this surface which is considered by most teams to be unsafe, unsuitable and undesirable particularly given the large number of 3G pitches in the area. A large number of red blaes pitches in East Dunbartonshire remain on primary schools sites. This is of particular concern as the surface is generally considered not safe for young children. This is likely to impact on enjoyment and interest in PE and physical activity within schoolchildren from an early age, potentially influencing attitudes towards future participation. Due to the lack of demand, it would be advised that any potential for development of red blaes pitches at suitable sites should be considered where possible.
Should any proposals come forward for the disposal and redevelopment of red blaes pitches, or indeed any other pitch sites, sportscotland would be a statutory consultee and the requirements of Scottish Planning Policy paragraph 226 would apply in relation to the need for pitch compensation/replacement. There is an opportunity for any disposal of red blaes pitches to provide monies towards the upgrade of other pitch provision. This could be particularly relevant as part of the Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP); designed to tackle under-occupancy and ensure the primary estate is efficient and fit for purpose whilst maximising the additional opportunities constructing new schools can bring.
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 65
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH APPENDICES
APPENDICES
Appendix one: Site visit assessment guidance and templates http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/planning-for-sport/planning-tools-and- guidance/playing-pitch-strategy-guidance/
(Please note site example assessment blank template is located within Appendix 2; Football Association 2014 document download and is an Excel document)
Appendix two: Consultee list
Name Title Organisation Karin Jackson Sports Development EDLC Operations Manager Kevin Murphy Football Development Officer EDLC Derek O’Riordan Rugby Development Officer EDLC Stuart Alexander Club Development Officer EDLC David Kelly Operations Manager Allander EDLC Leisure Centre Derek McLay EDLC Maintenance Manager EDLC Michelle Smith EDLC Pitches Administrator EDLC Graeme Kidd Principal Teacher of P.E. Kirkintilloch High School David McKean Head of PE St Ninian's High School Alan Fingland Principal Teacher of P.E. Bearsden Academy Barry Kane Head of PE Douglas Academy John McQuade Head of PE Bishopbriggs Academy Dianne Irvine Head of PE Turnbull High School Euan McRae Head of PE Boclair Academy Maralyn Smith School Support Manager Russell Imrie Principal Teacher of P.E. Lenzie Academy - - Holy Family Primary School - - St Machans Primary School - - Millersneuk Primary School - - St Matthews Primary school - - Woodhill Primary School Carol Johnstone Lettings Manager EDC Ian Stevenson/ Billy Inglis Founder/ Secretary Lenzie Youth Ian Grey Secretary Rossvale Caroline Diaz Secretary Milngavie Boys Club Grahame Kerr - Westerton Andy Burns - West Park Douglas Wright - Rosebank United Jim Morrison - EDFC Tommy Donnelly - Baljaffray BC Willie Gallagher - St Joseph's PS David McRae Snr/ Archie - Lenzie Rugby Club Ferguson
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 66
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH APPENDICES
Stevie McConnell Vice President Allan Glens Rugby Club Neil McCallum/ Gordon President/ Vice President West of Scotland Football Cairns Club(Rugby) Alastair Scott President Western Wildcats Murray Melrose Development officer Campsie FC - - Redbrae Athletic Ian Colston Harestanes Amateurs David Patey - Bearsden Amateurs FC Alan Differ Manager Campsie Black Watch FC Johnny Leslie - Campsie Minerva
Appendix three: Teams by club
Club Name Adult Youth Mini
M F M F Mix
Allan Glens RUFC 2 5 5 Allander Colts FC 1 Balljafray BC FC 1 6 4 Balloch Eastfield FC 3 Bearsden Amateurs FC 1 Blair Thistle FC 1 Campsie Black Watch 1 FC Campsie FC 1 6 7 Campsie Minerva FC 1 EDFC 3 11 Glasgow Harp FC 1 Harestanes Amateurs 1 FC Kirkintilloch MW FC 2 Kirkintilloch Rob Roy FC 1 4 Kirkintilloch Thistle FC 1 Lenzie RUFC 2 5 5 Lenzie Spartans FC 1 Lenzie Youth FC 2 9 Milngavie BC FC 3 5 14 North Kelvin United FC 5 Rannoch AFC 2 Redbrae Athletic FC 1 Rosebank FC 3 8 Rossvale FC 2 12 4 St Joseph's FC 4 Torrance BC FC 1 1 Waterside Amateurs FC 1 West of Scotland RUFC 2 5 6 West Park FC 4 16
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 67
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH APPENDICES
Western Wildcats 5 3 1 1 Westerton FC 5 9
Appendix four: Example of club survey questions
1) Name of club 2) Please state the name and location (including postcode) of the home ground 3) Please provide the name and contact telephone number for the club secretary 4) Please use the space to record the number of teams, the league they play in, when they play and where they play 5) In the previous three years has the number of senior teams in the club increased, decreased or stayed the same (if there has been a change please indicate how many teams and the reasons for the change) 6) In the previous three years has the number of youth teams in the club increased, decreased or stayed the same (if there has been a change please indicate how many teams and the reasons for the change) 7) Does the club have any plans to increase the number of teams (if yes, please indicate how many by age group; where will they play; how does club plan to attract more members) 8) How far do the majority of the players travel to play 9) What proportion of your players are from outside the East Dunbartonshire area 10) Does the club have a written development plan 11) Does the club have a waiting list 12) Has the club applied for, or received, any funding over the past five years for pitch/facility developments 13) Does the club have any pitch/facility development plans 14) Name of ground or playing field 15) Is the ground owned, leased or rented (please give details) 16) Who maintains the ground 17) Is this your main ground 18) Is this your preferred home ground 19) Are there any other sports facilities on site 20) Do any other teams play at the site 21) How many pitches are there at the ground (senior, youth, mini) 22) Do you have a designated pitch 23) Approximately how many matches were cancelled (excluding frozen pitches) at the ground last season (what were the main reasons) 24) Where does the club train during the season 25) Are changing facilities available on site 26) Who is responsible for the ancillary facilities 27) Is car parking available 28) Has the site suffered from vandalism in the last year 29) If more pitches were available at the home ground or in the area, would the club have more team 30) If better facilities were available at the home ground would the club have more teams 31) Do you have demand for additional training facilities 32) Has the quality of the pitch got better or worse since last season 33) Are there any problematic issue for the club 34) Please rate the following aspects of the main ground and facilities 35) Please not any further comments/observations regarding the facility and pitch provision
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 68
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE PLAYING PITCH APPENDICES
August 2015 Report: Knight Kavanagh & Page 69