Agenda Item 6

CABINET – 10 June 2019

PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY APPENDICES

Playing Pitch Strategy Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report Playing Pitch Strategy Action Plan Playing Pitch Strategy Executive Summary Playing Pitch Strategy Public Consultation Active Warrington Strategy

1 Agenda Item 6

Warrington Borough Council

Playing Pitch Strategy

& Action Plan

December 2018

Contents

Heading Page number

Abbreviations 1

Section 1: Introduction 2

Section 2: Vision 11

Section 3: Objectives 12

Section 4: sport specific issues, scenarios and recommendations 13

Section 5: Strategic recommendations 38

Section 6: Action plan overview 53

Section 7: Keeping the strategy robust and up to date 57

Appendix: 1 Glossary 62

Appendix: 2 Playing Pitch Strategy Action Plan See separate document

Abbreviations

AGP: Artificial Grass Pitch 3G: Third Generation (artificial grass pitch) CFA: County Football Association CSP: County Sport Partnership DPA: Dwellings Per Annum ECB: England and Wales Cricket Board EH: England Hockey FA: Football Association FC: Football Club FTB: Football Turf Pitches LPCS: Local Plan Core Strategy MES: Match Equivalent Sessions NGB: National Governing Body NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework NTA: None Technical Assessment PPS: Playing Pitch Strategy RFL: Rugby Football League RFU: Rugby Football Union S106: Section 106 TGR: Team Generation Rate U: Under WBC: Warrington Borough Council WLPF Warrington Local Planning Framework

Section 1: Introduction and Context

1.1 Introduction

This is the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) for Warrington Borough Council and its partners. The primary purpose of the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) is to provide a strategic framework which ensures that the provision of outdoor playing pitches meet the local needs of existing and future residents across Warrington. The Strategy has been produced in accordance with Sport England Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance (October 2013 as updated in March 2014) and provides robust and objective justification for future playing pitch provision throughout the borough.

Building upon the preceding Assessment Report1 it provides a robust strategic framework for the maintenance and improvement of existing playing pitches and ancillary facilities, along with the provision of new playing pitches and ancillary facilities where required, to meet the needs of the existing and future population within the borough for the life of the current adopted Local Plan (the Local Plan Core Strategy) (i.e. up to 2027).

This Playing Pitch Strategy and associated documents provide the evidence required to help protect playing fields to ensure sufficient land is available to meet existing and projected future pitch requirements. The strategy is capable of the following in Warrington:

• Providing a clear framework for all playing pitch providers, including the public, private and third sectors; • Clearly addressing the needs of all identified sports within the local area, picking up particular local demand issues; • Addressing issues of population growth, and or major growth/regeneration areas; • Addressing issues of cross boundary facility provision; • Addressing issues of accessibility, quality and management with regard to facility provision; • Standing up to scrutiny at a public inquiry as a robust study; • Providing realistic aspirations which are implementable within the local authority’s budgetary position and procurement regime.

1 The Non-Technical Assessment of pitches were carried out during the 2016 calendar year 2

1.2 Wider Warrington Context

1.2.1 Warrington Local Planning Framework

The Warrington Local Plan Core Strategy (LPCS), which was adopted in July 2014, sets out how and where development will take place in Warrington up to 2027 and the character of the place that WBC and its partners are trying to create.

Warrington's Local Plan Core Strategy is the overarching strategic policy document at the heart of the Local Planning Framework. It sets out a planning framework for guiding the location and level of development in the borough up to 2027. In addition the document outlines a number of principles that will shape the way that Warrington will develop between now and then.

Whilst the LPCS is still currently the statutory Development Plan for the Borough it was subject to a High Court Challenge that resulted in two parts of the Plan being quashed. Despite the LPCS having only fairly recently been adopted, as a result of the High Court Challenge and emerging evidence that underpins the Borough’s growth needs and economic development ambitions, it has been necessary to commence a review of the Local Plan.

The LPCS was prepared to facilitate a much lower level of development than is now envisaged and therefore the Council has now concluded that the review will result in a new Local Plan, incorporating the elements of the existing plan that remain up to date and set out the strategic priorities for the area to deliver:

• the homes and jobs needed; • the provision of retail, leisure and other commercial development; • the provision of infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat); • the provision of health, security, community, cultural and other local facilities; and • climate change mitigation and adaptation, conservation and enhancement of the natural and historic environment, including landscape • To support the higher level of growth.

The new Local Plan Preferred Development Option provides an ambitious plan for the future growth of Warrington. It aims to significantly boost development in the Town Centre and across Inner Warrington, complemented by the release of Green Belt land and supported by wide ranging infrastructure investment.

1.2.2 Population growth

At the time that the Needs Assessment was undertaken and the development of the Playing Pitch Strategy the most up to date population forecasts were the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Mid-2014 subnational population projections. It is this data that has been used to inform this strategy. The resident population of Warrington in 2014 was estimated

to be 206,4282. The town’s population is projected to increase to 223,2273 by 2027, an increase of 16,799 according to ONS data. The impact of this population growth on the need for pitches is explored within Section 4 of this strategy document.

Team generation rates were used to provide an indication of how many people it may take to generate a team (by gender and age group), in order to help estimate the change in demand for pitch sports that may arise from any population change in the study area and are set out in the accompanying Assessment Report.

It is acknowledged that the Local Plan Review is still at a fairly early stage of preparation and that the precise level of housing growth has yet to be established. Therefore, any changes to forecast growth figures brought about through the Local Plan review will need to be reflected in future updates of the PPS. It is for this reason that the PPS does not look at future provision over the proposed full plan period. This PPS will allow the local authority to deal with proposals under the current LPCS and will be revised (as part of annual review process) in line with the emerging Local Plan to take account of future growth requirements.

1.3 How Does the Playing Pitch Strategy Support the Local Planning Process?

One of the core planning principles of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is to improve health, social and cultural wellbeing for all, and deliver sufficient community and cultural facilities and services to meet local needs. Section 8 of the NPPF deals specifically with the topic of healthy communities. Paragraph 73 discusses the importance of access to high quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation that can make an important contribution to the health and well-being of communities.

The Warrington Local Plan needs to be based upon a robust evidence base. Paragraph 73 of the NPPF requires “planning policies to be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of needs. Information gained from the assessments should be used to determine what open space, sports and recreational provision is required.” Paragraph 74 of the NPPF require assessments to be used to inform the protection of “existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields.”

The Playing Pitch Strategy, Action Plan and Needs Assessment documents support the planning policy by providing such robust assessments and a framework for maintaining and updating these.

The key components of the PPS are:

Corporate and strategic:

• It ensures a strategic approach to playing pitch provision. The PPS will act as a tool for Warrington Borough Council and partner organisations to guide resource allocation and set priorities for pitch sports in the future.

2 Source: ONS - 2014 mid-year population estimates published on 25th June 2015. 3 Source: ONS - 2014 based projections published on 29th October 2015. 4

• It provides robust evidence for capital funding. As well as proving the need for developer contributions towards pitches and facilities a playing pitch strategy can provide evidence of need for a range of capital grants. Current funding examples include the Sport England Funding Programmes, Heritage Lottery Fund (for park improvements), the Football Foundation and the Big Lottery. The site specific action plan that will form an integral part of this PPS will identify and prioritise sites that require improvements.

Planning:

• The Playing Pitch Strategy will provide important evidence to support the Warrington Local Plan. • It will support strategic policies on green infrastructure, leisure, outdoor sports facilities and health and well-being in the emerging Warrington Local Plan. • It will provide a methodology for calculating financial contributions when new development will generate a need that cannot be met by existing local facilities. • Evidence for Section 106 agreements and Developer Contributions.

Operational:

• It can help improve management of assets, which should result in more efficient use of resources and reduced overheads. • The Action Plan will identify sites where the quality of provision can be enhanced. • An assessment of all pitches (in use and lapsed) has been undertaken to understand how pitches are used and whether the current maintenance and management regimes are appropriate or require change.

Sports development:

• It helps identify which sites have community use and whether that use is secure or not. • It helps identify where community use of school sports pitches is most needed to address any identified deficits in pitch provision. • It provides better information to residents and other users of sports pitches available for use. This includes information about both pitches and sports teams / user groups. • It promotes sports development and can help unlock latent demand by identifying where the lack of facilities might be suppressing the formation of teams / community needs.

1.4 Our Approach

A Steering Group has led and will continue to lead the PPS to ensure the delivery and implementation of its recommendations and actions. It is made up of representatives from Warrington Borough Council Environment Services and Planning Policy, Sport England, the five pitch sport National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs), including the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), England Hockey (EH), the Football Association (FA), relevant County

Football Association’s (CFA), the Rugby Football League (RFL), the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and LiveWire, the leisure operator on behalf of WBC and also commissioned to deliver sport development, lifestyle and library services.

The following objectives were set by the Steering Group, when preparing to oversee the assessment and develop the strategy: • To provide a carefully quantified and documented assessment of current and future needs for playing pitches and non-pitch sports within the borough focusing on quantity and quality issues within the supply and demand equation. • To provide information to assist asset management planning of council owned playing fields and the associated buildings. • To provide information to assist in decisions associated with the provision of public playing pitches. • To provide information to underpin the protection, enhancement and quality improvement of the existing pitch stock and ancillary facilities. • To map out a process for improvements in community access to educational and non-local authority pitches to achieve an understanding on the nature of ownership of existing provision. • To develop specific action plans of sites to be improved from developer contributions. It will identify areas of search for new playing pitch provision associated with the sport and locality of the area of need. • To review the quantity and quality of changing room and ancillary support facilities on pitch sites and make recommendations to ensure they are fit for purpose. • To establish and review ownership of playing pitch sites (e.g. potential for transfer of ownership and/or management to user groups/community organisations). • To review and identify lapsed/disused sites and assess what their future role should be. • The Steering Group will use a number of scenarios to test the adequacy of current secure pitch provision to meet existing and future demand • Develop a process for regular updating and monitoring of the PPS

The Strategy has been developed from research and analysis of playing pitch provision and usage within Warrington. Pitch sports were assessed using the guidance set out in Sport England’s ‘Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance: An approach to developing and delivering a playing pitch strategy’ (2013). The PPS covers the following playing pitches and outdoor sports facilities:

Playing pitches:

• Cricket pitches • Football pitches (including 3G AGPs) • Hockey/ artificial grass pitches (AGPs) • Rugby league pitches (including 3G AGPs) • Rugby union pitches (including 3G AGPs)

To provide:

• A range of sport by sport and local authority wide scenarios to help inform policy recommendations and prioritisation of actions. • A vision for the future improvement and prioritisation of playing pitches. • A series of strategic recommendations which provide a strategic framework for the improvement, maintenance, development and, as appropriate, rationalisation of the playing pitch stock. • A series of sport by sport recommendations which provide a strategic framework for sport led improvements to provision. • A prioritised area-by-area action plan to address key issues.

The Strategy and Action Plan recommends a number of priority projects for Warrington. It provides a framework for improvement and although resources may not currently be in place to implement it, potential partners and possible sources of external funding should be explored by the PPS Steering Group.

Study area

As a borough wide assessment the study area reflects the Warrington borough boundaries. Further to this analysis areas have been created to allow a more localised assessment of provision and examination of playing pitch supply and demand at a local level. Use of analysis areas also allows local circumstances and issues to be taken into account.

Warrington is currently split into four neighbourhood areas as shown in Figure 1 below and these neighbourhood areas have been used as the analysis areas in the assessment.

Figure 1: Warrington Analysis Areas

Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report

The Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report was signed off by the PPS Steering Group in July 2017. In terms of the main supply and demand analysis information that was collected as part of the Assessment Report, the non-technical assessment of pitches (NTAs) were carried out during the 2016 calendar year and the sports club consultation during late 2016 and early 2017.

The table below indicates the breakdown in pitch supply identified across the town.

Table 1: Pitch supply across Warrington by ownership

Pitch type Warrington Education Sports Club/ Commercial5 Borough Community Council organisation4 Cricket 1 2 4 5 Football 74 83 40 57 Hockey (Sand based AGP) - 3 2 1 Rugby League 17 3 7 3 Rugby Union 3 3 5 2 Full size 3G AGP 2 1 - -

1.5 Headline Findings

The table below highlights the combined shortfalls in each of the sports across the borough as a whole. The future shortfalls include demand generated via TGRs as well as individual club growth. For individual analysis area summaries see action plans in Part 6 of the document.

Table 2: Headline findings from Assessment Report

Sport Current picture of shortfalls Future demand (2027)6 Cricket Currently enough cricket pitches across Future demand can be met on current Warrington to cater for demand. supply of pitches. Hockey (Sand Current demand is being met. Future demand can be met on current AGPs) supply of pitches. Football Shortfall of 9.5 adult match equivalent Shortfall of 14.5 adult 11v11 match (grass sessions per week. equivalent sessions per week. pitches) Shortfall of 1 youth match equivalent Shortfall of 22 youth match equivalent sessions per week. sessions per week. Shortfall of 15.5 mini match equivalent sessions per week.

4 This category includes Parish Councils, LiveWire, Trusts and Amateur Sports Club managed pitches 5 Includes providers which specialise in managing education based facilities and private sports clubs 6 Future demand based on ONS calculations and club consultation which also includes latent and displaced demand identified. 8

Sport Current picture of shortfalls Future demand (2027)6 Football (3G Shortfall of 8 full size 3G pitches based Increase in population may lead to pitches)7 on training demand. further shortfalls. Rugby Shortfall of 30.5 match equivalent Shortfall of 36.75 match equivalent League sessions per week. sessions per week.

Rugby Union Shortfall of 11 match equivalent Shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions sessions per week. per week.

1.6 Conclusions

The existing position for all pitch sports is either demand is being met or there is a shortfall. The future position shows exacerbation of current shortfalls.

As such, there is a need to protect all existing playing pitch provision until demand is met.

A good proportion of shortfalls expressed could be met by improving pitch quality but in some instances this may also require access to existing unused pitches such as at school sites and new provision. It is anticipated a combination of all three will be required and this is set out in the Action Plan.

The PPS does not identify an oversupply of playing field land and as such existing playing field land must be protected. As there is no oversupply, any proposed loss of playing field land would need to be mitigated through re-provision in full, in accordance with paragraph 74 of the National Planning Policy Framework and Sport England’s Policy Exception 4 (E4). The role of lapsed and disused sites in helping to address deficiencies is also explored within the Strategy and Action Plan.

1.7 Monitoring and updating

It is important that there is regular annual updating of the baseline data and monitoring and review against the actions identified in the Strategy. This update and monitoring should be led by the Council and supported by the Steering Group. As a guide, if no review and subsequent update has been carried out within three years of the PPS being signed off by the Steering Group, then Sport England and the NGBs would consider the PPS and the information on which it is based to be out of date. If the PPS is used as a ‘live’ document, and kept up to date, the time frame can be extended to five years.

The PPS should be reviewed on an annual basis from the date it is formally signed off by the Steering Group. This will help to maintain the momentum and commitment that would have been built up when developing the PPS. Taking into account the time to develop the PPS this should also help to ensure that the original supply and demand information is no more than three years old without being reviewed.

7 Based on accommodating 42 teams to one full size pitch for training there is a total need for 11 pitches in Warrington. There are currently 3 x full size 3G pitches leaving a requirement for an additional 8 pitches. 9

In addition, the PPS will need to take account of any potential changes to planned future housing growth that might result from the emerging Local Plan consultation process and these will need to be built into the monitoring and updating process.

Section 7 of this strategy report contains a suggested process for carrying out the update and monitoring. The Steering Group will need to agree the process prior to adoption of this strategy.

Section 2: Playing Pitch Strategy Vision

The Warrington Playing Pitch Strategy seeks to support the Council and its partners in the creation of:

'An accessible, high quality and sustainable network of sports pitches that provides and promotes local opportunities for all Warrington residents to be physically active, irrespective of the level of play

To achieve this strategic vision, the strategy seeks to deliver the following aims; • Ensure that all valuable facilities are protected for the long term benefit of sport. • Promote a sustainable approach to the provision of playing pitches and management of sports clubs. • Ensure that there are enough facilities in the right place to meet current and projected future demand. • Ensure that all clubs have access to facilities of appropriate quality to meet current needs and longer term aspirations.

Many of the objectives and actions will need to be delivered and implemented by sports organisations and education establishments in addition to the Council. These partner organisations have a vested interest in ensuring existing playing fields, pitches and ancillary facilities can be protected and enhanced, and help implement new provision where evidence suggests it is required.

Section 3: Objectives

The overarching objectives of the strategy are based on the three Sport England themes (see Figure 2 below). Delivery of the Strategy is the responsibility of, and relies on, the Steering Group.

Figure 2: Sport England planning objectives - Protect, Enhance and Provide

It is recommended that the following are adopted by the Council and its partners to enable it to achieve the overall vision of the Playing Pitch Strategy and Sport England’s requirements.

Aim 1 To protect the existing supply of playing pitches where it is needed for meeting current and future needs.

Aim 2 To enhance playing fields, pitches and ancillary facilities through improving quality and management of sites.

Aim 3 To provide new playing pitches where there is current or future demand to do so. 12

Section 4: Sport specific issues, scenarios and recommendations

In order to help develop the recommendations/actions and to understand their potential impact a number of relevant scenario questions are tested against the key issues in this section for the playing pitch sports resulting in the sport specific recommendations.

4.1. Grass Football Pitches

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of football pitches in Warrington to meet demand8. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 9.5 adult match equivalent sessions per week and a future shortfall of 14.5 match equivalent sessions per week9. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 1 youth match equivalent session per week and a future shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions per week. • Existing demand for mini pitches is being met with no surplus of provision10 but there is a future shortfall of 19.5 match equivalent sessions per week.

Supply

• There are a total of 222 grass football pitches that are available for community use. • The East neighbourhood area has the highest total number of grass football pitches (79), followed by the South neighbourhood area (67) and then the West neighbourhood area (51). The Central neighbourhood area has the lowest total number of grass football pitches (26). • There is a total of 15.5 match equivalent sessions (MES) per week of actual spare capacity across Warrington with most (6.5) expressed on adult pitches and in the East (7.5) neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

8 The following figures are the total sums across the Borough. Some pitches will be overplayed and some will have a surplus. 9 It should be noted that 59.5 youth match equivalent sessions per week and 14.5 mini match equivalent sessions per week are recorded as playing on adult pitches per week in Warrington. 10 During the needs assessment 4 match equivalent sessions per week are cited as being available on mini pitches at Dallam Recreation Ground. This availability has yet to be confirmed by Warrington Borough Council as the pitches may not be made available for football hire. 13

• Through the consultation process no clubs reported any unmet demand11. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 1 adult male team, 24 youth boys’ teams, 1 youth girls’ team and 12 mini teams. • A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Of the clubs which quantify their potential increase, there is a predicated growth of 49 teams, equating to a demand for 3 adult, 7.5 youth and 12.5 mini pitches. • There are 35 pitches that are overplayed across 18 sites by a total of 22.5 match equivalent sessions per week. Several of these pitches are at schools, where the main reasons for overplay are a culmination of curriculum use, extra-curricular use including school fixtures and any additional use by the community.

Quality

• The majority of pitches are either poor or standard quality. Almost half of the grass football pitches are deemed to be poor quality. • Warrington Borough Council’s Environment Service deliver a basic level of sportsground maintenance on the majority of its sites that is restricted to grass cutting, topdressing and seeding, with no further budgets available for any further level of upkeep or for improvement works. • Maintenance regimes within school grounds, private sports clubs and LiveWire sites, which is carried out by WBC, varies and is dependent upon individual client budgets and requirements. • Of the overplayed pitches, 19 are assessed as poor across 15 sites, accounting for 16 match equivalent sessions per week of overplay.

Accessibility

• Management:

• Of the community available football pitches, 83 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities, 74 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 15 are managed by LiveWire (a Community Interest Company), 13 are managed by sports clubs, 12 are managed by a bespoke school lettings service and another 12 managed by Parish Council’s. The remaining pitches are managed by Trusts or are privately or commercially managed. • Ancillary:

• Of the sites where a full check of ancillary facilities took place nearly half were assessed as being poor (49%). 23% of the sites were rated as having standard quality ancillary facilities with 28% rated as having good quality ancillary facilities. • Of the football clubs that engaged in the consultation 40% rated the ancillary facilities at the sites they use as being good quality. 38% rated ancillary facilities as being standard quality with 22% rating ancillary facilities as being poor.

11 Unmet demand is defined as the number of additional teams that could be fielded if access to a sufficient number of pitches (and ancillary facilities) was available. 14

• Pricing: o In terms of pitch hire charges, Warrington charge less than the average prices charged for each pitch type compared to neighbouring authority areas.

4.2. Football Pitch Scenarios

Using the Sport England’s ‘New Development Calculator for Pitch Sports’ the table below indicates the number of match equivalent sessions per week (rounded up) that would be required to meet future demand if the population grows by 16,799 people in the period up to 2027:

Pitch type Number of MES Football - Adult Pitches 3 Football - Youth Pitches 7 Football - Mini 6

There are a number of ways in which this additional demand could be met, which are outlined below:

Scenario 1: Reconfiguring pitches

There is very little spare capacity in the pitch stock currently across all neighbourhood areas, for all pitch types. Adult pitches that are not currently used present the best opportunity for reconfiguration; however there were only a total of 6 pitches, across 4 sites that were identified as available for community use but did not have any recorded community use.

It should be noted however that all 6 of the pitches are poor quality pitches, which is the reason why a number are not used for community use and so whilst the sites could be reconfigured they would need investment to improve the pitch quality before they could be considered as an option for additional capacity.

Scenario 2: Utilising spare capacity at educational sites indicating community use pitches but with no recorded community use

As part of the Assessment Report there were a large number of pitches on educational sites, where the operator indicated that the pitches were available for hire, but there was no recorded community use. The lack of community use could be due to a range of factors e.g. poor quality or issues in facilitating access for community use at weekends.

Increased utilisation of sites could help to address overplay and prevent predicted future overplay. A total of 45 match equivalent sessions per week were identified as being available during the peak periods with 20 MES being derived from standard quality pitches and the remaining 25 MES being on poor quality pitches. The majority of MES from standard quality pitches are mini pitch types (13 MES), with 5 MES on adult pitches and 2 MES on youth pitches.

Scenario 3: Improving pitch quality on pitches available for community use

The total amount of overplay on sites is 22.5 match equivalent sessions per week. Given the level of overplay identified any spare capacity should initially be used to address overplay if it’s in the right location and accessible to teams.

If each over played poor quality pitch was increased to standard quality and each over played standard pitch was improved to good there would only be 1 remaining site over played by 1 match equivalent session. With this scenario whilst there would be a total of 12 sites, with a total of number of 22 pitches, that would have spare capacity, actual spare capacity which takes into account peak period availability would only be 0.5 match equivalent sessions per week which would cater for 1 adult team (See table 3 below).

In conclusion whilst this scenario would address current overplay it would not deliver any spare capacity either for strategic reserve or to accommodate future increased demand. Therefore, new provision would still be required.

Table 3: Overplayed sites with improved pitch quality capacity table

Site ID Site name Analysis Pitch type No. of Capacity Quality Additional Spare MES area pitches rating capacity (MES) if capacity/ available quality increased Short-fall in peak period 2 Appleton Thorn Playing South Adult 3 2.5 Poor 3 0.5 0.5 Fields (New Lane) (11v11) 12 Birchwood Forest Park East Youth (9v9) 1 1 Poor 1 0 - 20 Callands Primary School West Mini (5v5) 1 0.5 Poor 2 1.5 0 25 Carlsberg Tetley Sports & Central Adult 1 0.5 Standard 1 1.5 0 Social Club (11v11) 28 Cherry Tree Primary South Mini (7v7) 2 2 Poor 2 0 - School 47 Gorsey Recreation West Adult 1 0.5 Poor 1 0.5 0 Ground (11v11) 48 Grange Sports & Social South Adult 2 1 Good n/a - - Club (11v11) 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields East Adult 2 0.5 Poor 2 1.5 0 (11v11) 65 Loushers Lane Recreation South Adult 3 1.5 Poor 3 1.5 0 Ground (11v11) 65 Loushers Lane Recreation South Youth (9v9) 1 0.5 Poor 1 0.5 0 Ground 72 Monks Sports & Social East Adult 1 1 Good n/a - - Club (11v11) 85 Penketh South Primary West Youth (9v9) 1 1 Poor 1 0 - School 86 Pewterspear Sports South Adult 1 0.5 Standard 1 0.5 0 Pavilion (11v11)

Site ID Site name Analysis Pitch type No. of Capacity Quality Additional Spare MES area pitches rating capacity (MES) if capacity/ available quality increased Short-fall in peak period 93 Sandy Lane Recreation South Adult 1 2 Poor 1 1 - Ground (11v11) 106 St Gregory’s High School West Adult 5 3 Standard 5 2 - (11v11) 121 Stocks Lane Playing Field West Youth 1 0.5 Poor 1 0.5 0 (11v11) 127 Thornton Road West Adult 2 1.5 Poor 2 0.5 0 Recreation Ground (11v11) 143 Woolston Park East Adult 1 1 Poor 1 0 - (11v11) 146 Tim Parry Community West Youth (9v9) 1 0.5 Poor 2 1.5 0 Centre

4.2.1. Summary

If all pitch quality improvements are made, pitch reconfiguration carried out where appropriate, pitches not currently being used becoming used and access to unavailable pitches is made available there would be no requirement for new grass football pitches to be sought in Warrington to meet current demand. It is however unrealistic for all these elements to be delivered in the short term. Due to this fact and the fact that demand will increase over time, it is important that the action plan is implemented and progress reviewed annually to assess what the position is and how it has changed.

4.2.2. Recommendations

• Existing quantity of football pitches to be protected. • Where pitches are overplayed and assessed as standard or poor quality, prioritise investment and review maintenance regimes to ensure it is of an appropriate standard to, as a minimum, sustain but preferably improve pitch quality and link to the use of the FA Pitch Improvement Programme. • Retain spare capacity on pitches which are currently poor quality to protect/ improve pitch quality. • Explore opportunities to reconfigure spare capacity on adult pitches in the East neighbourhood analysis area to help cater for shortfalls expressed on youth and mini pitches. • Work with educational establishments to maximise and secure access to pitches on sites which are either available for community use but not used, or are currently unavailable for community use. This may require improvements to pitch quality and/ or close liaison with educational establishments regarding management issues which influence access. This is explored on a site by site basis within the accompanying action plan. • Where appropriate, develop partnerships and/or lease arrangements with large, sustainable, development-minded clubs to manage their own ‘home’ sites thus facilitating club development. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand in sustainable locations (see appendix two).

4.3. 3G Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs)

Overall picture

• There is a shortfall of between 8-10 full sized 3G AGPs to meet current football training demand. • There is a shortfall of 7 full sized 3G AGPs to meet current demand for competitive football match play. • There are two full sized 3G AGPs that are currently registered to support competitive football match play. • There is demand for full sized 3G AGPs to be constructed to Rugby Football League specification to service Rugby League training demand. • There is demand for a full sized 3G AGP to be constructed to Rugby Football Union specification to service Rugby Union training demand and some junior competitive match play.

Supply

• There are a total of 9 full size AGPs in Warrington that are floodlit and available for community use. • The most common type of surface is Sand Dressed AGPs (four). There are three 3G AGPs and two Sand Filled AGPs. • The East and South neighbourhood analysis areas have the highest number of AGPs (three each). There are two AGPs in the West analysis area and one in the Central analysis area. • In addition there are 17 smaller sized floodlit AGPs in Warrington. • There are three 3G AGPs that meet the Football Association criteria of a full sized pitch. • Two of the three 3G AGPs have the necessary certification to host competitive football. • All of the full size AGPs are available for community use. Seven of these pitches are available for 25 hours or more a week during the peak period. • No AGPs suitable for rugby? • Current hockey demand being met

Demand

• Hockey demand for AGPs is expressed on Sand Based or Sand Filled AGPs, and further information in relation to Hockey is outlined in the relevant section. • Consultation revealed Rugby League demand for 3G AGP provision for training purposes. • Consultation revealed Rugby Union demand for 3G AGP provision for training and junior match play. • In order to satisfy current football training demand for the borough as a whole there is a need for 11 full size 3G AGPs. • In order to satisfy current football training demand by analysis area there is a need for 13 full size 3G AGPs. Four 3G AGPs are identified as needed in both the East and South neighbourhood analysis areas, three in the West neighbourhood and two in the Central neighbourhood.

• Based on FA modelling of moving all mini competitive match play demand to 3G AGPs, the number of full size 3G AGPs required is nine.

Quality

• There are no 3G AGPs in Warrington with the shock pad or certification required for rugby purposes. • There are two 3G AGPs in Warrington with the certification required to host competitive football.

Developments of note

• Lymm Rugby Club have recently gained planning permission for significant development that would include the provision of a 3G AGP.

4.4. 3G AGP Scenario

PPS Scenario: Increasing the use of 3G Football Turf Pitches (FTPs)

During the last decade 3G FTPs have played an increasing role within the national game. They are regarded by the Football Association (FA) as the optimum facility for training by clubs. In recent seasons they have also become more popular for competitive matches. With this in mind, before developing the recommendations and action plan for this PPS, two scenarios have been looked at to help with understanding what demand there may be for full size12 floodlit 3G FTPs in Warrington, if increased amounts of play were to take place on them.

In order to do so, information from the Assessment Report stage of developing this PPS, alongside details from the FA, have been used to help answer the following questions:

• How many full size floodlit 3G FTPs may be required to meet demand within Warrington if: o All teams playing competitive football had access to a full size floodlit 3G FTP to train on once a week? o All matches for teams currently playing competitive 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 formats of football in Warrington were played on full size floodlit 3G FTPs?

Scenario Results

Scenario 1: If all teams playing competitive football had access to a full size floodlit 3G FTP to train on once a week.

The information from the Assessment Report of this PPS indicates that there are 445 teams playing competitive football in Warrington. Using the FA’s 1:42 ratio suggests that 11 full size floodlit 3G FTPs would be required to meet this increased training use within Warrington.

12 A full size 3G FTP measuring 106m x 70m including run off/safety margins. 21

Scenario 2: If all matches for teams playing competitive 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 formats of football in Warrington were played on full size floodlit 3G FTPs.

The table below demonstrates the number of full size floodlit 3G FTPs that would be required to accommodate all competitive 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 football across Warrington.

Table 4: Number of 3G AGPs that may be required

Format No Teams per No matches at 3G units Total units 3G pitches time PEAK TIME per match required required formats 5v5 71 35.5 4 142 2.2 7v7 85 42.5 8 340 5.3 9v9 78 39 10 390 6.1 Total: 13.6

4.4.1. What this may mean for 3G FTP provision in Warrington

The level of 3G FTPs currently in Warrington does not meet demand. All existing pitches are at capacity during weekday evenings for the purpose of training.

In terms of competitive match play, the introduction of a new 3G FTP as part of the Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub, designed and built based on recommended specification to accommodate competitive match play, has been extremely successful and resulted in increased demand for 3G FTP pitches for match play purposes.

Discussions with County FA representatives have indicated a desire to increase 3G FTP within the borough on the premise that it is utilised to accommodate both training and competitive match play. The key focus for this is to support the mini 5v5 and 7v7 and youth 9v9 game formats. As shown in Table 4 above, 1413 3G FTP’s would be required during the peak period (Saturday AM).

Of the three 3G FTPs currently available only the pitch at Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub is currently used on a regular basis. The pitch at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub has the necessary certification to host competitive match play but would require re-marking and the purchase of goal posts to be suitable for mini football which should be considered. The third pitch at University Academy (Warrington) would require testing and possible investment to get the certification required, along with pitch re-marking and new goal posts to be suitable for mini football. However, even with these pitches, there would be a short fall of five 3G FTPs to meet demand for mini competitive football and a short fall of eight 3G FTPs to meet training demand.

13 Rounded up to the nearest whole number 22

Whilst there is potential to convert other types of full size artificial grass pitches to a 3G surface, this is limited, as many of these pitches are required to meet existing and future demand for hockey and conversion of these pitches could have an adverse effect. The sites that could be considered for conversion are highlighted in the Action Plan.

There are a number of sites, either already identified as a Hub Site or as a Key Centre in the Action Plan that have been identified in consultation with The FA and WBC and require further feasibility studies to determine whether or not they are viable sites for new or additional 3G FTP provision.

It is important to acknowledge that if all competitive mini 5v5, 7v7 and youth 9v9 match play was moved onto 3G FPT, the sites with grass mini 5v5, 7v7 and youth 9v9 pitches could possibly be reconfigured to address current and future deficit of provision for youth and adult formats of the game.

The Parklife Programme

The aim of the Parklife Programme is to create a sustainable model for football facilities based around artificial grass pitches on hub sites.

The fund will provide significant new investment into local, accessible facilities. It differs from traditional football investment streams as the funding partners are keen to see a portfolio approach that provides an area-wide solution, rather than a one-off site investment. The main focus of delivery will be around increasing the number of 3G pitches available for competitive play. To be eligible for the project local authorities must have a population of at least 200,000 people.

Given the size of Warrington, its lack of 3G pitches and its need for improved facilities for mini and youth football it is recommended that strong consideration is given to looking at the Parklife Programme in Warrington should future opportunities arise.

RFL Community Standard and RFU World Rugby compliant AGPs

In addition to the significant demand for 3G AGP provision for football, the consultation carried out also identified demand for 3G AGP provision for both Rugby League and Rugby Union, specifically for training. There are currently no rugby compliant 3G pitches in Warrington. The provision of rugby compliant AGPs in the Area would address levels of overplay currently recorded on grass pitches.

Unfortunately, the RFU or RFL do not currently have recommended scenarios to use to calculate the specific number of 3G AGPs required to meet current or future training demand.

It is the intention of the RFU investment strategy into AGPs to invest in communities across the country where grass rugby pitches in the local community are over capacity and where the installation of an AGP would support the growth of the game at the host site and for the local rugby partnership, including local rugby clubs and other organisations within the Local

Authority. The RFU is keen to work with partners such as the Council and the FA to look at sites of mutual interest for future AGP provision. Also, the Warrington Rugby League Management Board have identified the need for winter training facilities across all clubs as a priority within their vision statement provided as part of the consultation process (see section 4.6.1).

4.4.2. Recommendations

• Work with the FA to increase provision of 3G pitches to meet football training demand (total 11 full size pitches required) and utilise these pitches to accommodate competitive demand for mini football. • Carry out feasibility work at sites identified in the Action Plan to deliver increased provision of full size 3G pitches to meet training and competitive demand and consider the FA’s Parklife model as a means of doing this. • Work with partners to determine the level of 3G provision required to meet rugby league and rugby union training demand. • Work with partners to introduce rugby compliant 3G provision to meet rugby league and rugby union training demand. • Encourage providers to have a mechanism in place which ensures the long term sustainability of provision. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhance existing playing pitch and ancillary provision or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand.

4.5. Hockey Pitches

Overall picture

• The current level of suitable AGP provision for hockey is sufficient to meet current and future demand. • There is a requirement for four sand based AGPs to meet demand for competitive match play, junior training and informal play. • There is demand for additional access to sand based AGP during weekday evenings for training purposes, specifically in the South neighbourhood analysis area. • The AGP provision currently utilised for hockey is strategically well positioned within the borough currently. • The four AGPs that have recorded hockey use and need to be retained are located at Culcheth Community Campus, Lymm High School, Priestley College and University of Chester (Warrington Campus). • Any conversion of sand based AGP surface to 3G will not be supported by EH or Sport England unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the sand based AGP is surplus to requirement to hockey. Any proposals to convert a sand based AGP must be discussed with England Hockey and Sport England.

Supply

• There are a total of six full size (sand filled/ dressed), floodlit AGPs in Warrington. • All of the six full size AGPs have football use as well as hockey use. • Only two of the full size AGPs has a higher percentage of hockey use during peak periods. The remaining four have a higher percentage of football use, with two pitches having 100% football use during peak periods. • The three main AGPs used for hockey are all operating at 100% capacity during the peak periods available.

Demand

• There are three hockey clubs in Warrington with a total of 400 members, of which 199 are senior members and 201 junior members. • One of the clubs highlighted that they had existing unmet demand due to the unavailability of additional AGP provision during weekday evenings. • Two clubs indicated plans to increase their membership numbers in the coming years, specifically by introducing new and additional junior sections with the club. • England Hockey predicts there to be a growth in membership of 4%14 in Warrington (based on affiliation trends) which results in an overall increase of 10 adults and 9 juniors.

14 This growth rate was calculated prior to the Rio Olympics. Actual participation increase has been around 11% which is in line with the national rate. This equates to 22 adults and 22 juniors. 25

Quality

• Of the six AGPs, one is poor quality; one is good quality with the remaining four rated as standard quality. • It is considered that the carpet of an AGP usually lasts for approximately ten years (depending on level of use and maintenance regimes). Due to this, resurfacing is recommended for three of the six, floodlit AGPs in Warrington.

Accessibility

• Availability during peak periods: o The pitch at Priestley College is only available during Term Time. o Cardinal Newman is unavailable The school has aspirations to replace with a 3G surface and floodlights for community use. o Penketh and Broomfield’s are not used by hockey with 100% of slots taken up by football. o Culcheth has some spare capacity but competes with football usage. o Priestley, University of Chester and Lymm are all at capacity.

Hockey Pitch Scenarios

Using Sport England’s Sports Facilities Calculator the table below indicates the number of AGPs (rounded up) that would be required to meet future demand if the population grows by 16,799 people in the period up to 2027:

Pitch type Number of pitches Sand based artificial grass pitches 115

There are a number of ways in which this additional demand could be met, which are outlined below:

Scenario 1: Retaining currently used sites

Future demand for hockey is relatively small and theoretically could be accommodated if four sand based AGPs remain available for hockey usage, but with additional access provided for hockey use. Each of the sites has competing usage with football to varying degrees.

Scenario 2: Conversion of sand based to 3G pitches

Given the shortfall of full sized 3G pitches in Warrington and use of some sand AGPs for football training, it is important to consider any likely impact on the future sustainability of hockey suitable AGPs as some football demand is likely to transfer onto 3G pitches. If sites currently unused for hockey were converted to 3G there would be no impact on clubs in Warrington. However, the impact from a school point of view would need to be further

15 Rounded up to the nearest whole number 26

investigated. NB: Conversion should not take place unless consultation with England Hockey identifies the AGP is not required to meet existing or future predicted demand. Warrington Borough Council should consider removing Permitted Development Rights of any new Artificial Grass Pitches to prevent inappropriate conversion that has a detrimental impact on the existing sport.

4.5.1. Summary

Priority should be placed on ensuring the sustainability of the currently used pitches as it is unrealistic to assume that clubs would travel across Warrington to access pitches that are located away from the local area.

4.5.2. Recommendations

• Protect the following AGPs for hockey use: o Culcheth Community Campus o Lymm High School o Priestly College o University of Chester (Warrington Campus) • Review the requirement for AGPs for hockey use alongside 3G AGP developments, as through the introduction of 3G pitches additional capacity could be released at sand- based AGPs to support hockey development. • Priority should be placed on ensuring the sustainability of the current pitch stock used for hockey (identified above). • Explore opportunities to improve pitch quality in order to ensure continued hockey use. • Encourage providers to put sinking funds (formed by periodically setting aside money over time ready for surface replacement when required) in place to maintain AGP pitch quality in the long term. • The FA and England Hockey should work together to identify the feasibility of converting AGPs currently unused for hockey to 3G surfaces. • Warrington Borough Council should consider removing Permitted Development Rights of any new Artificial Grass Pitches to prevent inappropriate conversion that has detrimental impact on the existing sport. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhance existing playing pitch and ancillary provision or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand.

4.6. Grass Rugby League Pitches

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of rugby league pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 30.5 match equivalent sessions per week. • Overall in Warrington there is a predicted shortfall of 36.75 match equivalent sessions per week based on anticipated future demand.

Supply

• There are a total of 31 grass rugby league pitches that are available for community use. The West neighbourhood area has the highest total number of grass football pitches (9), followed by the East neighbourhood area (8). The Central and South neighbourhood areas both have seven pitches. • 28 of these pitches are senior rugby league pitches, one is a junior pitch and two are primary pitches. • There is a total of 4.5 match equivalent sessions per week of actual spare capacity across Warrington with half (2.25) expressed in the West neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

• A total of 88 teams were identified as playing competitive rugby league on pitches located within the Warrington boundary. This consists of 15 senior men teams, 28 junior teams and 44 primary teams. • The East (26) neighbourhood analysis areas is where most teams have their match play pitch located, closely followed by the Central (25) neighbourhood area and West (21) neighbourhood. The lowest number of teams is in the South (15) neighbourhood analysis area. • Through the consultation process no clubs reported any unmet demand. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 3 junior teams and 5 primary teams. • A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Of the clubs which quantify their potential increase, there is a predicated growth of 1 senior men team, 2 junior teams and 1 primary team. • Overplay amounts to 33 match equivalent sessions per week. The East neighbourhood analysis area has the highest level of overplay (12 match equivalent sessions per week), followed by Central (10.75 match equivalent sessions per week), then the West (7.75 match equivalent sessions per week). The South neighbourhood analysis area has 2.5 match equivalent sessions per week of overplay. • One of the main reasons for overplay is training on match pitches. However, another reason for overplay is mini teams playing on senior pitches.

Quality

• The majority of pitches are either poor (30%) or standard quality (57%). Only 13% of pitches are rated as good quality. • Warrington Borough Council’s Environment Service deliver a basic level of sportsground maintenance on the majority of its sites that is restricted to grass cutting, topdressing and seeding, with no ring fenced budgets available for any further level of upkeep or for improvement works.

Management:

• Of the community available rugby league pitches, 17 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 5 are managed by Parish Councils, 4 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/universities, 3 are managed privately by sports clubs and 3 are managed by LiveWire (a Community Interest Company).

Rugby League Pitch Scenarios

Using the ‘New Development Calculator for Pitch Sports’ the table below indicates the number of match equivalent sessions per week (rounded up) that would be required to meet future demand if the population grows by 16,799 people in the period up to 2027:

Pitch type Number of MES Rugby League - Adult Pitches 3

There are a number of ways in which this additional demand could be met. These are outlined below.

Scenario 1: Improving pitch quality

If the overplayed pitches were improved to carry an additional match equivalent session per week, overplay would reduce from 35 MES to 17.75 with 2.25 of spare capacity being made available across 2 sites (see table 5, page 30).

Scenario 2: Moving training off match pitches

38.25 match equivalent sessions per week of training currently take place on match pitches. If this training was moved elsewhere it could potential address the overplay, currently at 35 MES.

Table 5: Overplayed sites with improved pitch quality capacity table

Sit Site name Analysi Pitch No. Capacit Quality Additiona Surpl e s area type of y rating l capacity us/ ID pitch (MES) if Short- es quality fall increased 7 Beamont Collegiate Central Senior 2 0.5 Poor 2 1.5 Academy 38 Dallam Recreation Central Senior 2 1.25 Standard 2 0.75 Ground 59 Hillock Lane Playing East Senior 3 7 Poor 3 4 Fields 61 Hood Lane Recreation West Senior 4 7.75 Standard 4 3.75 Centre 72 Monks Sports & Social East Senior 1 0.5 Good n/a - Club 91 Rylands Recreation Central Primar 1 1 Standard 1 0 Ground y 91 Rylands Recreation Central Senior 1 6 Standard 1 5 Ground 95 Shaw Street East Senior 2 4.5 Standard 2 2.5 Recreation Ground 10 St Benedict’s Primary Central Junior 1 2 Standard 1 1 2 School 13 University of Chester East Senior 1 2 Standard 1 1 0 (Warrington Campus) 13 Victoria Park South Senior 3 2.5 Good & 2 0.5 1 Poor mix

4.6.1. Warrington Rugby League Management Board

Rugby League in Warrington is supported by a Management Board which consists of all interested groups from the Local Authority, the professional club to the community clubs and schools.

It is led by an Active strategy called “The Big Hit” with a clear vision of increasing participation. The vision matches its endeavour to improve and develop facilities and pitches within the town.

With current statistics showing increased growth in participation pitch and facilities are under more pressure. Therefore this strategy will drive the approach to sustain and develop training facilities. There is a priority need for winter training facilities across all clubs.

There are aspirations to provide a Community Hub for all clubs to access and work in line with the growth of participation. The Big Hit strategy highlights the need for growth in South Warrington and to provide support to existing and new developments and is in line

with what has been established as part of the Assessment Report. There is also an appetite to work with schools to open up facilities.

4.6.2. Summary Overplay can only be alleviated by carrying out a combination of improving pitch quality, providing more pitches or creating more areas to be used for rugby league training; there is not enough spare capacity expressed in areas of overplay to meet this level of demand.

There is demand for floodlit 3G AGP provision to accommodate rugby league training which could remove much of the recorded overplay.

4.6.3. Recommendations

• As a priority, improve poor quality overplayed pitches in order to help alleviate overplay, and reduce shortfalls. • Explore options for providing training away from match pitches and make clubs aware that this option is needed in order to address overplay and preserve pitch quality. This may include creating dedicated training areas, including AGPs. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhance existing playing pitch and ancillary provision or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand.

4.7. Grass Rugby Union Pitches

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of rugby union pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 11 match equivalent sessions per week. • Overall in Warrington there is a predicted shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions per week based on anticipated future demand.

Supply

• There are a total of 13 grass rugby union pitches that are available for community use. The vast majority of these are located in the south neighbourhood area (85%). There is one pitch located in the East neighbourhood area, one in the West and none in Central. • Eleven of these pitches are senior pitches and two are mini pitches. • There is a total of 1 match equivalent session of actual spare capacity across Warrington expressed in the South neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

• A total of 37 teams were identified as playing competitive rugby union on pitches located within the Warrington boundary. This consists of 12 senior teams, 4 colt’s teams, 8 junior teams and 12 mini teams. • 35 of these teams are based in the South neighbourhood analysis area. The remaining 2 are based in the West neighbourhood analysis area. • Warrington RUFC identified significant displaced demand and also indicated they had unmet demand. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 1 senior men’s team, 2 junior boys team and 2 mixed mini rugby teams. • All three clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Based on this there is a predicated growth of 4 senior men’s teams and 4 junior teams. • Overplay amounts to 7 match equivalent sessions per week. The South neighbourhood analysis area has the highest level of overplay (6 match equivalent sessions per week) and the West neighbourhood has 1 match session of overplay per week. • One of the main reasons for the level of overplay is because of the amount of training that takes place on one of Lymm RUFC’s grass pitches, which is overplayed by 4.5 MES. • Other reasons include lack of floodlit pitches (neither Warrington RUFC nor Eagle RUFC have access to a floodlit pitch and Lymm RUFC only have one floodlit pitch). • Other reasons include the poor quality of the majority of the pitches. If quality was improved alongside maintenance improvements then capacity would increase.

Quality

• The two mini pitches located at Lymm Rugby Club are rated as good quality (M2/D2). • The majority of adult pitches are either poor (55%) or standard quality (18%). Only 27% of pitches are rated as good quality. 32

Rugby Union Pitch Scenarios

Using the ‘New Development Calculator for Pitch Sports’ the table below indicates the number of match equivalent sessions per week (rounded up) that would be required to meet future if the population grows by 16,799 people in the period up to 2027:

Pitch type Number of MES Rugby Union - Adult Pitches 2

There are a number of ways in which this additional demand could be met. These are outlined below.

Scenario 1: Improving pitch quality

There are a total of 11 senior rugby union pitches in Warrington, of which 6 pitches across 4 sites are overplayed to a total of 8 match equivalent sessions per week.

Pitch quality can be improved either by enhancing the maintenance regime on the pitch and/or by improving the pitch drainage.

Improving pitch quality by enhancing pitch maintenance

The most overplayed pitch already has a good maintenance regime. If the remaining overplayed pitches were improved in quality by enhancing their maintenance regime from poor to standard or standard to good then there would be no overplay on those sites and the total overplay would reduce to from 8 to 4.5 MES per week.

Improving pitch quality by improving pitch drainage

All of the overplayed pitches have the scope to improve their drainage systems. If all the overplayed pitches had their drainage systems improved by one category then the total overplay would reduce from 8 to 4.25.

Scenario 2: Moving training off match pitches

There is not a significant amount of training which takes place on match pitches, with the exception of a floodlit pitch at Lymm Rugby Club.

4.7.1. Summary

The majority of rugby union pitches in Warrington are either poor or standard quality. Therefore improving pitch quality, through enhanced maintenance regimes and/ or improving pitch drainage, will address much of the current overplay. Even with pitch improvements there remains one heavily overplayed pitch, this is the floodlit pitch at Lymm RUFC. This overplay would be addressed if the proposed AGP at Lymm RUFC is built and/or if additional floodlit provision was provided on another pitch.

There is demand for floodlit 3G AGP provision to accommodate rugby union training which could remove much of the recorded overplay at Lymm Rugby Club. The AGP may also be able to address some issues with quality/ suitability of training areas used by Eagle and Warrington Rugby Clubs but this would depend on what and when their demand is, and whether this pitch could actually accommodate this demand alongside the demand from Lymm RUFC.

4.7.2. Recommendations

• Explore options to improve poor quality overplayed pitches in order to help alleviate overplay, and reduce some of the shortfalls. • Explore options for providing training away from match pitches and make clubs aware that this option is needed in order to address overplay and preserve pitch quality. This may include creating dedicated training areas, including AGPs. • Explore options for introducing floodlights at appropriate sites to enable training to take place on more suitable facilities. • Explore options to improve ancillary facilities at sites. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhance existing playing pitch and ancillary provision or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand.

4.8. Cricket Pitches

Overall picture

• Overall in Warrington, there is insufficient supply of cricket pitches in Warrington to meet current demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 16 match equivalent sessions per season. • Overall in Warrington there is a predicted shortfall of 68 match equivalent sessions per season based on anticipated future demand.

Supply

• In total, there are 21 cricket pitches identified in Warrington, of which 12 are available for community use. Six are not available for community use whilst, three have become disused. • Of the 12 pitches available for community use, 10 have grass cricket squares providing 85 natural grass wickets. • There are a total 4 non-turf wickets available for community use across the borough. • Despite seven pitches showing spare capacity there are only three of these pitches (one in the Central, East and South Neighbourhood analysis areas) that are of suitable standard and have capacity, of 43 match equivalent sessions per season, during the peak periods.

Demand

• In total there are seven clubs in Warrington providing a total of 56 teams. These are broken down as follows; 26 senior male teams, two senior female teams and 28 junior teams. • 26 of the 28 (93%) junior teams in Warrington are based on the South neighbourhood analysis area, with the remaining two being based in the West neighbourhood. • Team generation rates predict a decrease of 1 senior men’s team, but an increase of 3 junior boy’s teams and 1 junior girl’s team. • Through consultation, a number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Based on this there is a predicated growth of 1 senior team and 7 junior teams. • Three of the six clubs reported a demand for additional training facilities, with a good quality non turf wicket being cited as a need. • There is overplay of 60 matches per season recorded in the South neighbourhood analysis area across two pitches.

Quality

• The audit of community use grass wicket cricket pitches found six pitches to be good quality and the remaining four to be standard quality. • All 4 of the non-turf wicket pitches available for community use were rated as poor quality.

Accessibility

• Security of Tenure:

o During the consultation process there were no issues highlighted with regards to security of tenure. However during the Assessment Report there have been issues highlighted with regards to security of tenure and/ or lease arrangements at Rylands Recreation Ground and Pewterspear Sports Pavilion.

Cricket Pitch Scenarios

Using the ‘New Development Calculator for Pitch Sports’ the table below indicates the number of match equivalent sessions per season (rounded up) that would be required to meet future demand if the population grows by 16,799 people in the period up to 2027:

Pitch type Number of MES16 Cricket - Adult Pitches 43

There are a number of ways in which this additional demand could be met. These are outlined below.

Scenario 1: Additional pitches

Due to overplay at Grappenhall CC and Lymm Oughtrington CC if access to an additional pitch was available demand would be met

In the case of Lymm Oughtrington, their ‘home’ pitch is located within the grounds of Lymm High School. The school have a grass cricket pitch that is not currently available for community use, but if it were it could accommodate the clubs current overplay.

Scenario 2: Utilising spare capacity

There are 44 match equivalent sessions per season available across Warrington, the majority of which is available during mid-week and Sundays.

16 Rounded up to the nearest whole number 36

4.8.1. Summary

There is a need to look at access to appropriate educational sites where cricket pitches of standard or good quality are available. Furthermore, the introduction of non-turf wickets at sites where pitches are at capacity of overplayed could address overplay.

4.8.2. Recommendations

• Priority is to protect and sustain current provision and participation in Warrington. • Explore options to introduce non-turf wickets at overplayed pitches, which could also support with club training requirements. • Ensure security of tenure is secure for all clubs. • Explore ways in which to maximise informal opportunity and participation. • Work with educational establishments, specifically Lymm High School, to secure access to pitches which are currently unavailable for community use. Such options require consideration in terms of pitch maintenance and associated costs due to increased use. • Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, contributions are sought to contribute to either enhance existing playing pitch and ancillary provision or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand.

Section 5: Strategic Recommendations

The strategic recommendations for the Strategy have been developed from the key issues cutting across all playing pitch sports and categorised under each of the Strategy Aims. They reflect overarching and common areas to be addressed which apply across outdoor sports facilities and may not be specific to just one sport.

Aim 1

To protect the existing supply of playing pitches where it is needed for meeting current and future needs.

Recommendations: a. Protect playing field sites through local planning policy b. Secure tenure and access to sites for high quality, development minded clubs, through a range of solutions and partnership agreements. c. Maximise community use of education facilities where there is a need to do so.

Recommendation A – Protect playing field sites through local planning policy

Paragraph 74 of the Framework states that existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, should not be built on unless:

• An assessment has been undertaken which has clearly shown the open space, buildings or land to be surplus to requirements; or • The loss resulting from the proposed development would be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location; or • The development is for alternative sports and recreational provision, the needs for which clearly outweigh the loss.

Lapsed and disused – playing field sites that formerly accommodated playing pitches but are no longer used for formal or informal sports use within the last five years (disused) or longer (lapsed). The following is a list of identified lapsed/disused sites:

Site Site name Analysis area Lapsed or Pitch types Comments ID disused site 4 Bank Park Central Lapsed 1 x junior rugby league neighbourhood pitch. 50 Grappenhall Hall South Disused (2015) 1 x youth football pitch School closed School neighbourhood 63 Lockers Playing Central Lapsed 2 x senior rugby league Privately owned and closed when associated business closed. Field neighbourhood pitches. 67 Lymm May South Disused 1 x adult football pitch Closed for more than 5 years. Could be brought back into use Queen Field neighbourhood 1 x mini football pitch subject to improvements being made 88 Radley Common Central Disused 1 x adult football pitch Closed for more than 5 years. Could be brought back into use neighbourhood subject to improvements being made 105 St Elphins East Disused 1 x adult football pitch Closed for more than 5 years. Could be brought back into use neighbourhood 1 x mini football 7v7 pitch subject to improvements being made 111 St Oliver Plunket East Lapsed (2002) 1 x youth football pitch School closed Primary School neighbourhood 124 Sycamore Lane West Disused (2016) 1 x mini football pitch School closed Primary School neighbourhood 135 Westy Park South Lapsed 3 x adult football pitches Closed more than 5 years ago due to concerns about levels of gas neighbourhood from landfill. Plans to bring back into use for pitch sports. 137 Wilderspool South Disused 1 x senior rugby league Associated stadium demolished in 2014. The pitch at Victoria Park Stadium neighbourhood pitch. Stadium was the replacement for this pitch. 152 Bridge Lane South Lapsed became disused in 2004 following a fire which destroyed the club neighbourhood house at the site 153 St Werbergh's South Lapsed (2001) 2 x youth football pitches School closed CofE Primary neighbourhood School

The Assessment Report shows that all currently used playing field sites require protection and therefore cannot be deemed surplus to requirements because of shortfalls now and in the future. Lapsed, disused, underused and poor quality sites should also be protected from development; replaced; or contributions sought to improve other sites as there is potential need for playing field land to accommodate more pitches to meet the identified shortfalls.

Each currently disused/lapsed site is included within the Action Plan together with a recommendation in relation to the need to bring the site back into use or mitigate the loss on a replacement site to address the shortfalls identified with the Assessment Report.

New housing development - where proposed housing development is located within access of a high quality playing pitch, this does not necessarily mean that there is no need for further pitch provision or improvements to existing pitches in that area in order to accommodate additional demand arising from that development. The PPS should be used to help determine what impact the new development will have on the demand and capacity of existing sites in the area and whether there is a need for improvements to increase capacity or if new provision is required.

The table below summarises the number of match equivalent sessions (rounded up) that would be required to meet the demand generated by the increased population during the period that the current Local Plan Core Strategy is intended to operate:

Pitch type Match equivalent sessions Football - Adult Pitches 3 Football - Youth Pitches 7 Football - Mini 6 Cricket 43 Rugby Union 2 Rugby League 3 Hockey Sand Based AGP 117

In the interim period until the Strategy is revised to take account of future growth requirements in the emerging Local Plan, the ‘New Development Calculator for Pitch Sports’ will be used to calculate any financial contribution required when new development will generate a need that cannot be met by existing local facilities. This will be applied to any developments consisting of 40 dwelling units or more, in line with the provisions of the Planning Obligations SPD (Jan, 2017).

When the strategy is revised to take account of the emerging Local Plan growth requirements the opportunity will be taken to review the method of calculating financial contributions.

Development Management - the PPS should be used to help inform Development Management decisions that affect existing or new playing fields, pitches and ancillary

17 Number of AGP pitches 40

facilities. All applications are assessed by the Local Planning Authority on a case by case basis taking into account site specific factors. In addition, Sport England as statutory consultee on planning applications that affect or prejudice the use of playing field will use the PPS to help assess that planning application against paragraph 74 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and their18 Playing Fields Policy.

Sport England’s playing field policy exception E1 only allows for development of lapsed or disused playing fields if a PPS shows a clear excess in the quantity of playing pitch provision at present and in the future across all playing pitch sports types and sizes.

Policy Exception E1:

‘A carefully quantified and documented assessment of current and future needs has demonstrated to the satisfaction of Sport England that there is an excess of playing field provision in the catchment, and the site has no special significance to the interests of sport’.

Where the PPS cannot demonstrate the site, or part of a site, is clearly surplus to requirements then replacement of the site, or part of a site, will be required to comply with Sport England policy exception E4.

Policy Exception E4:

‘The playing field or fields to be lost as a result of the proposed development would be replaced, prior to the commencement of development, by a new playing field site or sites: • of equivalent or better quality and • of equivalent or greater quantity; • in a suitable location and • Subject to equivalent or better management arrangements.

Further to this, all playing fields should be protected or replaced up until the point where all satisfied demand has been met within the study area or each individual sports catchment areas within a sub area.

Local authorities wanting to dispose of school playing field land need consent under Section 77 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 but consent is now also required for disposal of any land used by a school or academy under Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010.

It should be noted that consent under Section 77 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act does not necessarily mean subsequent planning approval will be granted. Therefore, any application for planning permission must meet the requirements of the relevant policy, in this case paragraph 74 of the National Planning Policy Framework, Local Plan Policy and

18 http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/planning-for-sport/development-management/planning-applications/playing- field-land/ 41

Sport England policy. Indeed, applicants are advised to engage Sport England before submitting applications. Robust implementation of the statutory obligation will ensure protection of school playing fields for use by pupils (and sometimes the community as a whole) to ensure receipt is ploughed back into sports education.

Prejudicial Impact of Development on Playing Field

Sport England is a statutory consultee on all applications that either result in the loss of playing field or result in prejudicing the use of a playing field. The most common prejudicial impact is the proximity of housing to cricket fields with the risk of ball strike on adjacent houses. The onus is on the developer to carry out a Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy to ensure the incidence of ball strike is properly mitigated and those measures are included within the planning application. Planning conditions would not be appropriate because if, for instance, ball stop netting was required, there is a possibility it would not be granted planning consent on visual amenity grounds. The housing development would have been constructed but the mitigation not put in place, thus prejudicing the use of the playing field.

Other examples include:

• Development cutting off the access to playing fields • Houses being built adjacent to existing floodlit AGP’s without Noise and Light Assessments being undertaken leading to complaints from new residents and subsequent Abatement Notices being issued.

Recommendation B – Secure tenure and access to sites for high quality, development minded clubs through a range of solutions and partnership agreements

A number of school sites are being used in Warrington for competitive play, predominately for football. In all cases use of pitches has been classified as unsecure. In some instances formalised agreements may be in place but further work should be carried out to ensure an appropriate Community Use Agreement (CUA) is in place (including access to changing provision where required).

NGBs can often help to negotiate and engage with schools where the local authority may not have direct influence.

Sport England has also produced guidance, online resources and toolkits to help open up and retain school sites for community use and can be found at: http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/use-our-school/

Local sports clubs should be supported by partners including the Council, NGBs or the County Sports Partnership (CSP) to achieve sustainability across a range of areas including management, membership, funding, facilities, volunteers and partnership working. For example, support club development and encourage clubs to develop evidence of business and sports development plans to generate an income through their facilities. All clubs could be encouraged to look at different management models such as registering as Community 42

Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)19. Clubs should also be encouraged to work with partners locally whether volunteer support agencies or linking with local businesses.

As well as improving the quality of well-used, local authority sites, there are a number of sites which have poor quality (or no) ancillary facilities. The Council should further explore opportunities where security of tenure could be granted to the clubs playing on these sites so the clubs are in a position to apply for external funding to improve the facilities.

Further to this there could be examples in Warrington where long term leases could be put into place for the continued use of a site. Each club should be required to meet service and/or strategic recommendations. However, an additional set of criteria should be considered, which takes into account the quality of the club, aligned to its long term development objectives and sustainability.

In the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which announced public spending cuts, it is increasingly important for the Council to work with voluntary sector organisations in order that they may be able to take greater levels of ownership and support the wider development and maintenance of facilities.

To facilitate this, the Council should support and enable clubs to generate sufficient funds to allow this.

Recommended criteria for lease of sport sites to clubs/organisations is below. This should be amended if required in order to better suit the needs of Warrington.

Club Site Clubs should have Clubmark/FA Charter Standard Sites should be those identified as ‘Club Sites’ accreditation award. (recommendation d) for new clubs (i.e. not those with Clubs commit to meeting demonstrable local demand a City wide significance) but which offer development and show pro-active commitment to developing potential. For established clubs which have proven school-club links. success in terms of self-management ‘Key Centres’ Clubs are sustainable, both in a financial sense and are also appropriate. via their internal management structures in relation As a priority, sites should acquire capital investment to recruitment and retention policy for both players to improve (which can be attributed to the presence and volunteers. of a Clubmark/Charter Standard club). Ideally, clubs should have already identified (and Sites should be leased with the intention that received an agreement in principle) any match investment can be sourced to contribute towards funding required for initial capital investment improvement of the site. identified. Clubs have processes in place to ensure capacity to maintain sites to the existing, or better, standards.

The Council can further recognise the value of NGB club accreditation by adopting a policy of prioritising the clubs that are to have access to these better quality facilities. This may be achieved by inviting clubs to apply for season long leases on a particular site as an initial trial.

19 http://www.cascinfo.co.uk/cascbenefits 43

The Council should establish a series of core outcomes to derive from clubs taking on a lease arrangement to ensure that the most appropriate clubs are assigned to sites. As an example outcome may include:

• Increasing participation. • Supporting the development of coaches and volunteers. • Commitment to quality standards. • Improvements (where required) to facilities, or as a minimum retaining existing standards.

In addition, clubs should be made fully aware of the associated responsibilities/liabilities when considering leases of multi-use public playing fields.

Community asset transfer

The Council should continue to work towards adopting a policy which supports community management and ownership of assets to local clubs, community groups and trusts. This presents sports clubs and national governing bodies with opportunities to take ownership of their own facilities; it may also provide non-asset owning sports clubs with their first chance to take on a building.

The Sport England Community Sport Asset Transfer Toolkit is a bespoke, interactive web based tool that provides a step by step guide through each stage of the asset transfer process:

http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/tools-guidance/asset-transfer/

Recommendation C – Maximise community use of education sites where there is a need to do so 44

Given the mix of provider in Warrington, there is a need for the Council and NGBs to work with other partners to help maximise use of outdoor sports facilities and in particular grass pitches and AGPs.

In order to maximise community use of educational facilities it is recommended to establish a more coherent, structured relationship with schools. The ability to access good facilities within the local community is vital to any sports organisation, yet many clubs struggle to find good quality places to play and train.

A number of sporting facilities are located on education sites and making these available to sports clubs can offer significant benefits to both the school/college and the local clubs. The Council and other key partners must work with schools and colleges to develop an understanding of the issues that restrict or affect community access. Support should be provided, where appropriate, to address underlying problems.

Where appropriate, it will be important for schools to negotiate and sign formal and long- term agreements that secure community use.

It is not uncommon for school pitch stock not to be fully maximised for community use. Even on established community use sites, access to grass pitches for community use is limited.

In some instances grass pitches are unavailable for community use due to poor quality and therefore remedial works will be required before community use can be established.

As detailed earlier, Sport England has also produced guidance, online resources and toolkits to help open up and retain school sites for community use and can be found at:

Community use: http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/accessing-schools/ Use our schools toolkit: http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/use-our-school/

Aim 2 45

To enhance playing fields, pitches and ancillary facilities through improving quality and management of sites.

Recommendations: d. Improve quality e. Adopt a tiered approach (hierarchy of provision) for the management and improvement of sites. f. Work in partnership with stakeholders to secure funding

Recommendation D – Improve quality

There are a number of ways in which it is possible to increase pitch quality and these are explored below. One way for improving quality on football sites is via the FA’s pitch improvement programme.

The FA Pitch Improvement Programme (PIP)

The key principles behind the service are to provide football clubs with advice/practical solutions on a number of areas and discounts on machinery and materials to support improving the clubs’ playing surface. The programme should be utilised in order to help any clubs that take on the management and maintenance of sites or which are currently managing and maintaining their own pitch site.

As subsidy is removed for pitch maintenance the PIP is an essential toolkit in supporting self- management/maintenance of sites, particularly on adult sites that have historically been maintained by the Council.

Addressing quality issues

Generally, where pitches are assessed as standard or poor quality and/or overplayed, there is a need to review/improve maintenance regimes to ensure it is of an appropriate standard to sustain/improve pitch quality. Ensuring existing maintenance of good quality pitches continues is also important.

Based on an achievable target using existing quality scoring to provide a baseline, a standard should be used to identify deficiencies and investment should be focused on those sites which fail to meet the proposed quality standard (using the site audit database, provided in electronic format). The Strategy approach to these outdoor sports facilities achieving these standards should be to enhance quality and therefore the planning system should seek to protect them.

For the purposes of the Quality Assessments, this Strategy will refer to pitches and ancillary facilities separately as Good, Standard or Poor quality. In Warrington, for example, some good or standard quality sites have poor quality elements i.e. changing rooms or a specific pitch.

Good quality refers to pitches that have, for example, a good maintenance regime coupled with good grass cover, good quality sports pitch drainage, an even surface, are free from vandalism, litter etc. In terms of ancillary facilities, good quality refers to access for disabled people, sufficient provision for referees, juniors/women/girls and appropriate provision of showers, toilets and car parking. For rugby union, a good pitch is also pipe and/or slit drained.

Standard quality refers to pitches that have, for example, an adequate maintenance regime coupled with adequate grass cover, some sports pitch drainage, minimal signs of wear and tear, goalposts may be secure but in need of minor repair. In terms of ancillary facilities, standard quality refers to adequately sized changing rooms, storage provision and provision of toilets. For rugby union, drainage is natural and adequate.

Poor quality refers to pitches that have, for example, poor levels of maintenance coupled with inadequate grass cover, no sports pitch drainage, uneven surface and damage. In terms of ancillary facilities, poor quality refers to inappropriate size of changing rooms, no showers, no running water and old dated interior. For rugby union, drainage is natural and inadequate.

Please refer to the Sport England/NGB quality assessments. Sites played beyond capacity may require remedial action to help reduce this.

Without appropriate, fit for purpose ancillary facilities, good quality pitches may be underutilised. Changing facilities form the most essential part of this offer and therefore key sites such as those mentioned above should be given priority for improvement.

In order to prioritise investment into key sites it is recommended that the steering group works up a list of criteria, relevant to the Area, to provide a steer on future investment.

For improvement/replacement of AGPs refer to Sport England and the NGBs ‘Selecting the Right Artificial Surface for Hockey, Football, Rugby League and Rugby Union’ document for a guide as to suitable AGP surfaces:

www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/tools-guidance/design-and-cost- guidance/artificial-sports-surfaces/

Addressing overplay 47

In order to improve the overall quality of the playing pitches stock; it is necessary to ensure that pitches are not overplayed beyond recommended weekly carrying capacity. This is determined by assessing pitch quality (via a non-technical site assessment) and allocating a weekly match limit to each. Each NGB recommends a number of matches that a good quality grass pitch should take:

Sport Pitch type No. of matches Good quality Standard quality Poor quality Football Adult pitches 3 per week 2 per week 1 per week Youth pitches 4 per week 2 per week 1 per week Mini pitches 6 per week 4 per week 2 per week Rugby Natural Inadequate 2 per week 1.5 per week 0.5 per week Uunion20 (D0) Natural Adequate (D1) 3 per week 2 per week 1.5 per week Pipe Drained (D2) 3.25 per week 2.5 per week 1.75 per week Pipe and Slit Drained 3.5 per week 3 per week 2 per week (D3) Rugby Senior 3 per week 2 per week 1 per week Lleague Cricket One grass wicket 5 per season N/A N/A One synthetic wicket 60 per season

There are also a number of sites that are poor quality but are not overplayed. These sites should not be overlooked as often poor quality sites have less demand than other sites but demand could increase if the quality was to increase. Improving pitch quality should not be considered in isolation from maintenance regimes.

Whilst it works both ways in so much as poor pitch condition is a symptom of pitches being over played, potential improvements may make sites more attractive and therefore more popular.

There is also a need to balance pitch improvements alongside the transfer of play to alternative pitch sites. Therefore, work with clubs to ensure that sites are not played beyond their capacity and encourage play, where possible, to be transferred to alternative venues which are not operating at capacity.

Increasing pitch maintenance

20 Please note that the RFU believes that it is most appropriate to base the calculation of pitch capacity upon an assessment of the drainage system and maintenance programme afforded to a site. 48

Standard or poor grass pitch quality may not just be a result of poor drainage. In some instances ensuring there is an appropriate maintenance for the level/standard of play can help to improve quality and therefore increase pitch capacity. Each NGB can provide assistance with reviewing pitch maintenance regimes.

For example, the FA, ECB and RFL in partnership have recently introduced a Pitch Advisor Scheme and have been working in partnership with Institute of Groundmanship (IOG) to develop a Grass Pitch Maintenance service that can be utilised by grassroots football clubs with the simple aim of improving the quality of grass pitches. The key principles behind the service are to provide football clubs with advice/practical solutions on a number of areas, with the simple aim of improving the club’s playing surface.

At sites in Warrington which are maintained by WBC, maintenance of grass pitches is deemed to be basic and for football covers grass cutting and seeding only, resulting in many pitches being assessed as poor quality. Where local authority pitches are recommended for improvement within the action plan, carrying out additional regular work such as aerating, sand dressing, fertilising and/or weed killing will all improve quality. An improvement in post season remedial work is also recommended. It is recommended that the Council works with users and the County FA’s to fully determine the most appropriate pitch improvements on a site by site basis.

In relation to cricket, maintaining high pitch quality is the most important aspect of cricket. If the wicket is poor, it can affect the quality of the game and can, in some instances, become dangerous. The ECB recommends full technical assessments of wickets and pitches available through a Performance Quality Standard Assessment (PQS). The PQS assesses a cricket square to ascertain whether the pitch meets the Performance Quality Standards that are benchmarked by the Institute of Groundsmanship. Please note that PQS assessments are also available for other sports.

Improving changing provision

There is a clear need to address changing provision across the whole of Warrington, particularly on local authority sites. It is recommended that a holistic view is taken in regard to improvements and provision on site. Sites which predominantly accommodate adult football should be prioritised for improvements.

Recommendation E – Adopt a tiered approach (hierarchy of provision) for the management and improvement of sites

To allow for facility developments to be programmed within a phased approach the Council should adopt a tiered approach to the management and improvement of playing pitch sites and associated facilities. Please refer to Section 6: Action Plan for the proposed hierarchy.

Recommendation F – Work in partnership with stakeholders to secure funding

Partners, led by the Council, should ensure that appropriate funding secured for improved sports provision is directed to areas of need, underpinned by a robust strategy for improvement in playing pitch facilities.

In order to address the community’s needs, to target priority areas and to reduce duplication of provision, there should be a coordinated approach to strategic investment. In delivering this recommendation the Council should maintain a regular dialogue with local partners and through the Playing Pitch Steering Group.

Some investment in new provision will not be made by the Council directly, it is important, however, that the Council therefore seeks to direct and lead a strategic and co-ordinated approach to facility development by education sites, NGBs, sports clubs and the commercial sector to address community needs whilst avoiding duplication of provision.

Sport and physical activity can have a profound effect on peoples’ lives, and plays a crucial role in improving community cohesion, educational attainment and self-confidence. However, one of sport’s greatest contributions is its positive impact on public health. It is therefore important to lever in investment from other sectors such as health and wellbeing for example.

Aim 3

To provide new playing pitches where there is current or future demand to do so.

Recommendations:

g. Rectify quantitative shortfalls in the current pitch stock. h. Identify opportunities to add to the overall stock to accommodate both current and future demand.

Recommendation G - Rectify quantitative shortfalls in the current pitch stock

Warrington Borough Council and its partners should work to rectify identified inadequacies and meet identified shortfalls as outlined in the Assessment Report and the sport by sport specific recommendations.

It is important that the current levels of grass pitch provision are protected, maintained and enhanced to secure provision now and in the future. For most sports the future demand for provision identified in Warrington can be overcome through maximising use of existing pitches through a combination of:

• Improving pitch quality in order to improve the capacity of pitches to accommodate more matches. • The re-designation of pitches for which there is an oversupply. • Securing long term community use at school sites. • The provision of additional 3G AGP provision that can cater for competitive football and training for football, rugby league and rugby union.

This however is not the case in all instances and it is not realistic to rely on all or any of these measures to address deficiencies. In some case new provision is required and that needs to be identified from the sport specific summaries and through the PPS action plan.

There may be an opportunity to use some senior pitches to provide senior, junior or mini pitches (through different line markings/coning areas of the pitch). However, further work should be undertaken on this as an action for the Council/NGBs. Furthermore, the re- designation of adult pitches that are not currently used may lead to a deficiency of adult pitches in the medium to longer term as younger players move up the ages. It is likely that for some sports, particularly football, that the provision of new pitches, grass or artificial grass, and facilities will be required in the future to support the predicted future demand.

Unmet demand, changes in sport participation and trends, and proposed housing growth should be recognised and factored into future facility planning. Assuming an increase in participation and housing growth occurs, it will impact on the future need for certain types of sports facilities. Sports development work also approximates unmet demand which cannot currently be quantified (i.e., it is not being suppressed by a lack of facilities) but is likely to occur. The following table highlights the main development trends in each sport and their likely impact on facilities. However, it is important to note that these may be subject to change. 51

Furthermore, retaining some spare capacity allows some pitches to be rested to protect overall pitch quality in the long term. Therefore, whilst in some instances it may be appropriate to re-designate a senior pitch where there is low demand identified a holistic approach should be taken to re-designation for the reasons cited. The site-by-site action planning will seek to provide further clarification on where re-designation is suitable.

Recommendation H - Identify opportunities to add to the overall pitch stock to accommodate both current and future demand

The Council should use, and regularly update, the Action Plan within this Strategy for improvements to its own pitches whilst recognising the need to support partners. The Action Plan lists improvements to be made to each site focused upon both qualitative and quantitative improvements as appropriate for each area.

Furthermore any potential school sites which become redundant over the lifetime of the Strategy may offer potential for meeting community needs on a localised basis. Where schools are closed their playing fields may be converted to dedicated community use to help address any unmet community needs.

Some sites (or adjacent land) in Warrington also have the potential to accommodate more pitches which may be a solution to meeting shortfalls identified.

Section 6: Action Plan Overview

6.1. Introduction

The site-by-site Action Plan21 list seeks to address key issues identified in the accompanying Assessment Report. It provides recommendations based on current levels of usage, quality and future demand, as well as the potential of each site for enhancement. The Action Plan can be found in Appendix 3 of this document.

It should be reviewed in the light of staff and financial resources in order to prioritise support for strategically significant provision and provision that other providers are less likely to make. Recommendation ‘e’ below explains the hierarchy of priorities on the list. It is imperative that action plans for priority projects should be developed through the implementation of the strategy.

The Council should make it a high priority to work with NGBs and other partners to comprise a priority list of actions based on local priorities, NGB priorities and available funding.

6.2. hierarchy of provision

To allow for facility developments to be prioritised and programmed within a phased approach a tiered model for the improvement of playing pitch sites and associated facilities is useful.

The identification of sites is based on their strategic importance in a Borough wide context i.e. they accommodate the majority of demand or the recommended action has the greatest impact on addressing shortfalls identified either on a sport by sport basis or across the Borough as a whole.

NB: Where education sites are identified as (or part of) hub sites or key centres, further investigation and clarification on accessibility, security of tenure and community use agreements will be required as part of the wider ‘access to schools’ recommendation. Where community use of a site is not guaranteed the education site should be reclassified within the hierarchy.

21 Please note that the action plan has been developed since the sign off of the Assessment Report and therefore there may be minor differences between the Assessment Report and Action Plan on the current status of some sites. 53

Recommended tiered site criteria22

Hub sites Key centres Local sites

• Strategically well located. • Strategically well located • Services the local community. • Priority site for NGBs. within the analysis area. • Likely to include education • Accommodates three or more • Accommodates two or more sites. standard and/or good quality standard and/or good quality • Accommodates one or more grass pitches. grass pitches or includes (or pitch. could include) provision of at • Includes (or could include) • Single or multi-sport provision. least one AGP. provision of at least one AGP. • Standard maintenance regime • Single or multi-sport • Single or multi-sport provision. either by the club or in house provision. • Has potential to operate as a maintenance contract. • Has potential to operate as a central venue. • Appropriate access changing to central venue. • Maintenance regime aligns accommodate both senior and • Maintenance regime aligns with NGB guidelines. junior use concurrently (if with NGB guidelines. required). • Good quality ancillary facility • Good quality ancillary facility on site, with sufficient on site, with sufficient changing rooms and car changing rooms and car parking to serve the number parking to serve the number of pitches. of pitches.

Hub sites

These sites are of Borough wide importance where users are willing to travel to access the range and high quality of facilities offered and are likely to be multi-sport. These have been identified on the basis of high impact on addressing the issues identified in the Assessment Report.

Where development of Hub Sites includes provision of 3G pitches for football it is recommended that further modelling/feasibility work is carried out to ensure sustainability of new 3G pitches to accommodate competitive fixtures. However, as a priority consultation should be carried out with leagues/clubs to gauge acceptance/buy in of moving competitive play to 3G pitches in the future.

Key centres

Although these sites are more community focused, some are still likely to service a wider analysis area. However, there may be more of a focus on a specific sport.

It is considered that some financial investment will be necessary to improve the ancillary facilities at both Hub sites and Key Centres to complement the pitches in terms of access, flexibility (i.e. single-sex changing if necessary), quality and that they meet the rules and regulations of local competitions.

22 These are criteria required for each tier. Sites may not yet meet all the criteria specified but the aspirations are that they can and will. 54

Local sites

This category refers to those sites which are generally one and two pitch sites and may be Council owned hired to clubs for a season or are sites which have been leased on a long- term basis. However, they are also likely to be private club sites serving one particular sport.

The level of priority attached to them for Council-generated investment may be relatively low and consideration should be given, on a site-by-site basis, to the feasibility of a club taking a long-term lease on the site (if not already present), in order that external funding can be sought.

It is possible that sites could be included in this tier which are not currently hired or leased to a club, but have the potential to be leased to a suitable club. NGBs would expect the facility to be transferred in adequate condition that the club can maintain. In the longer term, the Club should be in a position to source external funding to improve/extend the facilities.

6.3. Management and development

The following issues should be considered when undertaking sports related site development or enhancement:

• Financial viability. • Security of tenure. • Planning permission requirements and any foreseen difficulties in securing permission. • Adequacy of existing finances to maintain existing sites. • Business Plan/Masterplan – including financial package for creation of new provision where need has been identified. • Analysis of the possibility of shared site management opportunities. • The availability of opportunities to lease sites to external organisations. • Options to assist community groups to gain funding to enhance existing provision. • Negotiation with landowners to increase access to private strategic sites. • Availability of funding for hub site development. • Impact on all sports that use a site regardless of the sport that is the subject of enhancements.

6.4. Action plan columns

6.4.1. Partners

The column indicating Partners refers to the main organisation that the Council will liaise with in helping to deliver the actions. The next stage in the development of the Action Plan will be to agree a Lead Partner to help deliver the actions.

6.4.2. Site hierarchy tier and priority level

Although Hub Sites are mostly likely to have a high priority level as they have Borough wide importance, high priority sites have been identified on the basis of the impact that the site will have on addressing the key issues identified in the Assessment Report and therefore some Key Centres are also identified as having a high priority level. It is these projects/sites which should generally be addressed within the short term (1-2 years).

It is recommended that as the Steering Group reviews and updates the action plan that medium and low priority sites are then identified as the next level of sites for attention. As a guide it is recommended that:

• Key centres are a medium priority and have analysis area importance and have been identified on the basis of the impact that the site will have on addressing the issues identified in the Assessment Report. • Local sites Low priority sites are club or education sites with local specific importance and have been identified on a site by site basis as issues appertaining to individual sites but that may also contribute to addressing the issues identified in the Assessment Report.

SECTION 7: KEEP THE STRATEGY ROBUST AND UP TO DATE

Delivery

The Playing Pitch Strategy seeks to provide guidance for maintenance/management decisions and investment made across Warrington. By addressing the issues identified in the Assessment Report and using the strategic framework presented in this Strategy, the current and future sporting and recreational needs of Warrington can be satisfied. The Strategy identifies where there is a deficiency in provision and identifies how best to resolve this in the future.

It is important that this document is used in a practical manner, is engaged with partners and encourages partnerships to be developed, to ensure that outdoor sports facilities are regarded as a vital aspect of community life and which contribute to the achievement of Council priorities.

The production of this Strategy should be regarded as the beginning of the planning process. The success of this Strategy and the benefits that are gained are dependent upon regular engagement between all partners involved and the adoption of a strategic approach.

Each member of the steering group should take the lead to ensure the PPS is used and applied appropriately within their area of work and influence. The role of the steering group should not end with the completion of the PPS document.

To help ensure the PPS is well used it should be regarded as the key document within the study area guiding the improvement and protection of playing pitch provision. It needs to be the document people regularly turn to for information on how the current demand is met and what actions are required to improve the situation and meet future demand. In order for this to be achieved the steering group need to have a clear understanding of how the PPS can be applied and therefore delivered. Key uses for the PPS include evidence for supporting funding bids, guidance to inform planning decisions and planning applications and decision making for capital investment.

The process of developing the PPS has already resulted in a number of benefits that will help with its application and delivery. This includes enhanced partnership working across different agendas and organisations, pooling of resources along with strengthening relationships and understanding between different stakeholders and between members of the steering group and the sporting community. The drivers behind the PPS and the work to develop the recommendations and action plan have also highlighted, and helped the steering group to understand, the key areas to which it can be applied and how it can be delivered.

Monitoring and updating

It is important that there is regular annual monitoring and review against the actions identified in the Strategy. This monitoring should be led by the local authority and 57

supported by the Steering Group. Understanding and learning lessons from how the PPS has been applied should also form a key component of monitoring its delivery. This should form an on-going role of the steering group. It is possible that in the interim between annual reviews the steering group could operate as a ‘virtual’ group; prepared to comment on suggestions and updates electronically when relevant.

As a guide, if no review and subsequent update has been carried out within three years of the PPS being signed off by the Steering Group, then Sport England and the NGBs would consider the PPS and the information on which it is based to be out of date. If the PPS is used as a ‘live’ document, and kept up to date, the time frame can be extended to five years.

Furthermore, the process of refreshing the PPS would be much less resource intensive if changes and updates have been made throughout the five years. If there are no updates to the document within the period the nature of the supply and in particular the demand for playing pitches is likely to have changed. Therefore, without any form of review and update within this time period it would be difficult to make the case that the supply and demand information and assessment work is sufficiently robust.

The table below provides a monitoring and review process for the Steering Group to follow:

What? Who? When? 1. Internal Steering Group Meeting • Active Warrington Leisure Bi-Annually Sub-Group Meeting between WBC internal Steering Group members to discuss and log key changes in playing pitch and facility provision, covering:

• New pitch provision; • Pitch improvements; • Pitch re-configuration; • Pitch loss/threat; • Community Access agreements (e.g. education or private sites); • Plans for future provision.

Outcome of meeting and updates to documents recorded. 2. Sport England and NGB Update Meetings • WBC Steering Group Chair Annually for each • Sports NGBs sport: WBC Steering Group Chair to hold series of update meetings with individual sports NGBs to discuss and log: Football – October Rugby League – May • Any changes in club and team details; Rugby Union – • Any changes in sport format; October • Any site specific updates; Cricket – May • Changes to supply and demand data; Hockey – October • The application and use of the PPS e.g. in delivery of new or improved provision, funding Tennis – May opportunities, programmes and initiatives; • Any new issues and opportunities.

3. Prepare Annual PPS Progress Paper • PPS Steering Group Annually

Based on the outcome of actions above, prepare a short Annual PPS Progress and Update paper highlighting:

• The delivery of PPS recommendations and any changes in priority; • Changes to particularly important sites and/or clubs in the area and other supply and demand information with implications for PPS’s key findings; • Details of any developments of a specific sport or particular format; • Details of any new or emerging issues and opportunities; • Any issues with the application of the PPS and lessons learnt; • Actions needed to keep the PPS ‘live’ and up to date.

Based on the above, the Annual Progress Paper will also consider if a partial or full update of the PPS is required. 4. Circulation and Agreement • PPS Steering Group Annually

Circulate Annual Progress Paper to Steering Group for comment and agreement with opportunity to hold Steering Group Meeting to discuss findings and issues.

5. Publish Paper • WBC Annually – following Make Annual Progress paper available online. Report any significant findings to appropriate committee if Steering Group considered necessary. agreement on progress paper

Checklist

To help ensure the PPS is delivered and is kept robust and up to date, the steering group can refer to the methodology Stage E Checklist: Deliver the strategy and keep it robust and up to date, as outlined in the Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance:

https://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/planning-for-sport/planning-tools-and- guidance/playing-pitch-strategy-guidance/

Tick Stage E: Deliver the strategy and keep it robust and up to date Yes Requires Attention Step 9: Apply and deliver the strategy 1. Are steering group members clear on how the PPS can be applied across a range of relevant areas? 2. Is each member of the steering group committed to taking the lead to help ensure the PPS is used and applied appropriately within their area of work and influence? 3. Has a process been put in place to ensure regular monitoring of how the recommendations and action plan are being delivered and the PPS is being applied? Step 10: Keep the strategy robust and up to date 1. Has a process been put in place to ensure the PPS is kept robust and up to date? 2. Does the process involve an annual update of the PPS? 3. Is the steering group to be maintained and is it clear of its on-going role? 4. Is regular liaison with the NGBs and other parties planned? 5. Has all the supply and demand information been collated and presented in a format (i.e. single document that can be filtered accordingly) that will help people to review it and highlight any changes? 6. Have any changes made to the Active Places Power data been fed back to Sport England?

APPENDIX ONE

GLOSSARY

Displaced demand: generally relates to play by teams or other users of playing pitches from within the study area (i.e. from residents of the study area) which takes place outside of the area. This may be due to issues with the provision of pitches and ancillary facilities in the study area, just reflective of how the sports are played (e.g. at a central venue for the wider area) or due to the most convenient site for the respective users just falling outside of the local authority/study area.

Unmet demand: is demand that is known to exist but unable to be accommodated on current supply of pitches. This could be in the form of a team with access to a pitch for matches but nowhere to train or vice versa. This could also be due to the poor quality and therefore limited capacity of pitches in the area and/or a lack of provision and ancillary facilities which meet a certain standard of play/league requirement. League secretaries may be aware of some unmet demand as they may have declined applications from teams wishing to enter their competitions due to a lack of pitch provision which in turn is hindering the growth of the league.

Latent demand: is demand that evidence suggests may be generated from the current population should they have access to more or better provision. This could include feedback from a sports club who may feel that they could set up and run an additional team if they had access to better provision.

Future demand: is an informed estimate made of the likely future demand for pitches in the study area. This is generally based on the most appropriate current and future population projections for the relevant age and gender groupings for each sport. Key trends, local objectives and targets and consultation also inform this figure.

Casual use: or other use could take place on natural grass pitches or AGPs and include:

 Regular play from non-sports club sources (e.g. companies, schools, fitness classes)  Infrequent informal/friendly matches  Informal training sessions  More casual forms of a particular sport organised by sports clubs or other parties  Significant public use and informal play, particularly where pitches are located in parks/recreation grounds.

Carrying capacity: is the amount of play a site can regularly accommodate (in the relevant comparable unit) for community use without adversely affecting its quality and use. This is typically outlined by the NGB

Overplay: is when a pitch is used over the amount that the carrying capacity will allow, (i.e. more than the site can accommodate). Pitches have a limit of how much play they can accommodate over a certain period of time before their quality, and in turn their use, is adversely affected.

Spare capacity: is the amount of additional play that a pitch could potentially accommodate in additional to current activity. There may be reasons why this potential to accommodate additional play should not automatically be regarded as actual spare capacity, for example, a site may be managed to regularly operate slightly below its carrying capacity to ensure that it can cater for a number of friendly matches and training activity. This needs to be investigated before the capacity is deemed actual spare capacity.

Match equivalent sessions: Pitches have a limit of how much play they can accommodate over a certain period of time before their quality, and in turn their use, is adversely affected. As the main usage of pitches is likely to be for matches, it is appropriate for the comparable unit to be match equivalent sessions but may for example include training sessions. For football, rugby union and rugby league, pitches should relate to a typical week within the season and one match = one match equivalent session if it occurs every week or 0.5 match equivalent sessions if it occurs every other week (i.e. reflecting home and away fixtures). For cricket pitches it is appropriate to look at the number of match equivalent sessions over the course of a season and one match = one match equivalent session. For AGP’s match equivalent sessions are not appropriate, instead the number of hours a pitch is available assessed against the number actually used gives an indication of the capacity.

Pitch capacity: The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for 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 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, each NGB has set a standard number of matches that each grass pitch type should be able to accommodate without adversely affecting its current quality (pitch capacity):

Sport Pitch type No. of matches per week Good quality Standard quality Poor quality Cricket One grass wicket 5 per season N/A N/A One synthetic wicket 60 per season N/A N/A Football Adult pitches 3 2 1 Youth pitches 4 2 1 Mini pitches 6 4 2

Rugby Senior 3 per week 2 per week 1 per week league Rugby Natural Inadequate (D0) 2 1.5 0.5 union* Natural Adequate (D1) 3 2 1.5 Pipe Drained (D2) 3.25 2.5 1.75 Pipe and Slit Drained (D3) 3.5 3 2

Shortfalls: Please note that shortfalls are expressed in match equivalent sessions rather than pitches as it is possible that shortfalls could be accommodated in various ways (e.g. through pitch improvements) and not just by providing more pitches.

Appendix 2

Playing Pitch Strategy Action Plan - See separate document

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Warrington Borough

Council

Playing Pitch Strategy

Assessment Report

December 2018

Warrington Borough Council Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report

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Contents

Heading Title Page No Abbreviations 2 Section 1 Introduction and methodology 3

Section 2 Football 16

Section 3 Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) 63

Section 4 Hockey 75

Section 5 Rugby League 89

Section 6 Rugby Union 114

Section 7 Cricket 130

Appendix 1 Club development aspirations 148 document provided by Warrington Borough Council

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Abbreviations

WBC: Warrington Borough Council PPS: Playing Pitch Strategy AGP: Artificial Grass Pitch 3G: Third Generation (artificial grass pitch) ECB: England and Wales Cricket Board EH: England Hockey FA: Football Association MES: Match Equivalent Sessions NGB: National Governing Body NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework RFL: Rugby Football League RFU: Rugby Football Union S106: Section 106 TGR: Team Generation Rate

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Section 1: Introduction and methodology

This is the Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report prepared by LiveWire Warrington CIC for Warrington Borough Council (WBC) and its partners.

This report presents a supply and demand assessment of playing pitch facilities in accordance with Sport England’s ‘Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance: An approach to developing and delivering 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 and other outdoor sports facilities.

It will support the development of a new playing pitch strategy for Warrington. The key drivers for a strategy as set out by Sport England include:

• To support the improving health and well-being and increasing participation in sport. • Sports development programmes and changes in how the sports are played. • The need to provide evidence to help protect and enhance existing provision. • The need to inform the development and implementation of planning policy. • The need to inform the assessment of planning applications. • Potential changes to the supply of provision due to capital programmes e.g. for educational sites. • To review budgetary pressures and ensure the most efficient management and maintenance of playing pitch provision. • To develop a priority list of deliverable projects which will help to meet any current deficiencies provide for future demands and feed into wider infrastructure planning work. • To prioritise internal capital and revenue investment. • To provide evidence to help secure internal and external funding.

The Sport England guidance details a stepped approach to developing a Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS). These steps are separated into five distinct sections:

• Stage A: Prepare and tailor the approach (Step 1) • Stage B: Gather information and views on the supply of and demand for provision (Steps 2 & 3) • Stage C: Assess the supply and demand information and views (Steps 4, 5 & 6) • Stage D: Develop the strategy (Steps 7 & 8) • Stage E: Deliver the strategy and keep it robust and up to date (Steps 9 & 10)

Stages A to C are covered in this report.

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Stage A: Prepare and tailor the approach

The Borough of Warrington is bordered by Halton, Cheshire West and Chester, and Cheshire East boroughs in the Ceremonial County of Cheshire and by the metropolitan boroughs of Trafford, Salford and Wigan in Greater Manchester and St. Helens in Merseyside. It serves a population of over 200,000 people.

Warrington is made up of a wide range of sports facilities that are well used and highly valued by the resident population. These sport facilities complement the overall stock of open spaces across the borough.

In the most recent Active People survey1, Warrington was ranked as the most active borough in the North West. A key aspiration of the Active Warrington strategy 2017-2020 is to continue to see participation in sport grow. To help achieve this aspiration it is essential that residents across the borough have access to appropriate facilities. Playing pitches are a key part of the sporting infrastructure across Warrington.

The primary purpose of the Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) is to provide a strategic framework which ensures that the provision of outdoor playing pitches meet the local needs of existing and future residents within the Warrington area. The PPS will be produced in accordance with national planning guidance and provide robust and objective justification for future playing pitch provision throughout Warrington.

Paragraphs 73 and 74 of the NPPF discuss assessments and the protection of “existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields”. A Playing Pitch Strategy will provide the evidence required to help protect playing fields to ensure sufficient land is available to meet existing and projected future pitch requirements.

Paragraph 76 and 77 promote the identification of important green spaces by local communities and the protection of these facilities. Such spaces may include playing fields.

1 Sport England. Active People Survey 10 (October 15 – September 16, 1 x30 min participation). https://www.sportengland.org/research/about-our-research/active-people-survey/ 4

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Warrington Local Planning Framework

The new Local Plan Preferred Development Option provides an ambitious plan for the future growth of Warrington over the next 20 years. It aims to significantly boost development in the Town Centre and across Inner Warrington, complemented by the release of Green Belt land and supported by wide ranging infrastructure investment.

Therefore, WBC needs to review and revise its PPS in order to comply with the new guidance from Sport England and take account of the higher level of growth now envisaged. This new methodology will provide robust evidence for the Local Development Framework, statutory land use planning decisions and funding bids, which will involve the following:

• To provide updated information on Warrington’s existing and future needs for playing pitches and its current ability to meet those needs in terms of quality, quantity and location. • To provide evidence to inform wider Green Infrastructure Planning across the Borough

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• To review any surpluses or shortfalls in playing pitches to enable the Council to set priorities and review recommended standards for provision, to be incorporated within and used in the implementation of planning policy. • To provide background evidence to support emerging Local Plan policies (to be finalised during 2018) to meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) paragraphs 73 and 74 • To review the information to enable the Council to justify collecting developer contributions and inform the Council on the distribution of developer contributions to sports and open space in line with Section 106 regulations.

Warrington Council Strategy 2015 - 2018

On 2 March 2015 the council approved its new strategy, which sets a strong direction for the future.

‘Working together’ and getting the most out of the Warrington pound is a theme that runs throughout the document, and is underpinned by the vision: ‘We will work together with our residents, businesses and partners to make Warrington a place where everyone can thrive’

Through the strategy the council makes four pledges to its residents that will be used as a basis for making future decisions. 1. To protect the most vulnerable 2. Grow a strong economy 3. Build strong, active and resilient communities 4. Create a place to be proud of

The strategy identifies a number of priorities for each of the four pledges. The most relevant pledge is the ‘Building strong, active and resilient communities’. The priorities outlined are: • Support communities (especially our most deprived communities) to become strong, sustainable and more resilient • Improve the health of the population, reduce obesity, enhance emotional wellbeing and target issues that affect men and women differently • Prioritise our partnership work to reduce alcohol harm • Work with schools and partners to ensure our children have the best start in life • Take action with partners and communities to reduce social isolation and loneliness particularly for older people • Support residents in participating in cultural, sporting and recreational activities • Ensure that all council policies and decisions consider and aim to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents

Warrington Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2015 – 2018)

The Warrington Health and Wellbeing Strategy identifies the priority areas where resources and services should be targeted in order to promote, maintain and increase the overall health and wellbeing of people, communities and the borough as a whole during the next three years and into the future.

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It sets out a vision for the borough, identifies major challenges and priorities to be addressed by partners, and outlines the outcomes for the strategy. The vision for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is ‘Working together in Warrington for stronger neighbourhoods, healthier people, a prosperous economy and more equal communities.’

The priority outcomes for the strategy are outlined in figure 1 below

Figure 1: Health and Wellbeing Strategy Priority Outcomes

The strategy identifies a number of principles that will help clearly focus how partners will work together to shape an approach to transforming health and wellbeing in the borough.

The seven proposed principles are: 1. Investing in integration 2. Tacking inequalities 3. Promoting prevention 4. Providing care closer to home 5. Strengthening community resilience and improving engagement. 6. Encouraging personal responsibility 7. Delivering excellence for Warrington

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Active Warrington Strategy 2017 – 2020

The Active Warrington strategy core outcome is that in Warrington more people, move more, more often! The strategy has a number of supporting strategic aims as outlined below: • People are proud to be part of an active town; • Everyone understands the full benefits of physical activity; • Without discrimination, everyone has the opportunity to try out and participation in a broad range of sports and physical activities; • Those who are currently inactive are specifically supported with initiatives that encourages them to move more, in ways that suit them; • There continue to be sporting opportunities for people of all levels; • Inactivity is recognised by local policy makes and practitioners as a major cause of poor health and disabilities.

The Active Warrington strategy has a steering group which drives the strategy. Beneath the strategy is a delivery framework which includes 6 work streams: 1. Leisure industry, sport clubs and facilities 2. Children, young people and families 3. Third sector, community assets and small funding pots 4. Targeted input to health improvement and clinical programmes 5. Businesses, active workforce and mass participation 6. Communications and customer insight

Playing Pitch Strategy Governance

The PPS is governed through a Steering Group and in line with the governance arrangements in place for the Active Warrington Strategy.

All decisions in relation to the PPS including updates and recommendations will be communicated via the leisure industry, sports clubs and facilities work stream to the Active Warrington Steering Group. Any actions or recommendations that may involve approval will then be communicated to the relevant groups and highlighted in the annual report of the Active Warrington Strategy.

The membership of the PPS Steering Group is balanced and representative of the different parties and key drivers behind the work. The membership has changed over the course of the PPS needs assessment project due to staffing changes within WBC and NGBs. The current members are outlined below. The membership reflects recommendations set out by Sport England in the PPS Guidance document:

Table 1: Warrington Playing Pitch Steering Group Member List Name Organisation Role Dave Cotterill WBC Environment Services Manager and Steering Group Chair Kevin Usher WBC Senior Planning Policy Officer 8

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Andy Barry WBC Recreation Officer Fiona Pudge Sport England Planning Manager Alice Watson The FA Regional Facilities & Investment Manager (NW) Paul Kelsall Cheshire County FA County Development Manager Tony Smith Liverpool County FA County Development Manager Fiona Prescott England and Wales Cricket Facilities and Investment Board Manager Mike Woollard Cheshire Cricket Board Club Development Manager Carol Doran/John The Rugby Football League National Facilities Manager McMullen Tom Bartram The Rugby Football Union Area Facility Manager Julie Longden Relationship Manager England Hockey James Birdsey LiveWire Strategic Lead – Sport Matthew Parker LiveWire Project Lead for PPS

The PPS steering group is and has been responsible for the direction of the PPS from a strategic perspective and for supporting, checking and challenging the work of the project team.

It will be important for the PPS steering group to continue once the PPS has been finalised for several reasons, including a continuing responsibility to: • Be a champion for playing pitch provision in the area and promote the value and importance of the PPS • Ensure implementation of the PPS’s recommendations and action plan • Monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the PPS • Ensure the PPS is kept up to date and refreshed.

Agreed scope

The following types of outdoor sports facilities were agreed by the steering group for inclusion in the assessment and strategy: • Football pitches • Artificial grass pitches (3G and sand) • Cricket pitches • Hockey pitches • Rugby league pitches • Rugby union pitches

Study area

As a borough wide assessment the study area reflects the Warrington borough boundaries. Further to this sub areas or analysis areas have been created to allow a more localised assessment of provision and examination of playing pitch supply and demand at a local level. Use of analysis areas also allows local circumstances and issues to be taken into account.

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Warrington is currently split into four neighbourhood areas as shown in figure 2 below and these neighbourhood areas have been used as the analysis areas in the assessment.

Figure 2: Warrington Analysis Areas

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Stage B: Gather information and views on the supply of and demand for provision

It is essential that a PPS is based on the most accurate and up-to-date information available for the supply and demand for playing pitches. This section provides details about how this information has been gathered.

Gather supply information and views – an audit of playing pitches

PPS guidance uses the following definitions of a playing pitch and playing field. These definitions are set out by the Government in the 2015 ‘Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order’.2

Playing pitch – a delineated area which is used for association football, rugby, cricket, hockey, lacrosse, rounder’s, 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.

The status of a playing pitch and playing field is the same, irrespective of whether the site is owned or operated by the public, private or voluntary sector,

Quantity

All playing pitches are included irrespective of ownership, management and use. Playing pitch sites were initially identified using Sport England’s Active Places web based database. The Council and NGBs supported the process by checking and updating this initial data. This was also verified against club information supplied by local leagues. For each site the following details were recorded in the project database (which will be 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

2. www.sportengland.org>Facilities and Planning> Planning Applications 11

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Accessibility

Not all pitches offer the same level of access to the community. The ownership and accessibility of playing pitches also influences their actual availability for community use. Each site is assigned a level of community use as follows:

• Community use - 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 used 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. • Lapsed - last known use as a playing field was more than five years ago, unless allocated for use as a playing field in a local plan. Allocated sites fall within Sport England’s statutory remit but unallocated sites last used more than 5 years ago fall outside of Sport England’s statutory remit but still have to be assessed using the criteria in paragraph 74 of the National Planning Policy Framework. • Disused – pitches that are not being used at all by any users and are not available for community hire either. Once these sites have been disused for five or more years they are categorised as ‘lapsed sites’.

Where pitches/sites have not been recorded within the report they remain as pitches/sites and for planning purposes continue to be so. Furthermore, exclusions of a pitch/site does not mean that it is not required from a supply and demand point of view.

Quality

The capacity of 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 are 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.

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These 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 assessments (using the templates provided within the guidance and as determined by NGBs), users and providers were also consulted on the quality and in some instances the quality rating was adjusted to reflect this.

Gather demand information and views

Presenting an accurate picture of current demand for playing pitches (i.e. recording how and when pitches are used) is important when undertaking a supply and demand assessment. Demand for playing pitches in Warrington tends to fall within the following 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 if access to a sufficient number of pitches (and ancillary facilities) was available. Displaced demand refers to teams that are generated from residents of the area but due to any number of factors do not currently play within the area.

Current and future demand for playing pitches is presented on a sport by sport basis within the relevant sections of this report.

A variety of consultation methods were used to collate demand information about leagues, clubs, county associations and national/regional governing bodies of sport. Face to face or telephone consultation was carried out with key clubs from each sport. This allowed for the collection of detailed demand information and an exploration of key issues to be interrogated and more accurately assessed.

For data analysis purposes an online survey (converted to postal if required) was utilised. This was sent to all clubs not covered by face to face consultation.

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 an estimate can be made of the likely future demand for playing pitches.

Population Growth Scenarios are included within the Strategy Report.

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Population growth

The resident population in Warrington in 2014 using the 2014 Mid-Year Estimates was 206,428.

At strategic and operational levels plans to increase levels of physical activity must not be set in stone, they should be flexible and respond to predictable changes in age structure, gender and ethnic composition. The most recent ONS projections indicate a rise of 8.1% in Warrington’s population (+16,799) over the 13 years from 2014 to 2027.

Team generation rates (TGR) are used to provide an indication of how many people it may take to generate a team (by gender and age group), in order to help estimate the change in demand for pitch sports that may arise from any population change in the study area.

Future demand for pitches is calculated by adding the percentage increases, to the ONS population increases in each analysis area. The TGR is then applied to this figure and is presented on a sport by sport basis within the relevant sections of this report.

Other information sources that were used to help identify future demand include:

• Recent trends in the participation in playing pitch sports. • The nature of the current and likely future population and their propensity to participate in pitch sports. • Feedback from pitch sports clubs on their plans to develop additional teams. • Any local and NGB specific sports development targets (e.g. increase in participation).

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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 Warrington. The assessment focuses on how much use each site could potentially accommodate (on an area by area basis) compared to how much use is currently taking place.

Understand the situation at individual sites

Qualitative pitch ratings are linked to a pitch capacity rating derived from NGB 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 sessions3 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 Green sustain. At capacity: Play is at a level the site can sustain. Amber Overused: Play exceeds the level the site can sustain. Red

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 spare capacity may have been identified, it does not necessarily mean that there is surplus provision. For example, spare capacity may not be available 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.

Develop the future picture of provision - scenario testing

Modelling scenarios (which will be included within the strategy) to assess whether existing provision can cater for unmet, displaced and future demand is made after the capacity analysis. This will also include, for example, removing sites with unsecured community use to demonstrate the impact this would have if these sites were to be decommissioned in the future. Scenario testing occurs in the strategy report and therefore does not form part of the assessment report.

3 The number of games played on a given pitch and by whom on a regular basis. The amount of training and associated activity taking place on a pitch on a regular basis 15

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Identify the key findings and issues

By completing Steps 1-5 it is possible to identify several issues relating to the supply, demand and adequacy of playing pitch provision within Warrington. 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 (Stage D).

The following sections summarise the local administration of the main grass pitch sports in Warrington. Each section provides a quantitative summary of provision. It also provides information about the availability of facilities and the governing body of each sport and regional strategic plan (where they exist). The findings of club consultation and key issues for each sport are also summarised.

Section 2: Football

County Football Association’s (CFA) exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player registration as well as promoting development and increasing participation in the sport. There are a total of three county FA’s that operate across Warrington. Cheshire County FA, Liverpool County FA and Lancashire County FA.

This section of the report focusses on the supply and demand for grass football pitches. Section 3 captures supply and demand for 3rd generation artificial grass pitches (3G AGPs). There is already demand for use of 3G AGPs for competitive football match play and it is anticipated that this demand will continue to grow over the coming years.

Figure 3: Map of Warrington showing County FA Boundaries

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Consultation

An electronic survey was sent to all Warrington based clubs affiliated to the CFA’s that operate across the borough. In addition to this telephone communication took place to gather additional information and clarify data provided with a number of the large clubs based in Warrington. A total of 35 clubs engaged in the consultation process equating to a team responses rate of 90%.

The results of the consultation have been used to inform key issues within this section of the assessment report.

Supply

The audit of pitches identified a current total of 254 grass football pitches within Warrington across 124 sites. These are sites that currently have football pitches marked out on the site, or have had, within the last 5 years. Of these a total of eight pitches across six sites, are identified as disused (Table 3). There were three sites identified during the audit that have become lapsed sites. This means they have not had football pitches marked out and or been used for more than 5 years.

Table 2: Summary of grass football pitches available to the community by analysis area

Analysis Area Available for community use Adult Youth Youth 9v9 Mini 7v7 Mini 5v5 Total 11v11 Central 9 1 1 12 3 26 neighbourhood East 25 4 13 29 8 79 neighbourhood South 31 4 6 22 4 67 neighbourhood West 20 1 5 23 2 51 neighbourhood Warrington 85 10 25 86 17 222

Table 2 shows that there are a total of 222 grass football pitches that are available for community use. The East neighbourhood area has the highest total number of grass football pitches (79), followed by the South neighbourhood area (67) and then the West neighbourhood area (51). The Central neighbourhood area has the lowest total number of grass football pitches (26).

Of the community available football pitches, 83 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities, 74 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 15 are managed by LiveWire (a Community Interest Company), 13 are managed by sports clubs, 12 are managed by a bespoke school lettings service and another 12 managed by Parish Council’s. The remaining pitches are managed by Trusts or are privately or commercially managed.

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Table 3 identifies a large number of adult pitches in Warrington but it should be noted that the consultation identified that many junior football matches are taking place on adult pitches. This includes some youth 11v11 teams playing on adult pitches, and some mini football being coned out and played on.

In total 97 youth 11v11 teams currently use adult pitches for home matches, which is not ideal for youth players and is not in line with the FA Youth Review.

The FA’s recommended pitch size for adult football and youth football (U17 & U18) is 110m x 70m. The recommended size of a junior pitch is:

• 100m x 60m (U15 & U16 11v11) • 90m x 55m (U13 & U14 11v11) • 80m x 50m (U11 & U12 9v9) • 60m x 40m (U9 & U10 mini 7v7) • 40m x 30m (U7 & U8 5v5).

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Lapsed/ disused sites

Table 3: List of sites identified as lapsed or disused

Site Site name Analysis area Lapsed or Pitch types Comments ID disused site 50 Grappenhall Hall South Disused (2015) 1 x youth pitch School closed School neighbourhood 67 Lymm May South Disused 1 x adult pitch Closed for Queen Field neighbourhood 1 x mini pitch more than 5 years. Could be brought back into use subject to improvements being made 88 Radley Common Central Disused 1 x adult pitch Closed for neighbourhood more than 5 years. Could be brought back into use subject to improvements being made 105 St Elphins East Disused 1 x adult pitch Closed for neighbourhood 1 x mini 7v7 more than 5 pitch years. Could be brought back into use subject to improvements being made 111 St Oliver Plunket East Lapsed (2002) 1 x youth pitch School closed Primary School neighbourhood 124 Sycamore Lane West Disused (2016) 1 x mini pitch School closed Primary School neighbourhood 135 Westy Park South Lapsed 3 x adult Closed more neighbourhood pitches than 5 years ago due to concerns about levels of gas from landfill. Plans to bring back into use for pitch sports. 153 St Werbergh's South Lapsed (2001) 2 x youth School closed CofE Primary neighbourhood pitches School

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As shown in table 3 there were a total of 7 pitches identified as disused, Sycamore Lane Primary became disused due to becoming unavailable for community use. The school itself closed in 2013 but the associated football pitch continued to be used by the community until the end of the 2015/16 football season.

Grappenhall Hall School closed in July 2015 and the site is currently vacant with consultation being undertaken to inform whether or not the land will be sold off. No community use has ever been recorded for this site.

Pitches at Lymm May Queen field, Radley Common and St Elphins Park have been out of use for a number of years but the playing fields still exist. The pitches therefore could be brought back into use, if demand exists although appropriate improvements and maintenance work would be required.

There were three sites identified as being lapsed football pitch sites. A total of three adult 11v11 pitches were identified at Westy Park. The pitches were closed pre 2010 due to concern over gas levels on the former landfill site. The site has now been given approval for sports use. There are plans and funding in place to reintroduce sports pitches at the site with discussions currently taking place to determine pitch sport types based on need.

Furthermore there were two lapsed youth pitches identified at the former St Werbergh's CofE Primary School which closed in 2001 and one lapsed youth pitch at St Oliver Plunket Primary School which closed in 2002.

Future supply / current developments

As part of the needs assessment any pitch development plans that have funding in place and planning permission (where required) have been highlighted in this section. There are a number of aspirational plans for facility improvements that either do not yet have funding and / or planning permission. The aspirational plans can be viewed in appendix 1.

St Gregory’s Catholic High School (West neighbourhood analysis area)

St Gregory’s Catholic High School has planning permission for a new sports hall and associated changing rooms. The proposal includes community use of the changing rooms to support the grass sports pitches at the site, which are heavily used by Crosfields JFC.

Westy Park (South neighbourhood analysis area)

Warrington Borough Council has funding confirmed to re-introduce playing pitches at Westy Park during 2017. Previously the site provided football provision but was closed for sports use as it was deemed unsafe due to the ground being contaminated.

The site has now been declared safe and WBC are currently looking to determine what pitch improvement works can take place within the budget available and to determine what pitch types will be marked at the site. The aim is to use the evidence base within this needs assessment to inform these decisions. The current site provides ancillary facilities with changing rooms available in the community centre located at the site. 20

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WBC has had discussions with Latchford Giants ARLFC in terms of utilising these pitches, but demand has also been expressed by local football clubs.

Primary school expansion plans (West neighbourhood analysis area)

School expansion plans in West Warrington are currently in progress affecting Barrow Hall Primary School, Chapelford Primary School and St Phillip (Westbrook) CE Primary.

As part of these plans playing field space has been affected. Barrow Hall Primary School, in Great Sankey, relocated in September 2016. The previous school site provided one 7v7 mini football pitch. The new site will provide two junior football pitches. Whilst the school building opened in September 2016, the new grass pitches will not be ready for use until September 2017. Warrington Borough Council have however confirmed that these pitches will be available for community use and the information within this needs assessment can be used to inform what size pitches need to be provided to support community use as well as the school requirements.

The additional pitch being provided at Barrow Hall Primary School is to mitigate the loss of playing field space at Chapelford Primary School and St Phillip (Westbrook) CE Primary due to expansion of the school building during the summer of 2016.

In addition there is currently outline planning for a project at Dallam Community Primary school, located in the Central neighbourhood area. This project will result in the loss of playing field space at the school but includes pitch improvements works to the existing junior football pitch, rated as poor quality in the assessment, which should result in a much improved quality pitch.

There are also plans to relocate sports facilities on the Cardinal Newman High School site which will result in new higher quality sports provision.

Informal pitches

There are a number of sites identified that do not have formal football pitches available for hire but do have some informal usage for recreational play. These are listed in the table below:

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Table 4: Informal pitches in Warrington

Site name Analysis area Provision Ballater Drive East neighbourhood 2 timber goals Bank Park Central neighbourhood 2 timber goals Bewsey Park Central neighbourhood 1 mini pitch, metal goals Blackbear Park East neighbourhood 2 timber goals Bruche Park East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Burns Grove Central neighbourhood 2 timber goals Callands Field West neighbourhood 1 timber goal Causeway Park South neighbourhood 2 timber goals Dudlows Green Park South neighbourhood 1 timber goal English Martyrs Field Central neighbourhood 2 timber goals Howley - Harbord Street Play Central neighbourhood 1 timber goal Area Larkfield Park East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Locking Stumps Play Area East neighbourhood 4 timber goals Longbarn Park East neighbourhood 2 timber goals Lysander Park East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Massey Brook Play Area South neighbourhood 1 timber goal Mee Brow Play Area East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Nottingham Close Play Area East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Oakwood Local Park East neighbourhood 2 timber goals Old Hall Local Park, West neighbourhood 2 timber goals Shackleton Close Peel Hall Park Central neighbourhood 1 timber goal Poole Park Central neighbourhood 2 timber goals Statham Village Play Area South neighbourhood 2 timber goals Statham Village Play Area South neighbourhood 2 timber goals North Park Brook Road Twiggeries East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Vine Crescent West neighbourhood 2 timber goals Weir Lane Play Area East neighbourhood 1 timber goal Whitecross Park Central neighbourhood 2 timber goals

Pitch quality

The quality of football pitches in Warrington have been assessed via a combination of site visits, carrying out non-technical assessments (NTAs) as determined by the FA on all pitches, and user consultation to reach and apply an agreed rating as follows: • Good • Standard • Poor

Pitch quality influences the carrying capacity of a site; often pitches lack the drainage and seasonal maintenance necessary to sustain high levels of use. It is likely that pitches that receive little or no ongoing repair or off season remedial work will be assessed as poor, therefore limiting the number of games able to take place each week without it having a detrimental effect on quality. Conversely, well maintained pitches which are tended to

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regularly are likely to be a higher standard and capable of taking a number of matches without a significant reduction in surface quality.

Private sites (e.g. sports clubs) can often offer better quality facilities than Council and school playing pitches as such sports clubs tend to have dedicated ground staff or volunteers working on pitches regularly during the week. Also private sites are often secured by fencing which prevents unofficial use whilst council pitches are generally located within public open space, regularly used by the public for informal recreation e.g. Dog Walking etc.

The table below summarises the quality of pitches that are available for community use for football. In total, 40 pitches are assessed as good quality (18%), 80 as standard quality (36%) and 103 are deemed to be poor quality (46%).

Table 5: Pitch quality ratings for community use football pitches

Adult pitches Youth pitches Mini pitches Good Standard Poor Good Standard Poor Good Standard Poor 18 36 31 13 5 17 9 39 55 21% 42% 37% 37% 14% 49% 9% 38% 53%

Through the process of carrying out NTAs and consultation the agreed pitch quality ratings show that the majority of pitches are either poor or standard quality. Almost half of the grass football pitches are deemed to be poor quality.

Overall, 21% of the adult pitches are good quality, 42% are standard quality and 37% are poor quality. The picture is slightly different for youth pitches where 37% are rated as good quality, 14% as standard quality with 49% rated as poor quality. Mini pitches are the poorest quality with 53% rated as poor quality, 38% rated as standard quality and only 9% rated as good quality.

The feedback from the club survey gives a mixed response in terms of whether clubs feel the quality of pitches has changed during the last 12 months. 44% of respondents stated pitch quality has got slightly poorer with 11% suggesting pitch quality has become much poorer. 22% of respondents feel there is no difference in pitch quality that has occurred with the remaining 22% stating they feel pitch quality has become slightly better (14%) or much better (8%).

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Table 6: Site specific feedback received

Site Feedback Appleton Thorn Playing Poor drainage, with lack of maintenance with feedback suggesting grass Fields (New Lane) cutting is too infrequent and when cutting takes place length of cut is too long. Bennett’s Recreation Poor drainage resulting in pitches often being waterlogged and causing Ground fixture cancellations. Birchwood Community Blocked drainage issues resulting in waterlogged pitches. Academy Trust Cantilever Park Warrington Town FC now employ a groundsman which has helped improve pitch quality. Chapelford Primary Feedback is that pitch is well maintained. Pitch is relatively new, and School provided as part of a new school project, and appropriate drainage was installed which helps with pitch quality. Crab Lane Poor drainage resulting in waterlogged pitches. Culcheth Sports Club The sports club have invested significant funds into maintenance equipment to maintain good quality of pitches at site. Hillock Lane Poor drainage terrible resulting in flooding and fixture cancellations. Pitches relocated summer 2015 with work carried out to improve surface drainage but work does not seem to solved any problems according to users, with the pitches at the site still rated as poor. Hood Lane Recreation Cromwell FC financed its own improvement work on the pitch in 2015. Ground Lymm High School Drainage issues with some pitches. Mary Ann Meadows Poor drainage resulting in a significant number of cancellations. Cromwell JFC would like to make it their main base and are currentl y in dialogue with Warrington BC. Morley Common Mixed feedback from users. Some suggesting maintainance has improved, and that improvements have been made to ancillary provision. Other users identified poor drainage and inadequate maintenance.

Orford Jubilee Pitch 1 usage is managed appropriately to avoid overplay resulting in Neighbourhood Hub maintaining a good quality pitch. Pitches 6,7 & 8 poor drainage and regularly waterlogged. Pewterspear Sports The pitches have been installed professionally with good drainage. Pavillion Some of the pitches are on the Cricket Pitch. This means that these pitches are only available for use from Mid October until Early April. Sow Brook Playing Major issues with waterlogged pitches resulting in high number of Fields postponements. St Gregory’s Catholic Issues with drainage resulting in a large number of postponements. Also High School due to the constant waterlogging, access for maintenance vehicles is an issue. Tetley Walkers Sport Lots of cancellations due to waterlogged pitches led to backlog of fixtures. and Social Club Once pitch was playable was significantly overplayed, and maintenance regime not appropriate/ not in place due to funding. The Oaks Playing Fields Improvements needed to drainage required to cope with extreme wet weather Thornton Road Eagle Sports JFC have purchased their own cutting and maintenance equipment and now regularly works on the pitch. 24

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New drainage has been installed funding by Eagle Sports JFC. WBC provide top soil in 2015 which allowed for club to do further maintenance work. University Academy Tree roots ingressed to make pitch unplayable. Warrington Drainage issues reulting in waterlogged pitches Victoria Park New pitch was built alongside athletics track due to this all water run off for the new pitch went onto our pitch meaning one section of a touchline was completely unplayable Winwick Recreation Grass cutting not regular enough. Centre Woolston CofE Primary Grass cutting not regular enough. School Woolston Park Goal mouths are particularly worn with no grass coverage.

Maintenance

Warrington Borough Council’s Environment Service deliver a basic level of sportsground maintenance on the majority of its sites that is restricted to grass cutting, topdressing and seeding, with no ring fenced budgets available for any further level of upkeep or for improvement works.

Maintenance regimes within school grounds, private sports clubs and LiveWire sites, which is carried out by WBC, varies and is dependent upon individual client budgets and requirements.

It should be noted that all of the maintenance elements listed above form part of the FA’s non-technical site assessment form.

53% of the respondents to the club survey rated the maintenance of pitches as poor, 19% rated maintenance as standard and 28% rated pitch maintenance as good.

Over marked pitches

Over marking of pitches can cause notable damage to the surface quality and lead to overuse beyond recommended capacity. In some cases mini pitches may be marked onto senior pitches or mini matches may be played widthways across adult or youth pitches. This can lead to targeted areas of surface damage due to a large amount of play focused on high traffic areas, particularly the middle third of the pitch. Over marking of pitches not only influences available capacity, it may also cause logistical issues regarding kick off times; for example, when two teams of differing age formats are due to play at the same site at the same time.

There are a number of pitches in Warrington which are marked onto or overlapping cricket outfields, which can create availability issues as the cricket season begins in April when the football season is still ongoing and the football season starts in August as cricket fixtures are still being played. Appleton AFC report this is a particular issue at Pewterspear Sports Pavilion, as some pitches are out of use at the start and end of the cricket season, meaning teams have to relocate to poorer quality pitches.

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Sites with over marked pitches that create overplay of the pitch are listed in the Strategy Action Plan, with an appropriate action for removing/relocating the over marked pitches.

Ancillary facilities

The non-technical assessment also assessed ancillary facilities associated with the sites that provide grass football pitches. Ancillary facilities including the condition of the clubhouse, changing accommodation, toilets, showers, medical room, car parking and boundary fencing.

Of the sites where a full check of ancillary facilities took place nearly half were assessed as being poor (49%). 23% of the sites were rated as having standard quality ancillary facilities with 28% rated as having good quality ancillary facilities.

Of the football clubs that engaged in the consultation 40% rated the ancillary facilities at the sites they use as being good quality. 38% rated ancillary facilities as being standard quality with 22% rating ancillary facilities as being poor.

Table 7: Club response to ancillary facility question

Good Standard Poor 40% 38% 22%

Based on clubs’ consultation, it is apparent that there are numerous teams based at Council or Education operated sites that do not have access to on-site changing provision. This is often down to choice but sometimes it is due to the fact that changing facilities are not available.

Following the NTA, club consultation and further consultation with WBC’s Environment Services ancillary facility quality ratings were agreed. These are shown in the table below.

The sites with ancillary facilities receiving a poor rating from clubs include: • Appleton Thorn (New Lane) Playing Fields • Carlsberg Tetley Sports and Social Club • Doe Green Recreation Ground • Hood Lane Recreation Ground • Penketh High School • St Vincent’s/ Penketh South Primary School • The Oaks Playing Fields • Thornton Road Recreation Ground

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Table 8: Agreed site ancillary ratings for community use sites

Site Site Name Analysis area Agreed ancillary facilities Comments ID rating 2 Appleton Thorn Playing Fields South neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking capacity. (New Lane) No changing room facilities. No storage facilities 7 Beamont Collegiate Academy Central neighbourhood Good Pitches managed by LiveWire with ancillary facilities based on Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. 8 Bennetts Recreation Ground East neighbourhood Standard

11 Birchwood Academy Trust East neighbourhood Standard 12 Birchwood Forest Park East neighbourhood Standard Changing rooms require upgrading. 23 Poplars Park Central neighbourhood Poor No car parking. No changing room facilities. 26 Chaigley School South neighbourhood Standard 27 Chapelford Primary School West neighbourhood Good School recently built providing new changing rooms and car parking 31 Crab Lane Playing Field East neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking capacity. Changing rooms coming to end of operational life. 33 Culcheth Community Campus East neighbourhood Good 35 Culcheth Sports Club East neighbourhood Good Recent investment to improve changing facilities. 36 Dakota Park West neighbourhood Good Utilise changing facilities at Chapelford Primary School 38 Dallam Recreation Ground Central neighbourhood Good Changing rooms recently replaced providing new changing rooms. Limited car parking. 39 Doe Green Recreation Ground West neighbourhood Poor No car parking provision. Changing facilities have reached the end of their operational life. 40 Elizabeth Park South neighbourhood Poor No car parking provision. No changing facilities. 52 Grappenhall Village Sports South neighbourhood Good Club 55 Great Sankey Parish Playing West neighbourhood Poor No car parking.

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Fields No changing room facilities. 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields East neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking provision. No changing facilities. 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground West neighbourhood Good Limited car parking provision. 65 Loushers Lane Recreation South neighbourhood Poor No changing room provision. Ground Limited car parking. Car parking surface very poor condition. 66 Lymm High School South neighbourhood Good 70 Mary Ann Meadows West neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking. Changing rooms coming to the end of their lifespan. 72 Monks Sports & Social Club East neighbourhood Standard 74 Morley Common South neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking provision. Car parking surface very poor condition. Changing rooms recently refurbished. 77 Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Central neighbourhood Good Hub 80 Padgate Hall East neighbourhood Poor No changing facilities. Limited parking. 82 Peel Hall Playing Fields East neighbourhood Poor No changing room provision. Limited car parking. Car parking surface very poor condition. 86 Pewterspear Sports Pavilion South neighbourhood Good Changing rooms require refurbishment 90 Ridgway Grundy Park South neighbourhood Poor No car parking. Changing rooms require replacement. 91 Rylands Recreation Club Central neighbourhood Standard 93 Sandy Lane Recreation Club South neighbourhood Poor No car parking. Changing rooms coming to end of lifespan. Lymm FC have lease on changing rooms at site. 95 Shaw Street Recreation East neighbourhood Poor Extended and refurbished changing rooms and Ground community room due to open February 2017. Car park resurfaced and lit. 97 Sow Brook Playing Fields South neighbourhood Poor Replacement changing rooms required. Car parking limited and poor condition.

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106 St Gregory High School West neighbourhood Standard New changing rooms to be built as part of new sports hall project proposed. This development will provide new changing rooms for the grass pitches at the site and these will be available for community use. 121 Stocks Lane Playing Field West neighbourhood Poor No car parking. No changing room facilities. 127 Thornton Road Recreation West neighbourhood Poor Limited car parking and poor quality. Ground Changing rooms require extension and improvement as they fall short of standard and quantity required. 130 University of Chester East neighbourhood Good (Warrington Campus) 131 Victoria Park South neighbourhood Poor Large car park but doesn't have capacity to meet demand generated by diverse site usage. Replacement Parks changing rooms required. Limited on site storage. 138 Winwick Recreation Centre East neighbourhood Standard 142 Woolston Neighbourhood Hub East neighbourhood Standard No changing room facilities. 143 Woolston Park East neighbourhood Poor Changing rooms at end of lifespan. Limited parking 145 The Oaks Playing Field East neighbourhood Standard 146 Tim Parry Community Centre West neighbourhood Poor No changing room facilities.

Pitch hire and costs

One of the main issues with grass pitches is that the income they generate through pitch hire does not provide enough funding to implement a high quality maintenance programme. A growing number of local authorities are looking at full recovery costs as a way of increasing maintenance and removing any subsidy that currently underwrites grass pitch hire costs.

The table below outlines the current pitch hire costs in Warrington against 6 neighbourhood local authorities (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Salford, St Helen’s and Wigan). It is important to acknowledge that pitches not managed by Warrington Borough Council will charge different rates.

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Table 9: Pitch hire charges (2015/16 season)

Local Authority Adult teams Youth teams Junior teams Mini teams (11v11) (9v9) (7v7 & 5v5) Pitch only Pitch & Pitch only Pitch & Pitch only Pitch & Pitch only Pitch & changing changing changing changing Cheshire East (South – per season) £734.00 £814.90 - - £252.20 £351.80 - - Cheshire East (South – per match) £46.00 £52.55 - - £46.00 £52.55 - - Cheshire East (North – per season) £404.35 £554.35 - - £252.20 £351.80 - - Cheshire East (North – per match) £46.00 £52.55 - - £46.00 £52.55 - - Cheshire West and Chester – Ellesmere Port £30.00 £357.00 - - - £15.00 - - and Neston (per season) Cheshire West and Chester – Chester (per £130.00 £360.00 ------season) Cheshire West and Chester – Chester (per £13.00 £34.00 - - - £9.00 - - match) Halton – Halton based teams (per season) £530.00 £530.00 £156.00 £156.00 - - £117.00 £117.00 Halton – non Halton based teams (per season) £530.00 £530.00 - £312.00 - - £234.00 £234.00 Salford (per season) - £560.00 - £441.00 £192.00 £320.00 £90.00 £128.00 St Helens £463.00 £926.00 - - £206.00 £413.00 - - Wigan £430.00 £694.00 £302.00 £226.00 £226.00 £160.00 £160.00 Warrington (per season) - £501.00 £165.00 £252.00 £116.00 £137.00 £116.00 £137.00 Warrington (per match) - £63.00 £21.00 £37.00 £16.00 £32.00 £16.00 £32.00

*If prices are not stated for youth teams, it is assumed they are charged the same prices as adult teams. **If prices are not stated for mini-teams, it is assumed they are charged the same prices as junior teams.

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In comparison to neighbouring authorities Warrington, adult pitch and changing room hire per season is cheaper than Cheshire East, Halton, Salford, St Helens and Wigan but more expensive than Cheshire West and Chester. To highlight some of the differences, Warrington charges for £501.00 per season for an adult team with changing facilities whilst the most expensive neighbouring local authority charges £814.90 and the least expensive charging £357.00. Warrington does not have a pitch only option for adult pitch use.

For Youth 11v11 teams pitch hire with changing rooms, Warrington charges £252.00 per season. The only neighbouring authorities that have a rate for 11v11 youth teams are Halton, Salford, and Wigan. Two authorities charge more than Warrington and one charges less (£156.00). The most expensive neighbouring authority charges £441.00.

In terms of junior teams 9v9 format Warrington charges £137.00 per season for pitch and changing room hire. The most expensive neighbouring authority charges £413.00 and the least expensive charges £226.00, which is still considerably more than the Warrington charge.

More often than not 9v9 junior teams do not access changing facilities and will choose the pitch only option for which Warrington charge £116.00. The most expensive neighbouring authority charge £252.20 and the least expensive neighbouring authority charge £192.00 per season. Again considerably more than the Warrington season charge.

Warrington apply the same charges for 5v5 and 7v7 pitch hire as they do for 9v9, as do a number of neighbouring authorities. Of the neighbouring authorities that do have a different charge for 5v5 and 7v7 pitch hire, the cheapest authority charges £90.00 per season for pitch only and the most expensive authority charges £160.004.

Security of tenure

Through the consultation no clubs reported issues with current ownership, lease or rented agreements in place.

However security of tenure is something that needs to be considered in order to support the development of football within Warrington. Whilst there is a commitment from WBC, who own the majority of football pitches, that these pitches will continue to be provided for community use in the future, most of the pitches are rented by clubs on a seasonal basis. A growing number of clubs wish to access grants for funding to maintain and improve facilities. Eligibility may be dependent upon securing long term leases for parkland sites. This aspect of the grant process requires further consideration in relation to Warrington Borough Council land in order for legal agreements to be implemented.

There are a number of sites in Warrington protected by Fields in Trust (FiT) and these are listed below. Sites protected by FiT are legally protected through a Deed of Dedication. Permission has to be sought from FiT to develop all or any part of a protected site. Of the sites listed only Radley Common has playing pitches on them, the remained are just playing

4 Halton charge £234.00 for 5v5 and 7v7 season pitch hire but this is for clubs/ teams that are not based within the Halton borough. 31

102 Agenda Item 6 fields without any pitches. In addition, the following playing pitch site is protected by Fields in Trust: • Alexandra Park, Stockton Heath • Croft Playing Field • Peel Hall Park • Radley Common • Smithy Lane Playing Field

Football National League System (the football pyramid) demand

The National League System (NLS), otherwise known as the football pyramid, is the league structure for men’s football that sits directly below the Football League, League 2. It stretches from the Conference Premier Division at Step 1 through to County Leagues at Step 7.

There are 5 clubs in Warrington that play within the football pyramid:

• Eagle Sports FC – Step 7 • Greenalls Padgate St Oswald’s FC – Step 7 • Rylands FC – Step 7 • Warrington Town FC – Step 4

Additionally, Daten FC and Grappenhall Sports FC are just one promotion short of joining the football pyramid.

Clubs within the step system must adhere to ground requirements set out by the FA. The higher the level football being played the higher the requirements. Clubs cannot progress into the league above if the ground requirements do not meet the correct specifications. Ground grading assesses grounds from A to H, with ‘A’ being the requirement for Step 1 clubs.

Although all clubs currently meet the requirements of their leagues it is likely the majority would need to make ground improvements or potentially move sites in order to progress through the football pyramid.

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Demand

Through the audit and assessment a total of 445 teams were identified as playing football on pitches located within the Warrington boundary. This consists of 82 adult male teams, 1 adult female team, 206 youth teams and 156 mini soccer teams.

Table 10: Summary of where competitive teams play in Warrington by analysis area

Analysis Area Number of teams playing Adult Youth 11v11 Youth 9v9 Mini 7v7 Mini 5v5 Total Central neighbourhood 21 7 7 9 4 48 East neighbourhood 23 40 26 25 22 136 South neighbourhood 29 47 21 27 22 146 West neighbourhood 10 34 24 24 23 115 Warrington 83 128 78 85 71 445

The table above shows that the South (146) neighbourhood analysis areas is where most teams have their match play pitch located, closely followed by the East (136) neighbourhood area and West (115) neighbourhood. There are a low number of teams in the Central (47) neighbourhood analysis area. The most prevalent playing format is the youth 11v11 category (128); however each format is well represented.

The South neighbourhood analysis areas accounts for the highest proportion of youth 11v11 teams (37%) closely followed by the East neighbourhood (31%) and the West neighbourhood (27%). The Central neighbourhood accounts for just 5% of youth 11v11 teams. The East neighbourhood area has the highest percentage of Youth 9v9 teams (33%), with the West and South neighbourhood areas having 31% and 27% of the total respectively.

Adult teams make up 19% of teams playing football in Warrington, with the highest number of teams in the South neighbourhood analysis area (35%).

In terms of Mini football, the South neighbourhood area has the majority of 7v7 teams (32%) closely followed by the East (29%) and the West (28%) neighbourhoods. The West neighbourhood has the higest number of 5v5 teams (32%) with the East and South neighbourhood areas both accounting for 31%.

As all mini teams are mixed gender, there is only 1 adult female team and 4 youth girl teams identified as playing football within the Warrington boundary. This makes the percentage of female teams in the area very low when compared to national averages however it is due to succesful Central Venue Girls Football Leagues outside of the Warrington border that 18 female teams currently participate in. See the displaced demand section for more information.

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Displaced demand

Displaced demand is existing demand that is being met by provision outside of the Warrington boundary. There are a number of reasons why displacement may occur such as a Central Venue League, where one location/site is used as the venue for all competitive fixtures with no teams having home or away fixtures or because teams choose to hire pitches outside of the boundary due to pitch quality or hire costs.

Through the audit there were 21 teams identified as being displaced. Of these, 81% of the teams (17) are girls teams that compete in a central venue league that takes place outside of Warrington. 16 of these teams compete in the Cheshire Girls Football League located in the Cheshire West and Chester local authority area and 2 compete in the Liverpool Central Venue Girls League. All of these teams are happy competing in these leagues and do not have demand for pitches in Warrington.

The remaing displaced demand identified derives from two clubs. Matthiola FC have 3 teams (2 x Mini 5v5 teams and 1 x adult team) that play at a location in St Helens which is again just outside of Warrington. Matthiola FC did feedback that these teams would prefer to use a site within Warrington. Sankey Vale FC, an adult male team currently play their home games in St Helens but indicated that this is their clubs preferred home pitch.

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 when a league has a waiting list due to a lack of pitch provision, which in turn is hindering growth of the league.

Through the consultation process no clubs reported any unmet demand.

Future demand

Future demand can be defined in three ways, through participation increases, using population forecasts and housing growth.

Population Growth Scenarios are contained within the Strategy Report and provide an estimate of demand for each pitch sport type arising from population growth.

Population increases

Team generation rates are used to calculate the number of teams likely to be generated in the future (2027) based on population growth. It is predicated that there will be a possible increase of 1 adult male team, 24 youth boys’ teams, 1 youth girls’ team and 12 mini teams.

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Table 11: Team generation rates

Sport Age Current Current Team Future Predicted Additional group population no. of Generation population future teams that within age teams Rate within age number of may be group group 2027 teams generated from the increased population Senior Football Men’s 39,553 82 482 39,988 83 1 (16-45) Senior Football Women 38,920 1 38920 38,414 1 0.0 (16-45) Youth Football Boys (10- 7,395 201 37 8,260 225 24 15) Youth Football Girls (10- 6,956 4 1739 7,728 5 1 15) Mini- Soccer Football 9,589 156 61 10,327 168 12 Mixed (6-9)

Participation increases

A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Of the clubs which quantify their potential increase, there is a predicated growth of 49 teams, equating to a demand for 3 adult, 7.5 youth and 12.5 mini additional match equivalent sessions subject to pitch availability.

The potential growth highlighted through the consultation is relatively evenly spread across neighbourhood analysis areas. In terms of women and girls participation it only picks up future demand that would require pitch provision within the Warrington area as it acknowledges the fact that youth girls participation is currently met through central venue leagues outside of the local authority.

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Table 12: Potential team increases identified by clubs

Club Future demand Analysis area Match Type equivalents 5 Appleton FC 1 x U13 male South neighbourhood 1 Youth 1 x U11 male 2 x Mini 7v7 4.5 Mini 7 x Mini 5v5 Birchwood JFC 2 x U6 East neighbourhood 2.5 Mini 4 x Mini 5v5 1 x Mini 7v7 Bruche FC 1 x U6 East neighbourhood 0 - Cromwell FC 1 x Open Age West neighbourhood 0.5 Adult Cromwell JFC 1 x U17 male West neighbourhood 1 Youth 1 x U16 male Crosfields FC 1 x Open Age West neighbourhood 0.5 Adult Crosfields JFC 2 x Mini 5v5 West neighbourhood 1 Mini Daten FC 1 x Open Age female East neighbourhood 0.5 Adult 1 x U16 male 1 x U13 male 1 Youth Daten Youth FC 1 x Open Age male East neighbourhood 0.5 Adult 1 x U13 male 0.5 Youth Eagle JFC 2 x Mini 5v5 West neighbourhood 1 Mini Grappenhall 2 x Mini 7v7 South neighbourhood 1 Mini Sports FC Lymm Rovers JFC 1 x U17 male South neighbourhood 1 Youth 1 x U14 make Moore United FC 1 x Open Age female Central neighbourhood 0.5 Adult 1 x U18 male 1 x U14 male 1 Youth Orford JFC 1 x U11 mixed Central neighbourhood 0.5 Youth 1 x U9 mixed 1 x U8 mixed 1.5 Mini 1 x U7 mixed Rylands FC 1 x Open Age female East neighbourhood 0.5 Adult 1 x U16 male 1 x U15 male 1 Youth 1 x U7 mixed 0.5 Mini Whittle Hall JFC 1 x U7 mixed West neighbourhood 0.5 Mini Winwick Athletic 1 x U12 female East neighbourhood 0.5 Youth JFC Totals 12.5 Mini 7.5 Youth 3.0 Adult

5 One team creates 0.5 match equivalent sessions. 36

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Capacity analysis

The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for competitive match play, training and other activity over a season is 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 the peak and off peak times. Pitch quality is often influenced by weather conditions and drainage.

As a guide, the FA has set a standard number of matches that each grass pitch type should be able to accommodate without adversely affecting the current quality (pitch capacity). Taking into consideration the guidelines on capacity the following ratings were used in Warrington:

Adult pitches Youth pitches Mini pitches Pitch quality Matches per Pitch quality Matches per Pitch quality Matches per week week week Good 3 Good 4 Good 6 Standard 2 Standard 2 Standard 4 Poor 1 Poor 1 Poor 2

Table 15 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

Education sites

To account for curricular/extra-curricular use of education pitches it is likely that the carrying capacity at such sites will need to be adjusted. The only time this would not happen is when a school does not use its pitches at all and the sole use is community use. The adjustment is typically dependent on the amount of play carried out, the number of pitches on site and whether there is access to an on-site AGP.

In some cases, where there is no identified community use, there is little capacity to accommodate further play. Internal usage often exceeds recommended pitch capacity, which is further exacerbated by basic maintenance regimes that may not extend beyond grass cutting and line marking.

For Warrington, current play at primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and independent schools has been enlarged on a site-by-site basis following consultation with the providers. Generally, usage is increased by one match equivalent session per pitch.

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Peak Time

The peak time varies for different pitch types. The table below identified whether or not spare capacity can actually be considered as such, based on whether pitches are available at peak time.

Table 13: Peak time for pitch types

Pitch type Peak Time Comments Adult Sunday AM The demand for adult pitches is highest on Sunday morning, as many youth 11v11 teams also access adult pitches at this time. Youth 11v11 Sunday AM The vast majority of youth 11v11 teams in Warrington play on Sunday mornings. Youth 9v9 Saturday AM The vast majority of youth 9v9 teams in Warrington play on Saturday mornings. Mini Saturday AM The vast majority of mini 5v5 and 7v7 teams in Warrington play on Saturday mornings.

109 Agenda Item 6

Table 14: Football pitch capacity analysis for community use pitches

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (match capacity capacity or available WBC rating equivalent (MES) potential to in peak sessions6) accommodate period *indicates pitch additional usage revised to play (MES) reflect educational use 23 Poplars Park Council Central Yes Youth 11v11 Poor 1 0 1 1 1 25 Carlsberg Tetley Club Central No Adult 11v11 Standard 1 2.5 2 -0.5 0 Sports & Social Club 38 Dallam Recreation Council Central Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 2 0 8 8 2 Ground 38 Dallam Recreation Council Central Yes Mini 5v5 Standard 2 0 8 8 2 Ground 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 3 6.5 9 2.5 0 Neighbourhood Hub 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Adult 11 v11 Good 1 Neighbourhood Hub 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Youth 9v9 Standard 1 2 2 0 0 Neighbourhood Hub 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 2 3.5 8 4.5 0 Neighbourhood Hub 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Mini 5v5 Standard 1 3 4 1 0 Neighbourhood Hub

6 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 39

110 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (match capacity capacity or available WBC rating equivalent (MES) potential to in peak sessions7) accommodate period *indicates pitch additional usage revised to play (MES) reflect educational use 91 Rylands Recreation Club Central No Adult 11v11 Good 1 2 3 1 1 Ground 98 St Albans Primary School Central Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 2* 1 1 0 School 98 St Albans Primary School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 2.5* 2 0.5 0 School 8 Bennetts Parish Council East No Adult 11v11 Standard 4 3 8 5 1.5 Recreation Ground 11 Birchwood School East Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 3 6 6 0 0 Academy Trust 12 Birchwood Forest Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 1 1 0 0 Park 12 Birchwood Forest Council East Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 1 2 1 1 0 Park 12 Birchwood Forest Council East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 2 1 4 3 1 Park 12 Birchwood Forest Council East Yes Mini 5v5 Poor 2 1.5 4 3.5 0.5 Park 18 Bruche Primary School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1.5* 2 0.5 0.5 School

31 Crab Lane Playing Council East Yes Mini 5v5 Poor 2 1.5 4 2.5 0.5 Fields

31 Crab Lane Playing Council East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 2 1.5 4 2.5 0.5 Fields

7 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 40

111 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (match capacity capacity or available WBC rating equivalent (MES) potential to in peak sessions8) accommodate period *indicates pitch additional usage revised to play (MES) reflect educational use 31 Crab Lane Playing Council East Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 2 1.5 2 0.5 1 Fields 31 Crab Lane Playing Council East Yes Youth 11v11 Poor 1 1 1 0 0 Fields 33 Culcheth LiveWire East Yes Adult 11v11 Good 2 3.5 6 2.5 0.5 Community Campus 33 Culcheth LiveWire East Yes Youth 9v9 Good 2 2* 8 6 2 Community Campus 33 Culcheth LiveWire East Yes Mini 7v7 Good 1 1 6 5 1 Community Campus 35 Culcheth Sports Club East No Adult 11v11 Good 2 4.5 6 1.5 0.5 Club 59 Hillock Lane Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 2.5 2 0.5 0 Playing Fields 59 Hillock Lane Council East Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 2 2 2 0 0 Playing Fields 59 Hillock Lane Council East Yes Mini 5v5 Poor 1 2.5 2 0.5 0 Playing Fields 72 Monks Sports & Club East No Adult 11v11 Good 1 4 3 1 0 Social Club 80 Padgate Hall Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 0 2 1 2 82 Peel Hall Playing Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 0 1 1 1 Fields

8 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 41

112 Agenda Item 6

129 University School East No Adult 11v11 Standard 2 3* 4 1 1 Academy Warrington 129 University School East No Youth 9v9 Standard 2 4.5* 4 0.5 0 Academy Warrington 130 University of University East No Adult 11v11 Good 1 3* 3 0 0 Chester (Warrington Campus) 138 Winwick Parish Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 2 4 4 0 0 Recreation Ground

138 Winwick Parish Council East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 2 4 2 0 Recreation Ground

139 Woolston CofE School East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1.5* 4 2.5 0.5 Primary School

9 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 42

113 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (match capacity capacity or available WBC rating equivalent (MES) potential to in peak sessions10) accommodate period *indicates pitch additional usage revised to play (MES) reflect educational use 140 Woolston School East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1.5* 4 2.5 0.5 Community Primary School 142 Woolston Council East Yes Youth 11v11 Poor 1 1 1 0 0 Neighbourhood Hub 143 Woolston Park Council East Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 2 1 1 0 143 Woolston Park Council East Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 1 1 1 0 0 143 Woolston Park Council East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 3 3.5 6 2.5 0 143 Woolston Park Council East Yes Mini 5v5 Poor 1 2 2 0 0 145 The Oaks Playing Club East No Youth 11v11 Good 2 4 8 4 0 Field 145 The Oaks Playing Club East No Youth 9v9 Good 2 3 8 5 0 Field 145 The Oaks Playing Club East No Mini 7v7 Good 2 2.5 12 9.5 0 Field 145 The Oaks Playing Club East No Mini 5v5 Good 2 2 12 10 0 Field 2 Appleton Thorn Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 4.5 2 2.5 0.5 Playing Fields (New Lane) 21 Cantilever Park Club South No Adult 11v11 Good 1 1.5 3 1.5 1 26 Chaigley School School South No Adult 11v11 Standard 1 2* 2 0 0 28 Cherry Tree School South Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 4 2 2 0 Primary School 40 Elizabeth Park Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 40 Elizabeth Park Council South Yes Mini 5v5 Poor 2 0 4 4 2

10 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 43

114 Agenda Item 6

52 Grappenhall Club South Yes Adult 11v11 Good 3 7.5 9 1.5 0 Village Sports Club

52 Grappenhall Club South Yes Youth 9v9 Good 2 1.5 8 6.5 0.5 Village Sports Club

52 Grappenhall Club South No Mini 7v7 Good 1 2 6 4 0 Village Sports Club 65 Loushers Lane Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 2.5 1 1.5 0 Recreation Ground

65 Loushers Lane Council South Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 1 1.5 1 0.5 0 Recreation Ground

65 Loushers Lane Council South Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 2 1.5 4 2.5 0.5 Recreation Ground

66 Lymm High School School South No Adult 11v11 Good 2 5.5* 6 0.5 1.5

66 Lymm High School School South No Youth 11v11 Good 2 5* 8 3 0

66 Lymm High School School South No Youth 9v9 Good 2 4* 8 4 0

11 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 44

115 Agenda Item 6

86 Pewterspear Trust South No Mini 5v5 Standard 1 2.5 4 1.5 0 Sports Pavilion

90 Ridgeway Grundy Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 0.5 2 1.5 1.5 Park 93 Sandy Lane Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 3 1 2 0 Recreation Centre 96 Sir Thomas Boteler School South Yes Adult 11v11 Good 2 5.5* 6 0.5 1

96 Sir Thomas Boteler School South Yes Youth 9v9 Good 1 1* 4 3 1

96 Sir Thomas Boteler School South Yes Mini 7v7 Good 3 5* 18 13 1

97 Sow Brook Playing Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 0 2 2 2 Fields 131 Victoria Park Council South Yes Adult 11v11 Standard & 4 2.5 7 4.5 2.5 Poor mix

12 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 45

116 Agenda Item 6

36 Dakota Park Council West Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 1 1 2 1 0

36 Dakota Park Council West Yes Mini 5v5 Standard 1 1 4 3 0

39 Doe Green Council West Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 1 1 1 0 0 Recreation Ground 39 Doe Green Council West Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 0 2 2 1 Recreation Ground 47 Gorsey Recreation Parish Council West No Adult 11v11 Poor 1 1.5 1 0.5 0 Ground 47 Gorsey Recreation Parish Council West No Youth 9v9 Poor 1 0 1 1 1 Ground 55 Great Sankey Parish Council West No Adult 11v11 Poor 1 0 1 1 1 Parish PF

13 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 46

117 Agenda Item 6

70 Mary Ann Homes and West Yes Youth 9v9 Poor 2 2 2 0 0 Meadows Communities

70 Mary Ann Homes and West Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 0 2 2 1 Meadows Communities 83 Penketh School West Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 2 3.5* 4 0.5 0.5 Community Primary School 84 Penketh High School Lettings West Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 3 5.5* 6 0.5 1.5 School Solutions 85 Penketh South School West No Youth 9v9 Poor 1 3* 1 2 0 Primary School 106 St Gregory’s School Lettings West Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 5 18 10 8 0 Catholic High Solutions School 106 St Gregory’s School Lettings West Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 4 8.5* 16 7.5 0 Catholic High Solutions School 115 St Philips School West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 2* 2 0 0 Westbrook CofE Primary School

14 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 47

118 Agenda Item 6

121 Stocks Lane Playing Council West Yes Youth 11v11 Poor 1 1.5 1 0.5 0 Fields

127 Thornton Road Council West Yes Adult 11v11 Poor 2 3.5 2 1.5 0 Recreation Ground

146 Tim Parry Parish Council West No Youth 9v9 Poor 1 1.5 1 0.5 0 Community Centre

146 Tim Parry Parish Council West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 2 2 0 0 Community Centre

148 Fiddlers Ferry Private West No Adult 11v11 Good 1 3 3 0 0 Power Station

15 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type. 48

119 Agenda Item 6

Table 15: Football pitch capacity analysis for educational sites indicating community use pitches but with no recorded community use

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at 17MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (MES16) capacity capacity or available WBC rating (MES) potential to in peak accommodat period e additional play (MES) 7 Beamont LiveWire Central Yes Adult 11v11 Standard 2 2 4 2 2 Collegiate Academy 37 Dallam School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 99 St Andrews School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 100 St Ann’s Primary School Central No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 101 St Barnabas School Central No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 102 St Benedict’s School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 110 St Margaret’s School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 116 St Stephens School Central Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 10 Birchwood C of E School East No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 15 Brook Acre Primary School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 30 Cinnamon Brow School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School

16 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type.

120 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at 19MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (MES18) capacity capacity or available WBC rating (MES) potential to in peak accommodat period e additional play (MES) 46 Gorse Covert School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 2 2 4 2 2 Primary School 64 Locking Stumps School East No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 71 Meadowside School East No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 75 Newchurch School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 76 Oakwood Avenue School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 103 St Bridget’s School East Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 107 Hollins Green St School East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Helens Primary School 112 St Oswald’s School East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 128 Twiss Green School East Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 3 Appleton Thorn Council South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 16 Broomfields Junior School South No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 24 Cardinal Newman School South No Adult 11v11 Standard 2 2 4 2 2 High School

18 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type.

121 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at 21MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (MES20) capacity capacity or available WBC rating (MES) potential to in peak accommodat period e additional play (MES) 44 Glazebury CofE School South No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 79 Oughtrington School South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 89 Ravenbank Primary School South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 117 St Thomas Primary School South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 School 119 St Wilfred’s School South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Primary School 120 Statham Primary School South Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 School 123 Stretton St School South No Adult 11v11 Standard 1 1 2 1 1 Matthews Primary School 126 Thelwall Junior School South No Mini 7v7 Poor 2 2 4 2 2 School 147 Bradshaw School South No Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Community Primary School 9 Bewsey Lodge School West Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 19 Burtonwood School West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School

20 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type.

122 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Management Analysis Mainta Pitch Pitch Agreed No. of Current play Site Overused, at 23MES ID type area ined by type size quality pitches (MES22) capacity capacity or available WBC rating (MES) potential to in peak accommodat period e additional play (MES) 42 Evelyn St Primary Council West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 81 Park Road Primary School West Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 School 94 Sankey Valley St School West No Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 James 108 St Joseph’s Primary School West Yes Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 109 St Lewis Primary School West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 School 113 St Paul of the Cross School West No Mini 7v7 Poor 1 1 2 1 1 Primary School 134 Westbrook Old School West Yes Mini 7v7 Standard 1 1 4 3 1 Hall School

Table 15 shows that there are a total of 41 educational sites, providing 45 pitches, that have indicated that they are available for community use but have no recorded community use. Of these 20 pitches are recorded as standard quality with the remaining being assessed as poor quality.

A total of 45 match equivalent sessions are identified as being available during the peak period with 20 match equivalent sessions being derived from standard quality pitches. The majority of match equivalent sessions are mini pitch types (13), with 5 MES on adult pitches and 2 MES on youth pitches.

22 Based on pitch quality the FA recommends a maximum number of match equivalent sessions to accommodate per pitch type.

123 Agenda Item 6

Supply and Demand Analysis

Having considered supply and demand, the tables below identifies current demand (i.e. spare capacity taking away overplay and any latent/unmet/displaced demand) in each of the analysis areas for the different pitch types, based on match equivalent sessions. Future demand is based on team generation rates (TGRs) which are driven by population increases as well as club development plans to increase the number of teams.

For the purpose of these calculations the steering group agreed to discount any poor quality pitches with spare capacity during the peak period.

Table 16: Summary of current and future provision of secured adult pitches

Analysis Actual Demand (match equivalent sessions) area spare Overplay Current total Future Latent/ Total capacity 24 demand unmet/ displaced demand Central - 0.5 0.5 1 - 1.5 East 3.5 2.5 1 2 - 1 South 2.5 7.5 5 0.5 - 5.5 West 0.5 5 4.5 1.5 0.5 6.5 Warrington 6.5 15.5 9 5 0.5 14.5

The table highlights that overall in Warrington there are insufficient adult pitches available to meet total current and future demand although there is a small amount of match equivalent sessions available in the East analysis areas. Shortfalls on adult pitches are primarily a result of significant overplay resulting from poor quality pitches or where adult pitches are over marked.

It should be noted, however, that 59.5 youth (u11s-u16s) match equivalent sessions (119 youth teams) and 14.5 mini (u7s-u10s) match equivalent sessions (29 mini teams) are recorded as playing on adult pitches per week in the Borough.

Table 17: Summary of current and future provision of secured youth pitches

Analysis Actual Demand (match equivalent sessions) area spare Overplay Current total Future Latent/ Total capacity 25 demand unmet/ displaced demand Central - - 0 3 - 3 East 2 1 1 7.5 - 6.5 South 1 1 0 6 - 6 West - 2 2 4.5 - 6.5 Warrington 3 4 1 21 0 22

24 In match equivalent sessions 25 In match equivalent sessions 53

124 Agenda Item 6

The table highlights that overall in Warrington there are insufficient youth pitches available to meet current and future demand although there is a small amount of spare capacity in the East analysis area. Shortfalls on youth pitches are generally a result of significant overplay resulting from poor quality pitches.

In addition to the above, it should be noted that a further 59.5 youth (u11s-u16s) match equivalent sessions (119 youth teams) are recorded as playing on adult pitches per week in Warrington and, therefore, further exacerbates the shortfall of youth pitches across the Borough.

Table 18: Summary of current and future provision of secured mini pitches

Analysis Actual Demand (match equivalent sessions) area spare Overplay Current total Future Latent/ Total capacity 26 demand unmet/ displaced demand Central 4 - 4 2.5 - 1.5 East 2 0.5 1.5 5 - 3.5 South 1 2 1 7.5 - 8.5 West 1 0.5 0.5 4.5 1 5 Warrington 8 3 5 19.5 1 15.5

The table highlights that overall in Warrington there are sufficient match equivalent sessions available to meet current demand. There is however a small shortfall of match equivalent sessions in the South neighbourhood analysis area. Shortfalls on mini pitches are generally a result of some overplay and latent demand expressed by clubs for access to more pitches.

It should be noted however that a total of 14.5 mini (u7s-u10s) match equivalent sessions (29 mini teams) are recorded as playing on adult pitches per week in Warrington. If this match play was expressed on mini pitches available, it would mean there would be a shortfall of 9.5 match equivalent sessions rather than the suggested surplus of 4.

Furthermore the 4 match equivalent sessions cited as being available in the Central neighbourhood analysis area is derived from pitches at Dallam Recreation Ground. These pitches were constructed during the assessment period however have not been available for hire during the 2016/17 season. It is understood these pitches will be available for hire during the 2017/18 season.

When factoring in future demand, based on Team Generation Rates and growth suggested by clubs, the picture changes dramatically with an overall shortfall of 15.5 match equivalent sessions with only Central neighbourhood analysis area with any spare capacity albeit minimal. This spare capacity is based on the premise that the pitches at Dallam Recreation Ground will be available for community use.

26 In match equivalent sessions 54

125 Agenda Item 6

Spare capacity

The next step is to ascertain whether or not any identified ‘potential capacity’ can be deemed ‘actual 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 the site. 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.

The table below considers site by site the capacity of the pitches to accommodate further play and for them to be deemed as having ‘actual spare capacity’. A pitch is only said to have ‘actual spare’ if it is available for community use and available at the peak time for that format of the game. Any pitch not meeting this criteria has been discounted.

Pitches that are of a poor quality are not deemed to have actual spare capacity due to the already low carrying capacity of the pitches. Any identified spare capacity should be retained in order to relieve the pitches of use, which in turn would aid the improvement of pitch quality. In addition, teams do not want to play on poor quality pitches.

School sites that are currently available for community use but unused are also not considered to have actual spare capacity as the full availability of these pitches cannot be determined. Further consultation with the providers is therefore recommended to fully understand community use aspects, i.e. are the pitches available during peak time, are they available throughout the playing season and are they affordable.

Match Equivalent sessions

Pitches have a limit of how much play they can accommodate over a certain period of time before their quality, and in turn their use, is adversely affected. As the main useage of pitches is likely to be for matches, it is appropriate for the comparable unit to be match equivalent sessions but may for example include training sessions and informal use.

At this stage the match equivalent sessions does not equate to the number of pitches which are required/ surplus. For example, an analyis area might show three match equivalent sessions of spare capacity but you would need to cross reference back to individual sites to determine where the spare capacity originates from. If it is spread across a number of sites then there is minimal spare capacity within the site which may be required to accommodate overplay from pitches nearby or act as a strategic reserve. If spare capacity is on one pitch then it might indicate a need to create a different type of pitch to address a deficiency. This will be fully determined and recommendations will be made accordingly within the Strategy and Action Plan.

126 Agenda Item 6

Table 19: Football pitch capacity analyis for pitches available for community use

Site Site name Type of Analysis Pitch Pitch No. of Current Potential to MES Comments ID tenure area type size pitches play (MES) Accommodate available in additional play the peak (MES) period 38 Dallam Recreation Secured Central Mini 7v7 2 0 8 2 Spare capacity available at peak Ground time 38 Dallam Recreation Secured Central Mini 5v5 2 0 8 2 Spare capacity available at peak Ground time 91 Rylands Recreation Unsecured Central Adult 11v11 1 2 1 1 Spare capacity to be retained in Ground order to protect quality 8 Bennetts Recreation Secured East Adult 11v11 4 3 5 3 Spare capacity available at peak Ground time 12 Birchwood Forest Secured East Mini 7v7 2 1 3 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Park poor quality

12 Birchwood Forest Secured East Mini 5v5 2 1.5 3.5 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Park poor quality 18 Bruche Primary Secured East Mini 7v7 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to School poor quality 31 Crab Lane Playing Secured East Mini 5v5 2 1.5 2.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality 31 Crab Lane Playing Secured East Mini 7v7 2 1.5 2.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality 31 Crab Lane Playing Secured East Youth 9v9 2 1.5 2.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality 33 Culcheth Community Unsecured East Adult 11v11 2 1.5 2.5 0.5 Minimal spare capacity to be Campus retained in order to protect quality 33 Culcheth Community Unsecured East Youth 9v9 2 0 6 2 Spare capacity available at peak Campus time

33 Culcheth Community Unsecured East Mini 7v7 1 0 5 1 Spare capacity available at peak Campus time

127 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Type of Analysis Pitch Pitch No. of Current Potential to MES Comments ID tenure area type size pitches play (MES) Accommodate available in additional play the peak (MES) period 35 Culcheth Sports Club Unsecured East Adult 11v11 2 4.5 1.5 0.5 Minimal spare capacity to be retained in order to protect quality 80 Padgate Hall Secured East Adult 11v11 2 0 2 2 Spare capacity discounted due to poor quality 82 Peel Hall Playing Unsecured East Adult 11v11 1 0 1 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality

82 Peel Hall Playing Unsecured East Youth 9v9 1 0 1 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality

82 Peel Hall Playing Unsecured East Mini 7v7 1 0 2 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality

95 Shaw Street Secured East Adult 11v11 1 1 1 0.5 Spare capacity available at peak Recreation Ground time 139 Woolston CofE Unsecured East Mini 7v7 1 0.5 3 0.5 Spare capacity available at peak Primary School time 140 Woolston Community Unsecured East Mini 7v7 1 0.5 3 0.5 Spare capacity available at peak Primary School time 21 Cantilever Park Secured South Adult 11v11 1 1.5 1.5 1 Spare capacity discounted due to being a stadium pitch 40 Elizabeth Park Secured South Adult 11v11 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to poor quality 40 Elizabeth Park Secured South Mini 5v5 2 0 4 2 Spare capacity discounted due to poor quality 52 Grappenhall Village Unsecured South Youth 9v9 2 1.5 6.5 0.5 Minimal spare capacity to be Sports Club retained in order to protect quality 65 Loushers Lane Secured South Mini 7v7 2 1.5 2.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Recreation Ground poor quality

66 Lymm High School Unsecured South Adult 11v11 2 3.5 0.5 0.5 Minimal spare capacity to be retained in order to protect quality

128 Agenda Item 6

Site Site name Type of Analysis Pitch Pitch No. of Current Potential to MES Comments ID tenure area type size pitches play (MES) Accommodate available in additional play the peak (MES) period 74 Morley Common Secured South Adult 11v11 4 3.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to poor quality 78 Our Lady’s Primary Unsecured South Mini 7v7 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to School poor quality 90 Ridgeway Grundy Secured South Adult 11v11 2 0.5 1.5 1.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Park poor quality 96 Sir Thomas Boteler Unsecured South Adult 11v11 2 3.5 0.5 0.5 Minimal spare capacity to be retained in order to protect quality 96 Sir Thomas Boteler Unsecured South Youth 9v9 1 0 3 1 Spare capacity available at peak time 96 Sir Thomas Boteler Unsecured South Mini 7v7 3 2 13 1 Spare capacity available at peak time 97 Sow Brook Playing Secured South Adult 11v11 2 0 2 2 Spare capacity discounted due to Fields poor quality 131 Victoria Park Secured South Adult 11v11 4 2.5 4.5 2.5 Spare capacity available at peak time 6 Barrow Hall Primary Unsecured West Mini 7v7 1 0 3 1 Spare capacity available at peak School time 20 Callands Primary Unsecured West Mini 7v7 1 0 1 1 Spare capacity discounted due to School poor quality 39 Doe Green Recreation Secured West Mini 7v7 1 0 2 2 Spare capacity discounted due to Ground poor quality 47 Gorsey Recreation Secured West Youth 9v9 1 0 1 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Ground poor quality 55 Great Sankey Parish Secured West Adult 11v11 1 0 1 1 Spare capacity discounted due to Council PF poor quality 70 Mary Ann Meadows Secured West Mini 7v7 1 0 2 1 Spare capacity discounted due to poor quality 83 Penketh Community Unsecured West Mini 7v7 2 1.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity discounted due to Primary School poor quality 84 Penketh High School Unsecured West Adult 11v11 3 2.5 0.5 0.5 Spare capacity available at peak time

129 Agenda Item 6

Actual spare capacity has been aggregated up by area and by pitch type.

Table 20: Actual spare capacity summary

Analysis area Actual spare capacity (match equivalent sessions per week) Adult Youth Youth Mini Mini (5v5) Total (11v11) (9v9) (7v7) Central - - - 2 2 4 East 3.5 - 2 2 - 7.5 South 2.5 - 1 1 - 4.5 West 0.5 - - 1 - 1.5 Warrington 6.5 - 3 6 2 17.5

The table shows a total of 17.5 match equivalent sessions of actual spare capacity across Warrington with most (6.5) expressed on adult pitches and in the East (7.5) neighbourhood analysis area.

Overplay

Overplay occurs when there is more play accommodated on a site that it is able to sustain (which can often be due to low carrying capacity of the pitches). In Warrington 35 pitches are overplayed across 18 sites by a total of 22.5 match equivalent sessions. Several of these pitches are at schools, where the main reasons for overplay are a culmination of curriculum use, extra-curricular use including school fixtures and any additional use by the community.

Of the pitches, 19 are assessed as poor across 15 sites, accounting for 16 match equivalent sessions of overplay. An improvement in quality at these sites will result in a reduction in overplay.

130 Agenda Item 6

Table 21: Overplay on pitches

Site ID Site name Analysis Pitch type No. of Capacity area pitches rating 2 Appleton Thorn Playing Fields South Adult (11v11) 3 2.5 (New Lane) 12 Birchwood Forest Park East Youth (9v9) 1 1 20 Callands Primary School West Mini (5v5) 1 0.5 25 Carlsberg Tetley Sports & Social Central Adult (11v11) 1 0.5 Club 28 Cherry Tree Primary School South Mini (7v7) 2 2 47 Gorsey Recreation Ground West Adult (11v11) 1 0.5 48 Grange Sports & Social Club South Adult (11v11) 2 1 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields East Adult (11v11) 2 0.5 Mini (5v5) 2 0.5 65 Loushers Lane Recreation South Adult (11v11) 3 1.5 Ground Youth (9v9) 1 0.5 72 Monks Sports & Social Club East Adult (11v11) 1 1 85 Penketh South Primary School West Youth (9v9) 1 1 86 Pewterspear Sports Pavilion South Adult (11v11) 1 0.5 Youth (11v11) 2 0.5 93 Sandy Lane Recreation Ground South Adult (11v11) 1 2 106 St Gregory’s High School West Adult (11v11) 5 3 121 Stocks Lane Playing Field West Youth (11v11) 1 0.5 127 Thornton Road Recreation West Adult (11v11) 2 1.5 Ground 143 Woolston Park East Adult (11v11) 1 1 146 Tim Parry Community Centre West Youth (9v9) 1 0.5 Total 22.5

The majority of overplay occurs on adult (11v11) pitches (15.5), with small amounts of overplay recorded on other pitch types.

The majority of overplay occurs in the South neighbourhood analysis area (10.5). The Central neighbourhood has the lowest level of overplay recorded (0.5), with the West neighbourhood recording 7.5 match equivalent sessions and the East neighbourhood recording 4 match equivalent sessions of overplay respectively.

Table 22: Overplay summary

Analysis area Overplay (match equivalent sessions per week) Adult Youth Youth (9v9) Mini (7v7) Mini (5v5) Total (11v11) (11v11) Central 0.5 - - - - 0.5 East 2.5 - 1 - 0.5 4 South 7.5 0.5 0.5 2 - 10.5 West 5 0.5 1.5 - 0.5 7.5 Warrington 15.5 1 3 2 1 22.5

131 Agenda Item 6

FOOTBALL SUMMARY

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of football pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 9.5 adult match equivalent sessions and a future shortfall of 14.5 match equivalent sessions27. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 1 youth match equivalent sessions and a future shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions. • Overall in Warrington there is currently a small amount of spare capacity of mini pitches (4 match equivalent sessions28) but there is a future shortfall of 15.5 match equivalent sessions.

Supply

• There are a total of 222 grass football pitches that are available for community use. • The East neighbourhood area has the highest total number of grass football pitches (79), followed by the South neighbourhood area (67) and then the West neighbourhood area (51). The Central neighbourhood area has the lowest total number of grass football pitches (26). • There is a total of 17.5 match equivalent sessions of actual spare capacity across Warrington with most (6.5) expressed on adult pitches and in the East (7.5) neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

• A total of 445 teams were identified as playing football on pitches located within the Warrington boundary. This consists of 82 adult male teams, 1 adult female team, 206 youth teams and 156 mini soccer teams. • The South (146) neighbourhood analysis areas is where most teams have their match play pitch located, closely followed by the East (136) neighbourhood area and West (115) neighbourhood. There are a low number of teams in the Central (47) neighbourhood analysis area. • Through the audit there were 21 teams identified as being displaced. Of these, 81% of the teams (17) are girls’ teams that compete in a central venue league that takes place outside of Warrington. • Through the consultation process no clubs reported any unmet demand. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 1 adult male team, 24 youth boys’ teams, 1 youth girls’ team and 12 mini teams. • A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Of the clubs which quantify their potential increase, there is a predicated growth of 49 teams, equating to a demand for 3 adult, 7.5 youth and 12.5 mini pitches.

27 It should be noted that 59.5 youth match equivalent sessions and 14.5 mini match equivalent sessions are recorded as playing on adult pitches per week in Warrington. 28 During the needs assessment 4 match equivalent sessions are cited as being available on mini pitches at Dallam Recreation Ground. This availability has yet to be confirmed by Warrington Borough Council as the pitches may not be made available for football hire. 61

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• There are 35 pitches that are overplayed across 18 sites by a total of 22.5 match equivalent sessions. Several of these pitches are at schools, where the main reasons for overplay are a culmination of curriculum use, extra-curricular use including school fixtures and any additional use by the community.

Quality

Accessibility

• Management: o Of the community available football pitches, 83 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities, 74 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 15 are managed by LiveWire (a Community Interest Company), 13 are managed by sports clubs, 12 are managed by a bespoke school lettings service and another 12 managed by Parish Council’s. The remaining pitches are managed by Trusts or are privately or commercially managed. • Ancillary: o Of the sites where a full check of ancillary facilities took place nearly half were assessed as being poor (49%). 23% of the sites were rated as having standard quality ancillary facilities with 28% rated as having good quality ancillary facilities. o Of the football clubs that engaged in the consultation 40% rated the ancillary facilities at the sites they use as being good quality. 38% rated ancillary facilities as being standard quality with 22% rating ancillary facilities as being poor.

• Pricing: o In terms of pitch hire charges, Warrington charge less than the average prices charged for each pitch type compared to neighbouring authority areas.

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Section 3: Artificial Grass Pitches

There are several surface types that fall into the category of artificial grass pitch (AGP). 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 with a FA approved certificate and a growing number of 3G pitches are now used for competitive match play at mini soccer and youth level. The preferred surface for football is medium pile 3G (55-60mm). Only football competitions up to (but not including) regional standard can take place on short pile 3G (40mm). Football training can take place on sand and water based surfaces but is not the preferred option.

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. The artificial surface standards identified in Regulation 22 allows matches to be played on surfaces that meet the standard, meaning full contact activity, including tackling, rucking, mauling and lineouts can take place. For rugby league, the equivalent is known as RFL Community Standard.

Hockey is played predominantly on sand based/filled AGPs. 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.

Table 23: AGP type and suitability

Surface Category Comments Rubber crumb Long Pile 3G (65mm with shock Rugby surface – must comply with World pad) Rugby type 22, requires a minimum of 60mm. Football surface. Rubber crumb Medium Pile 3G (55-60mm) Preferred football surface and rugby league 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.

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Current provision

Table 24 provides a list of current supply of full size AGPs identified in Warrington that are floodlit and available for community use.

Table 24: Full sized AGPs by Warrington

Site Site name Management Analysis Size Pitch type ID area (metres) 17 Broomfields Leisure LiveWire South 105 x 60* Sand dressed Centre 33 Culcheth Community School/ LiveWire East 110 x 82* Sand filled Campus 54 Great Sankey Leisure LiveWire West 106 x 70 Medium Pile Centre 3G 66 Lymm High School School South 100 x 60* Sand dressed 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central 100 x 65 Long Pile 3G Neighbourhood Hub 84 Penketh High School School Lettings West 97.5 x 60* Sand dressed Solutions 87 Priestly College College South 111 x 66* Sand dressed 129 University Academy School East 102 x 63* Short Pile 3G Warrington 130 University of Chester University East 100 x 60* Sand filled (Warrington Campus) *Pitch sizes taken from Active Places Power

The table below identifies the analysis areas that all of the AGPs are located in.

Table 25: Full size AGPs by analysis area

Analysis area Long Pile Medium Short Pile Sand Sand Filled Total 3G Pile 3G 3G Dressed Central 1 - - - - 1 East - - 1 - 2 3 South - - - 3 - 3 West - 1 - 1 - 2 Warrington 1 1 1 4 2 9

The most common type of surface is Sand Dressed. There are a total of 9 full size pitches in Warrington, of which 3 are 3G surfaces and 6 are sand. All analysis areas are served by AGP provision. The East and the South analysis areas have the most pitches (3 per area).

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Additional provision

In addition to the supply of full size AGPs in Warrington, there are a variety of smaller sized AGPs that are available for community use.

Table 26: Additional supply of floodlit AGPs in Warrington

Site Site name Management Analysis No. of Pitch Pitch Pitch size ID area pitches type quality 5 Bank Quay Sports Private Central 1 3G 30 x 20 Club 11 Birchwood School East 1 3G Poor Community High School 21 Cantilever Park Sports Club South 1 3G Standard 32 x 24 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central 10 3G Standard 30 x 20 Neighbourhood Hub 91 Rylands Recreation Sports Club Central 1 Sand Standard 40 x 32.5 Club filled 136 Whitecross Council Central 1 3G Poor 55 x 30 Community Centre 150 Kings Leadership School East 1 3G Standard Academy 151 Warrington Wolves Sports Club East 1 3G Standard Training Dome

3G AGP Provision

From a Football Association perspective, a full size 3G pitch is considered to be 100x64 metres (excluding run-offs).

As seen in the table below, there are three full size 3G AGPs in Warrington which meet the size guidelines to be considered a full size pitch. According to the FA Football Turf Pitch Register 2016/17, two of the three full size AGPs in Warrington are approved and, therefore, can be used for competitive fixtures. These are the 3G AGP at Great Sankey Leisure Centre, which was refurbished during 2016 and is FIFA Approved and the 3G AGP at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. This has recently been re-tested and is on the FA Register.

Table 27: 3G AGPs in Warrington

Site Site name Management Analysis Pitch type Pitch size Floodlit FA/ FIFA ID area Approved 54 Great Sankey Leisure LiveWire West Medium 106 x 70m Yes Yes – FIFA Centre Pile 3G approved (60mm) 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Long Pile 100 x 65m Yes Yes – FA Neighbourhood Hub approved 129 University Academy School East Short Pile 102 x 63m Yes No Warrington (40mm) 65

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Quality

Of the three full size AGPs in Warrington one is assessed as good quality and the other two as standard quality. In the case of the pitch at Great Sankey Leisure Centre, this has very recently undergone refurbishment and is FIFA one star rated. The pitches at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub and University Academy Warrington are rated as standard as per the non-technical assessment.

Table 28: Quality of full size AGPs in Warrington

Site Site name Manageme Analysis Floodlit? Quality Built Refurb Comments ID nt area 54 Great Sankey LiveWire West Yes Good 2000 2016 Recently Leisure Centre refurbished with 3G carpet. 77 Orford Jubilee LiveWire Central Yes Standard 2012 - Recently Neighbourhood tested and Hub meets FA standards 129 University School East Yes Standard 1994 2009 Academy Warrington

Further information on the quality of sand AGPs is available in section 4.

Availability

The table below summarises the availability of full size AGPs in Warrington. In addition, it records the availability of provision within the peak period based on information provided by the operators during consultation. The peak period for AGPs is identified as 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 the peak period.

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Table 29: Community opening times of full size AGPs

Site Site name Analysis area Pitch type Hours ID available in the peak period 17 Broomfields Leisure Centre South Sand dressed 31.5 33 Culcheth Community Campus East Sand filled 31.5 54 Great Sankey Leisure Centre West Medium Pile 3G 31.5 66 Lymm High School South Sand dressed 34 77 Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Central Long Pile 3G 31.5 Hub 84 Penketh High School West Sand dressed 34 87 Priestly College South Sand dressed 16 129 University Academy Warrington East Short Pile 3G 25 130 University of Chester East Sand filled 8 (Warrington Campus)

The table above shows that most full size AGPs in Warrington are available for community use during the peak periods. Some educational sites have less availability.

Demand

Hockey

Further information on demand for AGPs from a hockey perspective is outlined in section 4.

Rugby League

Consultation revealed that there was demand for 3G pitch provision from a rugby league perspective to meet training demand. As there are currently no 3G pitches with the necessary certification required for rugby league purposes, no 3G pitches with the shock pad installation required for rugby league and the fact that the pitches are predominantly at capacity and used for either football or by the professional Warrington Wolves rugby league team, it is fair to assume that there is no 3G AGP provision to meet rugby league demand.

Rugby Union

Consultation revealed that there was demand for 3G pitch provision from a rugby union perspective to meeting training and competitive match play demand. As there are currently no 3G pitches with the necessary certification required for rugby union purposes, no 3G pitches with the shock pad installation required for rugby union and the fact that the pitches are predominantly at capacity and used for either football or by the professional Warrington Wolves rugby league team, it is fair to assume that there is no 3G AGP provision to meet rugby union demand.

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Lymm RUFC were granted planning permission for a 3G pitch in early 2017, however there is no certainty that it will be built and is dependent on funds being available. Further consultation revealed that if built, the AGP will cater for some of the Rugby Union demand but not all of it. The reason for this is that the host club would only have 12 guaranteed hours per week (which includes matches) to use the pitch for. The rest of the time the RFU would look for the pitch to be utilised to support other club demand, universities, college and schools.

Football

The FA considers high quality third generation artificial grass pitches as an essential tool in promoting coach and player development. The pitches can support intensive use and as such are great assets for both playing and training. Primarily such facilities have been installed for community use and training, however, are increasingly used for competition which The FA wholly supports.

Training demand

Getting access to good quality, affordable training facilities is a problem for many clubs throughout the Country. In the winter months, midweek training is only possible at floodlit facilities.

A number of clubs in Warrington report a lack of access to affordable floodlit training facilities, particularly AGPs with a 3G surface. A total of 10 clubs report demand for additional training facilities, all of which suggest additional 3G facilities are required. Five of these clubs are currently training on sand-based AGPs but expressing demand to train on 3G AGPs that cannot currently be met due to lack of availability of 3G AGPs. It should be noted that the majority of these clubs are large community clubs, made up of a large number of affiliated teams across different age-groups and genders. In total the number of affiliated teams linked to these 10 clubs is reported as 217.

As a guide the FA suggests that 1 full size floodlit 3G FTP could potentially accommodate training demand from 42 teams (Ratio of 1:42). The FA developed the training ratio following their facilities strategy vision to provide all affiliated clubs with access to a 3G FTP for training. An original ratio of 1:56 was based on a full size pitch providing 56 slots per week (Mon-Thurs 6-9pm, Fri 6-8pm). The ratio was subsequently revised to 1:42. This was due to evidence of a number of local authority areas reaching the perceived required number of 3G FTP facilities based on the 1:56 ratio yet still evidencing latent demand. Further FA analysis of 3G FTP facility usage also showed that many affiliated teams seek more than one slot for training and that significant amounts of non FA affiliated and recreational demand also use 3G FTPs during the peak time, creating a need for further 3G FTP provision

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On the basis that there are 445 currently playing competitive home fixtures on pitches within Warrington, there is a recommended borough wide need for at least 11 (10.6 rounded up to 11) full size 3G pitches. On the basis that there are currently three full size 3G pitches this leaves a shortfall of eight in Warrington.

It should be noted however that there are a further 20 displaced teams that play competitively outside of Warrington but require training facilities within Warrington. The majority of these teams are female teams that compete in central venue leagues outside of Warrington.

Alternatively, the table below considers the number of full size 3G AGPs required if every team was to remain within their respective analysis area for training.

Table 30: 3G pitch requirements in each analysis area

Analysis area Current number of 3G requirement29 Current number of Potential teams 3G pitches shortfall Central 48 2 1 1 East 136 4 1 3 South 146 4 - 4 West 115 3 1 2 Warrington 445 13 3 10

Based on the number of teams in each analysis area, there is a potential need for 13 full size 3G AGPs within Warrington, meaning a current shortfall of 10 full size 3G AGPs. Interestingly one of the analysis areas with the highest demand (South neighbourhood area) is the area with no full size 3G AGP provision currently.

Moving match play to 3G pitches

Improving pitch quality is one way to increase the capacity at sites but given the cost of doing such work and the continued maintenance required (and associated costs) alternatives need to be considered that can offer a more sustainable model for the future of football.

The alternative to grass pitches is the use of AGPs for competitive matches and this is something that the FA is supporting, particularly for mini football. The table below tests a scenario in which all 5v5 and 7v7 football in Warrington is moved to 3G AGPs.

A programme of play has been created based on the current peak time demand for mini pitches in Warrington (Saturday AM).

Time AGP 1 Total games/teams 9.30am – 10.30am 4 x 5v5 4/8 10.30am – 11.30am 2 x 7v7 2/4 11.30am – 12.30pm 2 x 7v7 2/4

29 All figures rounded up to the nearest full size pitch 69

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12.30pm – 1.30pm 2 x 7v7 2/4

There are currently 71 5v5 teams which would require 8.88 (rounded to 9) AGPs and there are 81 7v7 teams which would require 6.75 (rounded to 7) AGPs. Based on the above programming and separate start times for 5v5 and 7v7 matches, the overall need is for 9 full size 3G pitches to accommodate all mini football demand within Warrington. This is consistent with the total overall number required for training provision (11 - 13) as detailed earlier and would allow for future growth in mini football which is anticipated.

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Table 31: Summary of usage and spare capacity of full size 3G AGPs

Site Site name Analysis Surface type Size Total number of Usage Spare Comments ID area hours available for (during peak Capacity community use period) (during peak 30 during peak period period) 54 Great Sankey Leisure West Medium Pile 3G Full size 31.5 68% 32% No capacity for training purposes during Centre 15.5 (Mon – Fri) 100% 0% weekday evenings. 16 (Sat & Sun) 38% 62% Whilst there is some spare capacity at weekends, this is limited to Saturday and Sunday afternoons as Whittle Hall JFC currently utilise pitch for competitive fixtures on both a Saturday and Sunday morning. 77 Orford Jubilee Central Long Pile 3G Full size 31.5 44% 56% Minimal spare capacity for training Neighbourhood Hub 15.5 (Mon – Fri) 80% 20% purposes during weekday evenings. Only 16 (Sat & Sun) 9% 91% slots available are either 5.30 – 6.30pm or 9.30 – 10.30pm weekday evenings. Spare capacity available at weekends and pitch is FA certified. 129 University Academy East Short Pile 3G Full size 25 64% 36% Minimal spare capacity for training Warrington 18 (Mon – Fri) 80% 20% purposes during weekday evenings. Only 7 (Sat only) 14% 86% slots available are 5.00 – 6.00pm weekdays. Spare capacity available at weekends although pitch us not FA certified.

30 The peak period for AGPs is identified as 34 hours a week (Monday to Thursday 17:00-21:00; Friday 17:00-19:00; Saturday and Sunday 09:00-17:00) 71

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Summary of usage

Table 31 highlights the current usage of full size 3G AGPs and the number of hours that the pitches are available in the peak period. The table shows that all three 3G AGPs are well used and that whilst spare capacity exists during the peak period, this is limited to times during the weekend and outside of the most popular time slots (Monday to Thursday 6.00pm onwards). There is some limited potential to increase the hours that the pitches are available during the peak period.

It is important to acknowledge that due to the lack of 3G pitches there is significant usage of sand based AGPs by football clubs during weekday evenings for training purposes. More detailed information is available in section 4 but in summary four of the size full size sand based AGPs have more football usage than hockey, with two of the pitches being 100% used for football.

Conclusion

In conclusion there are nine full size AGPs across Warrington, of which 3 are 3G AGP’s. Only one is currently on the FA register, with another one currently being retested and due to be placed back on the register soon. None of the pitches have the necessary RFL certification and notably there is a lack of clarity on whether any of the 3G AGPs have the necessary shock pad required for rugby.

Through consultation with the clubs and operators, it is clear that the AGPs are at capacity during weekday evening peak periods and unable to offer more usage for football, hockey or rugby league training. Consultation indicates that football, hockey and rugby league clubs all require more access to AGPs and at a cost that is affordable.

Currently a lot of football training demand is expressed on sand AGPs. This is due to the low level of 3G AGPs. Hockey clubs identified during consultation that additional training requirements they have cannot be met due to the usage of sand AGPs for the purpose of football.

The seasonal differences between when football and rugby league takes place present challenges. As football training is the dominant reason for hire of 3G AGPs due mostly to the fact it has higher levels of demand and that this demand is during winter rather than summer periods, rugby league teams identified during consultation that they struggle to access 3G AGPs for training resulting in overplay on grass pitches.

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ARTIFICIAL GRASS PITCHES SUMMARY

Overall picture

• There is a shortfall of between 8-10 full sized 3G AGP’s to meet current football training demand. • There is a shortfall of 7 full sized 3G AGP’s to meet current demand for competitive football match play. • There are two full sized 3G AGPs that are currently registered to support competitive football match play. • There is demand for full sized 3G AGP’s to be constructed to Rugby Football League specification to service Rugby League training demand. • There is demand for a full sized 3G AGP’s to be constructed to Rugby Football Union specification to service Rugby Union training demand and some junior competitive match play.

Supply

Demand

• Hockey demand for AGPs is expressed on Sand Based or Sand Filled AGPs, and further information in relation to Hockey is outlined in the next section. • Consultation revealed Rugby League demand for 3G AGP provision for training purposes. • Consultation revealed Rugby Union demand for 3G AGP provision for training and junior match play. • In order to satisfy current football training demand for the borough as a whole there is a need for 11 full size 3G AGPs. • In order to satisfy current football training demand by analysis area there is a need for 13 full size 3G AGPs. Four 3G AGPs are identified as needed in both the East and South neighbourhood analysis areas, three in the West neighbourhood and two in the Central neighbourhood. • Based on FA modelling of moving all mini competitive match play demand to 3G AGPs, the number of full size 3G AGPs required is nine.

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Quality

Developments of note

• Lymm Rugby Club have recently gained planning permission for significant development that would include the provision of a 3G AGP.

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Section 4: Hockey

Hockey in England is governed by England Hockey (EH) and is administered locally by the Cheshire Hockey Association.

Competitive league hockey matches and training can only be played on sand filled, sand dressed or water based artificial grass pitches (AGPs). Although competitive, adult and junior club training cannot take place on third generation turf pitches (3G), 40mm pitches may be suitable for introductory level hockey, such as school curriculum low level hockey. EH’s Artificial Grass Playing Surface Policy details suitability of surface type for varying levels of hockey, as shown below.

Table 32: England Hockey guidelines on artificial surface types suitable for hockey

Category Surface Playing Level Playing Level England Hockey Water surface approved Essential Desirable Category 1 within the FIH International Hockey - Domestic National Global/National Training and matches Premier competition Parameters Higher levels of EH Player Pathway Performance Centres and upwards England England Hockey Sand dressed surfaces Essential Desirable Category 2 within the FIH National Domestic National All adult and junior Parameter Premier competition League Hockey Higher levels of player Intermediate or pathway: Academy advanced School Hockey Centres and Upwards EH competitions for England Hockey Sand based surfaces Essential clubs and schools Category 3 within the FIH National All adult and junior club (excluding domestic Parameter training and league national league) Hockey EH competitions for clubs and schools Intermediate or advanced schools hockey England Hockey All 3G surfaces Essential Desirable Category 4 None Lower level hockey (Introductory level) when no category 1-3 surface is available.

For senior teams, a full sized pitch for competitive matches must measure at least 91.4 x 55 metres excluding surrounding run off areas, which must be a minimum of two metres at the sides and three metres at the ends. EH’s preference is for four-metre side and five-metre end run offs, with a preferred overall area of 101.4 x 63 metres, though a minimum overall area of 97.4 x 59 metres is accepted.

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It is considered that a hockey pitch can accommodate a maximum of four matches on one day (peak time) provided the pitch has floodlighting. Training is generally midweek and requires access to a pitch and floodlights. Junior matches can be played on Saturdays and Sundays.

Consultation

There are 3 hockey clubs located in Warrington. All of these clubs responded to an online survey resulting in a response rate of 100%. Results from this consultation have been used to inform the key issues within this section of the needs assessment. The clubs are as follows: • Lymm Hockey Club • Warrington Hockey Club • University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Hockey Club

Supply

There are a total of seven full size (sand filled/ dressed) AGPs in Warrington, of which six are available for community use. The AGP at Cardinal Newman is not available for community use and is not floodlit.

Table 33: Summary of sand based AGPs by location

Site ID Site name Number of Floodlit? Analysis area full sized AGPs 17 Broomfields Leisure Centre 1 Yes South neighbourhood 24 Cardinal Newman High 1 No South neighbourhood School 33 Culcheth Community Campus 1 Yes East neighbourhood 66 Lymm High School 1 Yes South neighbourhood 84 Penketh High School 1 Yes West neighbourhood 87 Priestley College 1 Yes South neighbourhood 130 University of Chester 1 Yes East neighbourhood (Warrington Campus)

It is important to acknowledge that the AGP at Great Sankey Leisure Centre is currently being refurbished. Previously a sand based full size AGP this is to become a 3rd generation AGP and no longer suitable for hockey. However, full consultation between EH, the Football Association, and Sport England took place to ensure there was no hockey played on this site and that there was no demand for hockey in this location in the future. It should be noted that the conversion of sand based AGP’s to 3G is only supported where it can be clearly demonstrated that an AGP is surplus to hockey requirements.

There is one smaller sized AGP in Warrington suitable for hockey, located at Stockton Heath primary school. However this pitch is not available for community use and is not floodlit.

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Management and Security of Tenure

Of the full sized AGPs in Warrington suitable for hockey, two are managed by LiveWire Warrington (Broomfields Leisure Centre and Culcheth Community Campus). The AGPs at Lymm High School, Priestley College and University of Chester (Warrington campus) are managed in house whilst the AGP at Penketh High School is managed by School Lettings Solutions.

In total four of the full sized AGPs are currently used for hockey. These are Culcheth Community Campus, Lymm High School, Priestley College and University of Chester (Warrington Campus). Whilst, Broomfields Leisure Centre is not currently used for hockey, consultation highlighted that it had been used for hockey in recent years.

Pitch quality

It is considered that the carpet of an AGP has a life span of approximately 10 years; this however is dependent on levels of use. Due to this, resurfacing is recommended at four of the seven full size AGPs - Broomfields Leisure Centre (2006), Cardinal Newman Catholic High School (1984), Culcheth Community Campus (2004), and Penketh High School (1995).

Lymm High School’s AGP was resurfaced in 2009 and was rated as standard quality through the NTA process although feedback through consultation with Lymm Hockey Club, who use the AGP both for competitive match play and training, indicate that they view the pitch quality as good.

The AGP at University of Chester (Warrington Campus), originally built in 2003, underwent significant rejuvenation works during 2016, which has improved the pitch quality.

The most recently built sand based/filled AGP is located at Priestley College. Built in 2010 this pitch was rated as good quality through the NTA and this quality rating was supported by Warrington Hockey Club who use the site for all their competitive match play and training requirements.

All of the AGP’s aged 10 years or more were rated as standard quality through the NTA process. Lymm Hockey Club, also use AGPs at Culcheth Community Campus and University of Chester (Warrington Campus) for competitive match play. The clubs view of the quality of these pitches was that they are a standard quality.

As already indicated Broomfields Leisure Centre AGP was used for hockey up to the end of the 2014/15 season. There is a current ongoing maintenance issue with the pitch which makes a section of the pitch unplayable. Despite attempts to resolve the issue, it remains unresolved, and therefore means that the pitch cannot be used for training and competitive hockey.

Both Lymm Hockey Club and Warrington Hockey Club cited Broomfields Leisure Centre AGP in the consultation, identifying that they no longer use the pitch due to its poor quality resulting in a lack of availability. 77

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Table 34: Sand based AGP pitch ratings

Site Site Name Agreed Quality Rating ID 17 Broomfields Leisure Centre Poor 24 Cardinal Newman High School Standard 33 Culcheth Community Campus Standard 66 Lymm High School Standard 84 Penketh High School Standard 87 Priestley College Good 130 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Standard

Ancillary facilities

Feedback from the two hockey clubs indicates that ancillary facilities are available at the four sites that are currently used for hockey. The quality of the ancillary facilities based on the consultation was that Culcheth Community Campus and Priestley College have good quality ancillary facilities whilst Lymm High School and University of Chester (Warrington Campus) have standard quality ancillary facilities.

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Usage

The following table summarises the availability of full size sand based AGPs for community use in Warrington. In addition it records the availability of provision within the peak period. Sport England’s Facility Planning Model (FPM) applies an overall peak period for AGPs of 34 hours a week (Monday to Thursday 17:00 – 21:00; Friday 17:00-19:00; Saturday and Sunday 09:00 – 17:00).

Table 35: Community opening times of full size sand based AGPs

Site Site name Opening times Hours in % of use % of use Comments Capacity for hockey ID the peak for hockey for period football 17 Broomfields Leisure Mon, Wed & Fri 34 0% 100% Used solely by Bridgewater High School Spare capacity for Centre 07:00-22:30 (outside peak periods) and community hockey matches. Tues-Thurs 06:00- football teams this pitch is running at capacity However pitch quality 22:30 during the weekday peak periods. currently prevents Sat & Sun 08:00- Capacity exists at the weekend with usage competitive match play. 20:30 currently limited to a Saturday morning. No actual spare capacity. 24 Cardinal Newman Unavailable 0 - - This AGP is based on a school site with no Unavailable High School community use identified. This is likely due to a lack of floodlighting. The school have aspirations to replace the carpet with a 3G surface, and install floodlights so it can be available for community use. 33 Culcheth Community Mon-Fri 34 20% 80% Used by Culcheth High School (outside peak Spare capacity for Campus 07:15-22:30 periods), with the majority of community use hockey matches. Sat & Sun coming from local football teams. For hockey, 08:30-17:00 the pitch is used by Lymm Hockey Club for competitive match play, if other pitches at Lymm High School and University of Chester (Warrington Campus) are not available.

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66 Lymm High School Mon-Fri 34 70% 30% Used by Lymm High School (outside peak At capacity 17:00-22:00 periods). Used predominantly by Lymm Sat Hockey Club, with all remaining spare capacity 08:00-18:00 let out to community football teams. Sun 09:00-17:00 84 Penketh High School Mon-Fri 34 0% 100% Used by Penketh High School (outside peak No hockey use. Spare 17:00-21:30 periods), with all community use being for capacity for hockey Sat & Sun football. training and matches. 09:00-20:00 Capacity exists at the weekend and some No actual spare weekday evenings, however limited details capacity are available as to days and times and whether or not capacity can be deemed actual spare capacity is questionable. 87 Priestley College Mon-Thurs 16 44% 56% No capacity is available during peak time. At capacity 18:00-21:00 Usage is fairly evenly split between Sat 12:00-16:00 Warrington Hockey Club, who use it for training and competitive matches and community football teams. 130 University of Chester Wednesday 8 62% 38% Used by Lymm Hockey Club for competitive At capacity. (Warrington Campus) 17:30-20:30 match play. Sat 12:00-17:00 Used by the University hockey team for matches and training. The priority is student University teams, and their training schedules. Wednesday is the only evening between 5.30- 8.30pm offered for external team bookings.

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There is significant use of sand based AGP’s in Warrington for football training. The most significant is at Broomfields Leisure Centre, Culcheth Community Campus and Penketh High School.

In summary Broomfields Leisure Centre and Penketh High School are the only pitches with no hockey use. The lack of use of Broomfields Leisure Centre AGP is cited by Lymm Hockey Club as being because “pitch is not reliably available”, this pitch has also been unavailable for hockey usage for a long period due to its poor condition. Penketh High School is likely not to be used due to its location. Located in the west neighbourhood analysis area it is remote from the south neighbourhood analysis area where both Lymm Hockey Club and Warrington Hockey Club are based.

Lymm High School, Priestley College and University of Chester (Warrington Campus) are operating at capacity, and these are the main AGPs used by the three hockey clubs. The other AGP currently used by clubs for competitive matches is located at Culcheth Community Campus. This pitch is only sporadically used if fixtures cannot be accommodated at other venues and therefore has spare capacity at weekends for matches.

There is a lack of capacity for additional hockey training. Lymm HC would like to deliver additional mid-week junior training but due to the football use mid-week, only late slots are available, which is unsuitable for junior sessions. This is affecting the growth of the junior section at Lymm HC. The only site with capacity to accommodate hockey training is Penketh High School but due to its location it is not a viable option for Lymm Hockey Club, Warrington Hockey Club or the University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Hockey Club.

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Demand

There are three hockey clubs in Warrington consisting of 17 teams and 400 members. Of these, there are seven women’s, five men’s and three junior teams.

Table 36: Current hockey demand

Name of club Match facility Training facility No. of competitive teams Current membership31 (main home ground in bold) Senior Senior Juniors Senior Senior Juniors men women men women Lymm Hockey Club Lymm High School Lymm High School 3 5 3 45 42 185 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Culcheth Community Campus University of Chester University of Chester (Warrington Campus) University of Chester 1 1 - 15 18 - (Warrington Campus) (Warrington Campus) Warrington Hockey Priestley College Priestley College 2 2 - 42 37 16 Club Warrington Total 6 8 3 102 97 201

31 Taken from club surveys and EH affiliation 82

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Lymm Hockey Club

Lymm Hockey Club is the largest club located within Warrington, with a total 272 members, of which 87 are senior members and 185 junior members. This club consists of five women’s, two men’s and three junior teams. All training takes place at Lymm High School. The vast majority of fixtures take place at either Lymm High School or University of Chester (Warrington Campus), with occasional use of Culcheth Community Campus AGP depending on fixture schedules.

The club would like to have additional pitch provision to enable them to provide more training to their existing teams and members, and to offer mid-week junior training. They are concerned about the current sand based AGPs being converted to 3G AGP’s which are not suitable for hockey.

University of Chester (Warrington Campus)

The University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Hockey Club have 33 senior members. The club consists of one women’s and one men’s senior teams. All matches and all training activity are played at the University of Chester (Warrington Campus).The club did not express any concerns through the consultation.

Warrington Hockey Club

Warrington Hockey Club has a total of 95 members, 79 senior and 16 junior. The club consists of two women and two men’s teams. All matches and all training activity are played at Priestley College.

The club’s main concern is the price and availability of suitable AGPs within Warrington. The club would like to start their pre-season training earlier but are unable to do so as Priestley College AGP is closed during school holiday periods. They also highlighted that they are struggling to cover costs associated with pitch hire. The club are working with England Hockey to start a junior section. Planning work for this is currently taking place. This will require more pitch time.

Table 37: Summary of pitch hire prices

Site Site Name Pitch hire prices ID Weekend match play Weekday evening training 17 Broomfields Leisure Centre £81.00 £89.10 full pitch per hour £32.35 ¼ pitch per hour 33 Culcheth Community Campus £81.00 £83.55 full pitch per hour £31.20 1/3 pitch per hour 66 Lymm High School TBC TBC 84 Penketh High School Not provided Not provided 87 Priestley College TBC TBC 130 University of Chester £60 1 £60.00 full pitch per hour (Warrington Campus) £35.00 ½ pitch per hour

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Displaced Demand

During the 2015/16 season, AGPs at both Lymm High School and University of Chester (Warrington Campus) were unavailable due to essential refurbishment work. This caused displacement of teams from Lymm High School, however, now that the pitch improvement works have taken place there is no current displaced demand.

Unmet and latent demand

During the consultation Lymm Hockey Club indicated that they had unmet demand for an additional 2 hours of training for their senior teams that could not be accommodated at their training venue (Lymm High School). Through further consultation with EH and the club it has been identified that the club also have demand for additional mid-week junior training sessions.

Warrington Hockey Club indicated that their only unmet demand was during the school summer holiday period as the pitch they use for their training at Priestley

College is not open during school holidays, preventing them from starting their pre-season training earlier.

Future demand

Growing participation is a key aim within EH’s strategic plan and key drivers include working with clubs, universities and schools, working with regional and local leagues, developing opportunities for over 40s and delivering a quality programme of competition. Nationally, since 2012, hockey has seen a 65% increase of juniors taking up hockey within the club environment. This increase is expected to continue across all age groups in the future, especially given the success of Great Britain’s women’s team in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Overall, EH has an aim to double participation over the next ten years.

EH applies a growth rate to current affiliated membership numbers to determine anticipated increases in future demand. The predicted growth rate for Warrington is 4% and the table below uses this to determine potential growth.

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Table 38: Predicted future club based membership based on growth rate

Name of club Match facility Training facility Current membership32 Total Current Future membership33 Total Future (main home ground in bold) Senior Senior Juniors Membership Senior Senior Juniors Membership men women men women

Lymm Hockey Club Lymm High School Lymm High School 45 42 185 272 47 44 193 284 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Culcheth Community Campus

University of Chester University of Chester University of Chester 15 18 - 33 16 19 - 35 (Warrington Campus) (Warrington Campus) (Warrington Campus)

Warrington Hockey Priestley College Priestley College 42 37 16 95 44 39 17 100 Club

Warrington Total 102 97 201 400 107 102 210 419

32 Taken from club surveys 33 England Hockey predicts growth of 4% in Warrington 85

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In addition, Lymm Hockey Club and Warrington HC express future demand. Lymm Hockey Club indicated that they hope to grow as a club over the coming years. They did not have any quantifiable numbers linked to this growth in terms of the number of participants or the number of additional teams they may introduce.

Warrington Hockey Club also has aspirations to increase the number of participants and teams at their club. The club do not currently have a junior section but have a desire to introduce one over the next year. The club does not know where the new junior session will be hosted and where additional teams would train or play as their current base (Priestley College) is at capacity

Supply and demand analysis

In order to support the development of hockey in Warrington it is imperative to ensure that there is sufficient supply for both competitive match play requirements and also for training and other informal versions of hockey e.g. small sided hockey and Back to Hockey.

Based on 12 adult teams and 3 junior teams (this discounts the 2 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) teams as these play midweek) in Warrington requiring a pitch at peak time (Saturday) there is a requirement for 4 full sized (rounded up from 3.75) floodlit hockey pitches based on teams playing home and away (and based on a floodlit AGP being able to accommodate a maximum of four matches on a Saturday and Sunday).

Due to availability on pitches for matches, training and the informal versions of the game, the current 4 pitches used for hockey need to be retained as hockey surfaces. Junior teams can play competitive fixtures on either Saturday’s or Sundays, all current junior teams in Warrington currently play on a Sunday. Furthermore, a large proportion of junior members actually represent the senior teams competitively. Based on the information available there is sufficient supply to meet both current and future competitive match play requirements. However, it is not sufficient to meet current and future training demand, and any additional growth in participation numbers at the hockey clubs achieved through any informal versions of the game.

The 4 AGP’s that need to be protected are: • Culcheth High School • Lymm High School • Priestley College • University of Chester (Warrington Campus)

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The key issue identified through this needs assessment is to provide a solution to address the shortage of provision to accommodate hockey clubs training needs. Of the current AGPs suitable for hockey use, there is currently significant football use occurring, which is hindering the development of hockey and the availability for hockey to develop. The 3 sand based AGPs currently used for hockey are all hired, to varying degrees, for football use. Lymm High School AGP which is where Lymm Hockey Club are based has 30% football use during the peak periods, and Priestley College’s AGP, Warrington Hockey Club’s home ground, has 56% football use during the peak periods it is available. The University of Chester AGP has 38% football use during the available peak periods.

It is important to highlight that if additional provision is provided to support hockey training and informal play the participation numbers will increase and potentially the number of competing teams could also increase.

As there is a requirement for 4 sand based AGPs to meet demand for competitive match play and training requirements, it is essential that the 4 sand based AGPs currently utilised for competitive match play and training (Lymm High School, Priestley College, Culcheth High School and University of Chester (Warrington Campus)) must therefore be retained as sand- based AGPs. Also, if some of the existing football use that occurs during peak periods at these sites could be reduced, it would help meet the current unmet demand for training and support further informal play.

Converting sand-based AGPs to 3G

Since the introduction of 3G pitches and given their popularity for football, providers have seen this as a way of replacing their tired sand-based carpet and generating money from hiring out a 3G pitch to football clubs and commercial football providers. This has come at the expense of hockey, with players now travelling further distances to gain access to a suitable pitch and many teams being displaced from their preferred local authority.

Due to its impact on hockey, it is appropriate to ensure that sufficient sand-based AGPs are retained for the playing development of hockey. To that end, a change of surface will require a planning application and, as part of that, the applicants will have to show that there is sufficient provision available for hockey in the locality. Advice from Sport England and England Hockey should also be sought prior to any planning application being submitted.

It should also be noted that, if a surface is changed, it could require the existing floodlighting to be changed and, in some instances, noise attenuation measures may need to be put in place.

The 3G surface is limited in the range of sport that can be played or taught on it. Those proposing a conversion should take advice from the appropriate sports’ governing bodies or refer to Sport England guidance ‘Selecting the Right Artificial Grass Surface which can be found on Sport England’s website:

https://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/tools-guidance/design-and-cost- guidance/artificial-sports-surfaces/ 87

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HOCKEY SUMMARY

Overall picture

Supply

Demand

• There are three hockey clubs in Warrington with a total of 400 members, of which 199 are senior members and 201 junior members. • One of the clubs highlighted that they had existing unmet demand due to the unavailability of additional AGP provision during weekday evenings. • Two clubs indicated plans to increase their membership numbers in the coming years, specifically by introducing new and additional junior sections with the club. • England Hockey predicts there to be a growth in membership of 4% in Warrington (based on affiliation trends) which results in an overall increase of 10 adults and 9 juniors.

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Quality

Accessibility

• Availability during peak periods: o The pitch at Priestley College is only available during Term Time.

Section 5: Rugby League

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in Britain and Ireland. It administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Championships which form the professional and semi-professional structure of the game in the United Kingdom. The RFL also administers the amateur and junior game across the county in association with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA).

Consultation

There are 9 amateur rugby clubs located in Warrington. 8 of these clubs responded to an online survey resulting in a response rate of 89%. Results from this consultation have been used to inform the key issues within this section of the needs assessment.

Supply

The audit of pitches identified a current total of 38 grass rugby league pitches within Warrington across 23 sites. These are sites that currently have rugby league pitches marked out on the site, or have had, within the last 5 years.

Of these pitches three were identified as disused. There were three sites identified during the audit that have become lapsed sites. This means that they once had rugby league on site but they have not had rugby league pitches marked out and used for at least 5 years.

Table 40 below shows that there are a total of 30 grass rugby league pitches that are available for community use, 27 of these are senior pitches and 1 is a junior pitch and 2 are primary pitches. Please note that for the purpose of this report, being available for community use refers to pitches in public, voluntary, private or commercial ownership or management (including education sites) recorded as being available for use/hire by teams/clubs.

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In addition to these grass pitches there is a small sized indoor AGP located at the University of Chester (Warrington Campus) that was built by Warrington Wolves RFL to support their academy and professional training requirements.

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Table 39: Rugby League sites in Warrington

Site Site Name Analysis area Clubs playing at pitches Notes of ownership/ management ID 7 Beamont Collegiate Central None Pitches are owned by school but managed by LiveWire. Academy neighbourhood

11 Birchwood Academy East neighbourhood None Owned and managed by school. Trust 24 Cardinal Newman High South Not available for community use Owned and managed by school. School Neighbourhood

33 Culcheth Community East neighbourhood None Pitches are owned by school but managed by LiveWire. Campus 38 Dallam Recreation Central Bank Quay Bulls Rented from WBC on annual seasonal fee. Ground neighbourhood

43 Fir Tree Lane West neighbourhood Burtonwood Bulldogs & Burtonwood Rented from Burtonwood Parish Council on annual seasonal fee. Bridge 55 Great Sankey Parish West neighbourhood None Owned and managed by Great Sankey Parish Council. Playing Fields 58 Halliwell Jones Central Warrington Wolves Super League Privately owned and managed. Stadium neighbourhood

59 Hillock Lane Playing East neighbourhood Woolston Rovers Site jointly owned by Warrington Borough Council (80%) and by Fields Woolston & Fearnhead Parish Council. Managed by WBC. Rented from WBC on annual seasonal fee. 60 HM Prison (Thorn South Not available for community use Privately owned and managed. Cross) neighbourhood

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61 Hood Lane Recreation West neighbourhood Crosfields Rented from WBC Ground 65 Loushers Lane South Occasional use from Latchford Owned and managed by WBC. Recreation Ground neighbourhood Albion and Priestly College.

70 Mary Ann Meadows West neighbourhood Disused site. Now football pitch. Owned and managed by WBC.

72 Monks Sports & Social East neighbourhood Woolston Rovers Privately managed with clubs linked to Sports Club. Club 91 Rylands Recreation Central Rylands Sharks Privately managed with clubs linked to Sports Club. Ground neighbourhood 95 Shaw Street East neighbourhood Culcheth Eagles Rented from WBC on annual seasonal fee. Recreation Ground 96 Sir Thomas Boteler South None Owned by WBC and managed by school. High School neighbourhood 102 St Benedict’s Primary Central Rylands Sharks Owned by WBC and managed by school. School (Junior pitch) neighbourhood Rented from school with in return for club maintaining.

130 University of Chester East neighbourhood Warrington Wolves 1st team and Owned and managed by university. (Warrington Campus) reserves for training. 131 Victoria Park South Latchford Giants & Latchford Albion Rented from WBC on annual seasonal fee. neighbourhood

132 Victoria Park Arena South Latchford Giants Rented from WBC on match basis neighbourhood 132 Victoria Park Stadium South Latchford Albion & Warrington Rented from WBC on match basis neighbourhood Wolves

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Table 40: Summary of grass rugby league pitches available to the community by analysis area

Analysis Area Available for community use Senior Junior Primary Total Central neighbourhood 5 1 1 7 East neighbourhood 8 0 0 8 South neighbourhood 7 0 0 7 West neighbourhood 7 0 1 8 Warrington 27 1 2 30

The community use pitches are generally well spread across the analysis areas. The West and East neighbourhood analysis areas have the most pitches, with 7 senior and 1 primary pitch in the West and 8 senior pitches in the East. The South and Central neighbourhood analysis areas both have a total of 7 pitches; all of the pitches in the East are senior pitches whilst the pitches in Central are 5 senior pitches, 1 junior pitch and 1 primary pitch.

Generally the majority of rugby league pitches are classified as being senior sized, with cones used to mark pitches for under 11’s and below. However, there are instances where designated junior or primary pitches are provided, which is the case for 3 of the pitches in Warrington.

Ownership/ management

Of the community available pitches 17 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 4 are managed by Parish Councils, 3 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities, 3 are managed privately by private commercial sports clubs and 3 are managed by LiveWire, a Community Interest Company.

Lapsed/ disused sites

Table 41: Lapsed or disused Rugby League sites in Warrington

Site Site Name Analysis area Lapsed or Comments ID disused site 4 Bank Park Central Lapsed 1 x junior pitch. neighbourhood 63 Lockers Central Lapsed 2 x senior pitches. Privately owned and Playing Field neighbourhood closed when associated business closed. 137 Wilderspool South Disused 1 x senior pitch. Associated stadium Stadium neighbourhood demolished in 2014. The pitch at Victoria Park Stadium was the replacement for this pitch.

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In terms of the three pitches identified as lapsed these were located at two sites. Lockers Lane Playing Fields previously provided two senior rugby league pitches, however the site was privately owned and was linked to the Locker’s workplace. When Locker’s ceased trading and closed in early 2000, the playing fields became disused along with the rest of the site.

The other lapsed pitch was located at Bank Park in the central neighbourhood analysis area. The site previously provided a junior rugby league pitch, however due to its location and lack of ancillary facilities, it became disused during late 2000 and has not been used as a playing pitch site since.

There was 1 rugby league pitch identified on what is a disused site, located at Wilderspool Stadium. The stadium was home to the professional Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club from 1898 to 2003. The club moved to a new ground in 2004, but youth fixtures still took place at the site until May 2014, after which the stadium was demolished and the pitch closed. The pitch located at Victoria Park stadium, which opened in 2015, is the replacement pitch to compensate for the loss of the pitch at Wilderspool Stadium, and is utilised by Warrington Wolves RFL and other community clubs.

Future supply / current developments

As part of the needs assessment any pitch development plans that have funding in place and planning permission (where required) have been highlighted in this section. There are a number of aspirational plans for facility improvements that either do not yet have funding and/ or planning permission. The aspirational plans can be viewed in appendix 1.

Westy Park (South neighbourhood analysis area)

Warrington Borough Council has funding confirmed to re-introduce playing pitches at Westy Park. Previously a site which provided football provision, the site was previously closed as it was deemed unsafe due to the ground being contaminated as the playing fields are located on a previous landfill site.

The RFL have identified that they would recommend a feasibility study to be carried out to determine the scope of the work required to bring the pitches back into use. WBC have had discussions with Latchford Giants ARLFC in terms of utilising these pitches, but demand has been expressed by local football clubs.

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Christ Church Playing Field (East neighbourhood analysis area)

Since the pitch assessments were carried out, Rylands Sharks have worked with Poulton- with-Fearnhead Parish Council to carry out work on a playing field located opposite to Bennett’s Recreation Ground in the east neighbourhood analysis area to introduce an additional senior rugby league pitch. The pitch measures 100 x 68 metre with a 6 metre dead balls and full size posts

The club have fed back that whilst the pitch has increased capacity, there is no drainage in place on the site and so is prone to water logging.

Rylands Recreation Club

Rylands Cricket Club have recently been informed that they are to vacate their cricket pitch at the site from 1st January 2018 The suggestion is to turn the cricket pitch over to rugby league junior teams. Rylands Rugby League Club have significant demand for additional pitch provision and the cricket pitch outfield is currently used by some junior rugby league teams for training.

Informal pitches

Through the audit there were no informal pitches identified.

Pitch quality

The quality of football pitches in Warrington have been assessed via a combination of site visits, carrying out non-technical assessments (NTAs) as determined by the Rugby Football League on all pitches, and user consultation to reach and apply an agreed rating as follows:

• Good • Standard • Poor

Pitch quality influences the carrying capacity of a site; often pitches lack the drainage and maintenance necessary to sustain high levels of use. It is likely that pitches that receive little or no ongoing repair or off season remedial work will be assessed as poor, therefore limiting the number of games able to take place each week without it having a detrimental effect on quality. Conversely, well maintained pitches which are tended to regularly are likely to be a higher standard and capable of taking a number of matches without a significant reduction in surface quality.

Private sites (e.g. sports clubs) can often offer better quality facilities than Council and school playing pitches as such sports clubs tend to have dedicated ground staff or volunteers working on pitches regularly during the week. Also private sites are often secured by fencing which prevents unofficial use whilst council pitches are generally located within parks and open spaces, regularly used by the public.

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Carrying capacity of a pitch is dependent upon the quality of a pitch which is outlined below:

Category Capacity Good 3 matches per week Standard 2 matches per week Poor 1 match per week

The table below lists all the Rugby League pitches available for community use and the agreed pitch quality rating.

Table 42: Rugby League pitch ratings

Site Site Name Agreed Quality Rating ID 7 Beamont Collegiate Academy Poor 7 Beamont Collegiate Academy Poor 11 Birchwood Academy Trust Standard 33 Culcheth Community Campus Standard 38 Dallam Recreation Ground Standard 38 Dallam Recreation Ground Standard 43 Fir Tree Lane Standard 43 Fir Tree Lane Standard 43 Fir Tree Lane (Primary pitch) Standard 55 Great Sankey Parish Playing Fields Poor 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields Poor 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields Poor 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields Poor 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground Standard 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground Standard 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground Standard 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground Standard 65 Loushers Lane Recreation Ground Poor 72 Monks Sports & Social Club Good 91 Rylands Recreation Ground Standard 91 Rylands Recreation Ground (Primary pitch) Standard 95 Shaw Street Recreation Ground Standard 95 Shaw Street Recreation Ground Standard 96 Sir Thomas Boteler High School Standard 102 St Benedict’s Primary School (Junior pitch) Standard 130 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Standard 131 Victoria Park Good 131 Victoria Park Poor 131 Victoria Park Poor 132 Victoria Park Stadium Good 132 Victoria Park Arena Good

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The eight teams that engaged in the consultation all provided feedback with regards to their views on pitch quality. Two clubs indicated that they felt pitches were of good quality; these were Culcheth Eagles who are based at Shaw Street Recreation Ground and Latchford Giants identified one pitch at Victoria Park as being good quality.

Table 43 below, summarises the quality of pitches that are available for community use for rugby league. In total, 4 pitches are rated as good quality (13%), 18 as standard quality (58%) and 9 are deemed to be poor quality (29%).

Table 43: Pitch quality ratings for community use rugby league pitches

Senior pitches Junior/ Primary pitches Total pitches Good Standard Poor Good Standard Poor Good Standard Poor 4 14 9 0 3 0 4 17 9 15% 52% 33% 0% 100% 0% 13% 57% 30%

Overall, 13% of the pitches are good quality, 57% are standard quality and 30% are poor quality.

The feedback from the club survey gives a mixed response in terms of whether clubs feel the quality of pitches has changed during the last 12 months. 37% of respondents stated pitch quality has got slightly poorer with 25% suggesting pitch quality has become much poorer. 25% of respondents feel there is no different in pitch quality that has occurred with only the remaining 13% stating they feel pitch quality has become slightly better.

All sites managed and/or maintained by Warrington Borough Council (many of the school sites are maintained by WBC) receive a basic level of maintenance that is restricted to grass cutting and seeding, with no further budgets available for any further level of upkeep or for improvement works.

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Table 44: Site specific feedback received on pitch quality

Site Feedback Dallam Recreation It was identified during the consultation that improvement works were Ground being carried out on the pitches at that time. Feedback on the pitch that was in use was that grass cutting and line marking had become less frequent resulting in a poorer pitch. There was also concern expressed at the football pitches being introduced at the site as part of the improvement work. Fir Tree Lane Poor drainage and maintence was indicated through consultation. It was suggested that inadequate drainage of the pitch makes the pitch more unplayable than playable. Also dangerous when the pitch dries with divots. Rylands Recreation Pitch identified during consultation as being overplayed. Ground Maintenance regime identified as requiring improving but thought to not be financially viable. Victoria Park One pitch in particular identified as being ‘superb’ however other rugby league pitches on the site not as good quality, resulting in overplay on the better pitch. Frequency of grass cutting identified as an issue. Victoria Park Stadium A new pitch has recently been provided however it was identified that access is limted due to use by Warrington Wolves.

Over marked pitches

As already mentioned, the majority of rugby league pitches are classified as being senior sized, with cones used to mark pitches for under 11’s and below. Over marking of pitches can however cause notable damage to the surface quality and lead to overuse beyond recommended capacity. Over marking of pitches not only influences available capacity, it may also cause logistical issues regarding kick off times; for example, when two teams of differing age formats are due to play at the same site at the same time.

All of the senior Rugby League pitches are used for junior matches at some point during the season depending on availability.

There are no known pitches in Warrington which are marked onto or overlapping cricket outfields. However, the outfield of the cricket pitch at Rylands Recreation Club is identified as being used for some junior training.

Whilst having rugby league pitches marked out on cricket pitches can create availability issues as both cricket and rugby league are summer sports, it can sometimes be an option for creating additional capacity if required.

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Ancillary facilities

Ancillary facilities including the condition of the clubhouse, changing accommodation, toilets, showers, medical room, car parking and boundary fencing.

When asked during consultation, many of the clubs identified poor quality changing rooms as being an issue.

In terms of the sites that are currently used for the purpose of competitive Rugby League Dallam Recreation Ground which is used by Bank Quay Bulls had new changing rooms built in 2013, with additional car parking due to be installed during 2016/17.

As already indicated Shaw Street Recreation Ground, used by Culcheth Eagles is also due to have new and extended changing provision provided in the near future.

Changing facilities provided at Hillock Lane Playing Fields (used by Woolston Rovers), Rylands Recreation Ground (used by Rylands Sharks), Hood Lane Recreation Ground (used by Crosfields) and Victoria Park (used by Latchford Giants) are all identified as being poor and requiring investment. It is important to note that in terms of Victoria Park, it is the changing rooms linked to the four pitches in the main park area that are identified as being poor.

The ancillary facilities utilised by Burtonwood Bulldogs and Burtonwood Bridge (currently merging to become Burtonwood Rugby League) are identified as being an issue as they are extremely limited at the Fir Tree Lane site. There is no off road parking available at the site, nor are there any changing facilities. The clubs currently have to utilise the nearby Community Centre for changing provision.

Security of tenure

Security of tenure is something that needs to be looked at in Warrington to support the development of rugby league within Warrington. Whilst there is a commitment from WBC, who own the majority of rugby league pitches, that these pitches will continue to be provided for community use in the future, most of the pitches are rented by clubs on a seasonal basis.

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The RFL have stated that they are happy to work with clubs and councils on asset transfers where Rugby League clubs are in a good position to sustainably manage and maintain an asset. Rugby league is very dependent on Local Authorities as the majority of its facilities are owned and run by Local Authorities.

The RFL have highlighted their concern about the potential impact of budget cuts on clubs and therefore aims to help volunteers to secure their facilities for the long-term and to help provide the training and equipment required by volunteers to care for their facilities.

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Table 45: Rugby League pitch site ancillary facilities ratings

Site Site Name Agreed Comments on Changing Rooms ID Quality Rating 7 Beamont Collegiate Academy Good Community use of pitches managed by LiveWire and ancillary facilities are based on those present in Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. 11 Birchwood Academy Trust Standard 33 Culcheth Community Campus Good 38 Dallam Recreation Ground Standard Changing rooms have recently been built. 43 Fir Tree Lane Poor Changing provision provided is at the nearby Community Centre. No changing provision on site. 55 Great Sankey Parish Playing Fields Poor No changing rooms available. No car parking at the site. 59 Hillock Lane Playing Fields Poor Changing rooms have reached the end of their lifespan. 61 Hood Lane Recreation Ground Standard 65 Loushers Lane Recreation Ground Poor No changing rooms available. 72 Monks Sports & Social Club Good 91 Rylands Recreation Ground Standard 95 Shaw Street Recreation Ground Standard New extended changing rooms currently being built. 96 Sir Thomas Boteler High School Standard 102 St Benedict’s Primary School (Junior pitch) Standard No changing rooms available. 130 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) Good 131 Victoria Park Poor Changing rooms have reached the end of their lifespan. 132 Victoria Park Arena Poor Whilst changing rooms are reasonable quality they are very small and not big enough to accommodate 13v13 rugby league formats. 132 Victoria Park Stadium Good

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Demand

Demand for rugby league in Warrington tends to fall within the categories of organised competitive play and organised training. As the majority of rugby league play takes place during the summer period, when the nights are lighter, a significant amount of training takes play on pitches in addition to the competitive match play.

Competitive Play

Through the audit and assessment a total of 88 teams were identified as playing competitive rugby league based in Warrington. This consists of 15 senior men teams (19 years +), 28 junior teams (12 – 18 years) and 44 primary teams (7 – 11 years).

Table 46: Summary of where competitive teams play in Warrington by analysis area

Analysis area No. of competitive rugby league teams Senior Junior Primary Total Central neighbourhood 5 5 15 25 East neighbourhood 3 9 14 26 South neighbourhood 3 6 6 15 West neighbourhood 4 8 9 21 Warrington 15 28 44 88

Peak time for senior teams to play is Saturday PM and junior and primary teams are Sunday AM.

The table above shows that the East neighbourhood analysis area (26) is where most teams have their competitive pitch located, closely followed by the Central neighbourhood area (25) and then the West neighbourhood area (21). There are a low number of teams in the South neighbourhood analysis area (15). The most prevalent playing format is the primary team types category (44); however each format is fairly well represented.

The Central and East neighbourhood analysis areas account for the highest proportion of primary teams (34% and 32% respectively). The East and West neighbourhood areas have the highest percentage of of junior teams (32% and 29% respectively) with the Central and South neighbourhood areas having 21% and 18% of the total respectively.

Senior teams make up 15% of teams playing rugby league competitively in Warrington, with the highest number of teams being in the Central neighbourhood analysis area (33%). The other neighbourhood analysis areas are well represented with senior teams with the West neighbourhood area having 27% and the East and South neighbourhood areas each having 20% of the total senior teams.

Whilst the primary teams are mixed, it is important to note that there are no identified female junior or senior teams.

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Training

Winter rugby training is accommodated across a combination of indoor sports halls, 3G artificial grass pitches (AGP) and other open spaces including a dedicated floodlit training area located at Victoria Park and Farm Land. Finding appropriate facilities is a regular issue identified by clubs.

There are three 3G AGP’s in Warrington that during the consultation were highlighted as being constructed with the shock pad required for rugby use. These are located at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub (full size pitch), University of Chester (Warrington Campus) and University Academy Warrington (need to check this has shock pad). However, whilst these pitches can be used for non-contact formats of the game (touch rugby), in order to be used for contact rugby league, these pitches require testing and certification. Currently none of these pitches are certified for rugby league. Indeed there is a lack of clarity as to whether any of the three pitches do in fact have the necessary shock pad installation.

The 3G AGP located at University of Chester (Warrington Campus) is a purpose built, indoor training facility to support the Warrington Wolves professional team and academy. It has limited community use. Through the audit it has been identified that this pitch is not certified for contact rugby league.

The 3G AGP located at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub is heavily used with 100% of the usage being football.

The 3G AGP at University Academy Warrington does have some rugby league use however the pitch is predominately used for football.

Casual Use

As the majority of rugby league is played on pitches owned and/ or managed by either Warrington Borough Council or Parish Councils these sites tend to be as open public spaces and are used for recreational play, dog walking etc. This additional wear and damage is an issue for clubs as it decreases the quality of pitches and in turn the carrying capacity for matches and training.

Displaced demand

Displaced demand is existing demand that is being met by provision outside of the Warrington boundary. There are a number of reasons why displacement may occur such as Central Venue League, where one location/site is used as the venue for all competitive fixtures with no teams having home or away fixtures or because teams choose to hire pitches outside of the boundary due to pitch quality or hire costs.

There was no displaced demand identified through the consultation with clubs.

Unmet and latent demand

There was no unmet or latent demand identified by clubs through the consultation. 103

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Future demand

Future demand can be defined in three ways, through participation increases, housing growth and using population forecasts. 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.

Population Growth Scenarios for each of the sports is contained within the Strategy Report.

Population Increase

Team generation rates are used to calculate the number of teams likely to be generated in the future (2027) based on population growth.

Table 47: Team generation rates

Age group Current Current Team Future Predicted Additional population no. of Genera population future teams that within age teams tion within age number of may be group Rate group teams generated from the increased population Senior Men’s (19-45) 35,656 12 2971 35,799 12.0 0.0 Senior Women (19-45) 35,267 0 0 34,209 0.0 0.0 Junior Boys (12-18) 8,928 25 357 9,758 28 3 Junior Girls (12-18) 8,330 0 0 9,305 0.0 0.0 Primary rugby mixed (7-11) 11,957 44 272 13,189 49 5

Using the 2027 projected population increases it demonstrates that additional teams are forecasted to be generated for both junior boys and primary teams. The most significant growth is predicted to be in primary rugby with 5 teams anticipated. A further 3 teams are anticipated to be generated in junior rugby.

Based on the anticipated additional teams, this equates to the need for access to rugby league pitches that could cater for 3.25 match equivalent sessions per week.

Participation Increase

During the consultation process a number of clubs indicated that they had plans to grow their number of teams in the future. Whilst some of the teams highlighted specific detail in terms of future growth, other teams did not provide any detail. The table below highlights the specific latent demand expressed by the clubs that could potentially be introduced in the coming years.

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Table 48: Summary of future demand expressed by clubs

Club Latent demand Analysis area Match Type equivalents Burtonwood Indicated but not West 0 Unknown Bulldogs / specified neighbourhood Burtonwood Bridge Bank Quay Bulls 1 x senior Central 0.5 Senior 1 x junior girls neighbourhood 0.5 Junior 1 x primary 0.25 Primary Crosfields Indicated but not West 0 Unknown specified neighbourhood Culcheth Eagles Indicated but not East 0 Unknown specified neighbourhood Latchford Giants 1 x U8 South 0.25 Primary 1 x U13 neighbourhood 0.5 Junior 1 x U18 0.5 Junior 1 x U19 0.5 Senior Rylands Sharks Indicated but not Central 0 Unknown specified neighbourhood Woolston Rovers Indicated but not East 0 Unknown specified neighbourhood Totals 0.5 Primary 1.5 Junior 1 Senior

The quantifiable future demand indicated by clubs through the consultation is concentrated in Central and South neighbourhood analysis areas. However, there was also future demand identified in the East and West neighbourhood analysis area but the lack of detail provided by clubs meant that match equivalent detail could not be established.

Capacity analysis

The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for 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 affects the playing experience and people’s enjoyment of playing. In extreme circumstances it can result in the inability of a pitch to cater for all or certain types of play during the peak period and off peak times.

As previously indicated the carrying capacity of a pitch is dependent upon the quality of a pitch which is outlined below:

Category Capacity Good 3 matches per week Standard 2 matches per week Poor 1 match per week

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The next step is to ascertain whether or not any identified ‘potential capacity’ can be deemed ‘actual 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 the site. 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 takes place but are difficult to quantify on a weekly basis. Where actual spare capacity exists it is highlighted in table 44.

The peak period

In order to fully establish actual spare capacity, the peak period needs to be established. As the majority of competitive rugby league takes place on senior rugby league pitches the peak period is considered to be Saturday PM and Sunday AM.

Education sites

To account for curricular/ extra-curricular use of education pitches it is deemed that usage should be adjusted and increased by 1 match equivalent session per pitch. The only time this does not apply is when a school does not use its pitches at all and the sole use is that made by the community.

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Table 49: Rugby league capacity table

Site Site name Analysis area Pitch type Quality No. of Match Site Capacity Comments ID rating pitches equivalent capacity rating sessions (sessions (per week) per week) 7 Beamont Central Senior Poor 2 2.5 2 0.5 Site is poor quality with education use Collegiate neighbourhood therefore has no capacity. Academy Current community use means pitch is over played. 11 Birchwood East Senior Standard 1 1 2 1 PE/ Extracurricular use only recorded on Academy neighbourhood this pitch. Trust 33 Culcheth East Senior Standard 1 1.75 2 0.25 Current community use from Rylands Community neighbourhood Sharks for training only. Campus 38 Dallam Central Senior Standard 2 5.25 4 1.25 Currently used by Bank Quay Bulls for Recreation neighbourhood training and competitive match play. Ground 43 Fir Tree West Junior Standard 1 2 2 0.5 Currently used by Burtonwood Bulldogs Lane neighbourhood and Burtonwood Bridge. 43 Fir Tree West Senior Standard 2 2.25 4 1.75 Lane neighbourhood 55 Great West Senior Poor 1 0 1 1 No current community use. Sankey neighbourhood Site has poor ancillary facilities, with no Parish parking or changing facilities. Council Playing Fields 59 Hillock Lane East Senior Poor 3 10 3 7 Extensively used by Woolston Rovers for Playing neighbourhood both training and matches. Fields The site is overplayed by 7 match equivalent sessions per week.

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Adjacent school are also requesting access for curricular and extra-curricular purposes. 61 Hood Lane West Senior Standard 4 15.25 8 7.75 Currently used by Crosfields for both Recreation neighbourhood training and matches. Centre The site is overplayed by 7.75 match equivalent sessions per week. 65 Loushers South Senior Poor 1 1 1 0 Currently used on an ad hoc basis by Lane neighbourhood Latchford Albion and Priestly College for Recreation rugby league. Ground Site has poor ancillary facilities, with no parking or changing facilities. Predominantly used as football site. 72 Monks East Senior Good 1 3.5 3 0.5 Used by Woolston Rovers for both Sports & neighbourhood training and matches. Social Club The site is overplayed by 0.5 match equivalent sessions per week. 91 Rylands Central Primary Standard 1 3 2 1 Currently used by Rylands Sharks for Recreation neighbourhood both training and matches. Ground The site is overplayed by 6 match 91 Rylands Central Senior Standard 1 8 2 6 equivalent sessions per week. Recreation neighbourhood Ground 95 Shaw Street East Senior Standard 2 8.5 4 4.5 Currently used by Culcheth Eagles for Recreation neighbourhood both training and matches. Ground The site is overplayed by 4.5 match equivalent sessions per week. 96 Sir Thomas South Senior Standard 1 1 2 1 PE/ extracurricular lessons only recorded Boteler High neighbourhood on this pitch. School 102 St Central Junior Standard 1 4 2 2 Currently used by Rylands Sharks for Benedict’s neighbourhood both training and matches. Primary Pitch also has PE/ extracurricular use.

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School 130 University of East Senior Standard 1 4 2 2 Dual use RFL & RFU pitch. Chester neighbourhood Used by Warrington Wolves 1st team and (Warrington reserves for training. Campus) Winter use from University Rugby Union team 131 Victoria Park South Senior Good & 3 7.5 5 2.5 Currently used by Latchford Giants for neighbourhood poor mix both training and matches. The site is overplayed by 2.5 match equivalent sessions per week. 132 Victoria Park South Senior Good 1 2.5 3 0.5 The pitch is predominantly used by Stadium neighbourhood Warrington Wolves with some usage from Latchford Albion. 132 Victoria Park South Senior Good 1 0.5 3 2.5 The pitch has some community rugby Arena neighbourhood league use along with community football use.

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Supply and demand analysis

Having considered supply and demand scenarios above, the table below identifies the overall spare capacity in each of the analysis areas based on match equivalent sessions.

Table 51: Spare capacity (match equivalent sessions per week)

Analysis area Actual spare Current Demand (match Future demand (match equivalent sessions) capacity34 equivalent sessions) Overplay Current total Future demand Future demand Unmet Total (population (participation demand35 growth) increase) Central neighbourhood 0 10.75 10.75 - 1.25 0 12 East neighbourhood 1.25 14 12.75 - - 0 12.75 South neighbourhood 1 2.5 1.5 - 1.75 0 3.25 West neighbourhood 2.25 7.75 5.5 - - 0 5.5 Warrington 4.5 35 30.5 3.25 3 0 36.75

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Overall in Warrington there is a shortfall of 30.5 match equivalent sessions to meet current demand.

Each of the four analysis areas has a current deficit of provision. The south neighbourhood analysis area has the lowest deficit with 1.5 match equivalent sessions. The west neighbourhood has a deficit of 5.5 match equivalent sessions. The largest deficits are present in the central and east neighbourhood analysis areas which have deficits of 10.75 match equivalent sessions and 12.75 match equivalent sessions respectively.

The situation is further exacerbated when accounting for future demand resulting in a shortfall of 36.75 match equivalent sessions to meet current and future demand across Warrington.

The shortfall of pitches is generally down to overplay, which is a direct result of teams training on match pitches due to a lack of dedicated, floodlit training areas combined with the quality of some of the pitch provision.

Spare capacity

Some sites are shown to have potential spare capacity but not all is actual spare capacity. The sites where potential spare capacity is not actual spare capacity are summarised in table 51 below.

Table 51: Sites with potential spare capacity but actual spare capacity does not exist

Site Site name Analysis area Pitch type Reasons for not having actual ID spare capacity 55 Great Sankey West neighbourhood Senior Site has poor ancillary facilities, Parish Council with no parking or changing Playing Fields facilities. 132 Victoria Park South neighbourhood Senior In order to protect pitch quality, Stadium usage needs to be managed. 132 Victoria Park South neighbourhood Senior The pitch is located within an Arena athletics track which limits its availability. The pitch has some community rugby league use. Furthermore the pitch also has potential for football fixtures.

Table 52: Actual spare capacity by analysis area

Analysis area Actual spare capacity Central neighbourhood 0 East neighbourhood 1.25 South neighbourhood 1 West neighbourhood 2.25 Warrington 4.5

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The west neighbourhood analysis area has the most actual spare capacity with 2.25 match equivalent sessions identified. The East neighbourhood area has 1.25 match equivalent sessions actual spare capacity, with the south neighbourhood having 1 match equivalent session. There is no actual spare capacity identified in the central neighbourhood area.

Overplay

Ten sites are overplayed by 35 match equivalent sessions per week. There are two main reasons for this which are the number of teams playing and training at the same sites along with the varying quality of pitches across Warrington.

Overplay, in some circumstances, can be dealt with by improving quality of pitches or by providing more training pitches. It is important to acknowledge however that there is not enough spare capacity available in the areas of overplay to meet this level of demand.

Scenario testing to identify the level of overplay that could be addressed through pitch improvements will be explored in the Playing Pitch Strategy.

Table 53: Overplay by analysis area

Analysis area Overplay Central neighbourhood 10.75 East neighbourhood 14 South neighbourhood 2.5 West neighbourhood 7.75 Warrington 33

The table above shows that the east neighbourhood analysis area has the highest level of overplay (14 match equivalent sessions per week), closely followed by the central neighbourhood area (10 match equivalent sessions). The west neighbourhood area has 7.75 match equivalent sessions per week of overplay. The south neighbourhood area has the lowest amount of overplay recorded with 2.5 match equivalent sessions per week.

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RUGBY LEAGUE SUMMARY

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of rugby league pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 30.5 match equivalent sessions. • Overall in Warrington there is a predicted shortfall of 36.75 match equivalent sessions based on anticipated future demand.

Supply

• There are a total of 31 grass rugby league pitches that are available for community use. The West neighbourhood area has the highest total number of grass football pitches (9), followed by the East neighbourhood area (8). The Central and South neighbourhood areas both have seven pitches. • 28 of these pitches are senior rugby league pitches, one is a junior pitch and two are primary pitches. • There is a total of 4.5 match equivalent sessions of actual spare capacity across Warrington with half (2.25) expressed in the West neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

• A total of 88 teams were identified as playing competitive rugby league on pitches located within the Warrington boundary. This consists of 15 senior men teams, 28 junior teams and 44 primary teams. • The East (26) neighbourhood analysis areas is where most teams have their match play pitch located, closely followed by the Central (25) neighbourhood area and West (21) neighbourhood. The lowest number of teams is in the South (15) neighbourhood analysis area. • Through the consultation process no clubs reported any unmet demand. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 3 junior teams and 5 primary teams. • A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Of the clubs which quantify their potential increase, there is a predicated growth of 1 senior men team, 2 junior teams and 1 primary team. • Overplay amounts to 33 match equivalent sessions. The East neighbourhood analysis area has the highest level of overplay (12 match equivalent sessions), followed by Central (10.75 match equivalent sessions), then the West (7.75 match equivalent sessions). The South neighbourhood analysis area has 2.5 match equivalent sessions of overplay. • One of the main reasons for overplay is training on match pitches. However, another reason for overplay is mini teams playing on senior pitches.

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Quality

Accessibility

• Management: o Of the community available rugby league pitches, 17 are managed by Warrington Borough Council, 5 are managed by Parish Councils, 4 are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities, 3 are managed privately by sports clubs and 3 are managed by LiveWire (a Community Interest Company).

Section 6: Rugby Union

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the governing body for the sport across England. It is split into six areas across the country with a workforce team that covers development, coaching, governance and competitions. A development officer is responsible for Warrington and works with clubs to maximise their potential. This work involves developing club structures, including working towards the RFU accreditation (Clubmark) and the development of school-club structures. The rugby union playing season operates from September to May.

Consultation

There are 3 amateur rugby union clubs located in Warrington. Each of these clubs responded to an online survey resulting in a 100% response rate. Results from this consultation has been used to inform the key issues within this section of the needs assessment.

Supply

In total there are 13 grass rugby union pitches (11 senior and 2 mini) in Warrington located across 6 sites. All of the pitches are available for community use with 12 of the pitches being used. The pitch that is available for community use but not used is located at University of Chester (Warrington Campus).

Please note that the audit only identified dedicated, line marked pitches. For the purposes of this report, being available for community use refers to pitches in public, voluntary, private or commercial ownership or management (including education sites) that are recorded as being available for use/ hire by teams/clubs.

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There are currently no 3G AGP’s in Warrington that are World Rugby Regulation 22 compliant.

Table 54: Rugby Union sites in Warrington

Site Site Name Analysis area Clubs playing at Notes of ownership/ ID pitches management 2 Appleton Thorn South Warrington RUFC (ad Rented from WBC on an ad- Playing Fields hoc) hoc basis. (New Lane) 14 Bridgewater High South Warrington RUFC (ad Rented from school on an School (Upper) hoc) ad-hoc basis. 69 Lymm Rugby Club South Lymm Rugby Club Owned by club 127 Thornton Road West Eagle RUFC Rented from WBC on Recreation Ground annual seasonal fee. 130 University of East None Owned and managed by Chester University (Warrington Campus) 133 Warrington Sports South Warrington RUFC Owned by sports club. Club Rugby Club is independent section within the club with secured use of the facilities.

Table 55: Summary of grass rugby union pitches available for community use

Analysis Area Available for community use No. of senior pitches No. of mini pitches Central neighbourhood 0 0 East neighbourhood 1 0 South neighbourhood 9 2 West neighbourhood 1 0 Warrington 11 2

As shown in table 56, the vast majority of rugby union pitches are located within the south neighbourhood analysis area (85%). There is 1 senior pitch located in the east neighbourhood analysis area, 1 senior pitch in the west neighbourhood but no rugby union pitches in the central area.

Ownership/ management

Pitch ownership and management across Warrington is varied. Of the 13 pitches available three are managed by Warrington Borough Council, three are managed in house by schools/ colleges/ universities; five are owned and managed by Lymm RUFC with the remaining two owned and managed by Warrington Sports Club. Warrington Rugby Club is an independent section of the main club with secured use of the rugby union facilities available at the site.

Lapsed/ disused sites

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As part of the audit there was one disused pitch identified as outlined below:

Sow Brook Playing Fields During the consultation WBC parks team identified that due to drainage issues at the site, the pitch has been unplayable for rugby union for approximately the last 4 seasons.

There was one lapsed sites identified as outlined below:

Bridge Lane Owned by Warrington Borough Council, and the former home of Warrington RUFC, the site became disused in 2004 following a fire which destroyed the club house at the site. Warrington RUFC continues to lease the site under terms dating back to 1959 however the condition of the site and the associated pitches has deteriorated significantly. The current lease has around 40 years still to run.

The site previously provided two pitches (1 senior / 1 junior), one of which was floodlit.

As part of the consultation Warrington RUFC indicated aspirations to return to the site in the future.

Future supply / current developments

As part of the needs assessment any pitch development plans that have funding in place and/or planning permission (where required) have been highlighted in this section.

Lymm Rugby Club (south neighbourhood analysis area)

Lymm Rugby Club had planning permission granted in February 2017 to build a new 2,390 square metre purpose-built clubhouse, along with four illuminated tennis courts, all- weather 3G pitch, squash courts and changing rooms.

The proposed work will see the existing clubhouse transformed into four homes, with a further 10 also to be built.

The RFU are fully supportive of the clubs plans to redevelop their home site and have approved the design for the changing rooms. The RFU are currently (March 2017) providing support to the club in the pursuit of delivering the scheme for which planning has been granted. The RFU has identified the Lymm Rugby Union site as one that could host an RFU operated Artificial Grass Pitch through the RFUs ‘Rugby Turf’ Investment Programme.

Informal pitches

Through the audit there were no informal rugby union pitches identified.

Pitch quality

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The methodology for assessing rugby pitch quality looks at two key elements; the maintenance programme and the level of drainage on each pitch. An overall quality based on both drainage and maintenance can then be generated.

Quality ratings based on maintenance and drainage scores

Maintenance Poor (M0) Standard (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

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:

Definition of maintenance categories

Category Definition M0 Significant improvements to maintenance programme required M1 Minor improvements to maintenance programme required M2 No improvements to maintenance programme required

Definition of drainage categories

Category Definition D0 Pipe drainage system is needed on pitch D1 Pipe drainage is needed on pitch D2 Slit drainage is needed on pitch D3 No action is needed on pitch drainage

Table 56: Rugby Union pitch ratings

Site Site Name Agreed Quality Rating ID 2 Appleton Thorn Playing Fields (New Lane) M0 / D0 2 Appleton Thorn Playing Fields (New Lane) M0 / D0 14 Bridgewater High School (Upper site) M0 / D0 14 Bridgewater High School (Upper site) M0 / D0 69 Lymm Rugby Club (mini pitch) M2 / D2 69 Lymm Rugby Club (mini pitch) M2 / D2 69 Lymm Rugby Club M2 / D2 69 Lymm Rugby Club M2 / D2 69 Lymm Rugby Club M2 / D1 127 Thornton Road Recreation Ground M0 / D1 130 University of Chester (Warrington Campus) M0 / D0 133 Warrington Sports Club M1 / D2 133 Warrington Sports Club M1 / D2

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Of the five pitches at Lymm Rugby Club, four of the pitches have pipe and slit drainage systems that were installed in 2009 with financial support from the RFU. The remaining pitch at the site, which is floodlit, has not had a new drainage system installed in the last 8 years as per the RFU guidance and is heavily overplayed as it is used for club training. This pitch is earmarked to become a World Rugby Regulation 22 compliant 3G AGP as part of the proposed Lymm Rugby Club development outlined earlier.

Of the remaining pitches, only pitches at Thornton Road Recreation Ground and Warrington Sports Club have pipe drainage installed. The age of these systems is not known but maintenance regimes at the sites are identified as requiring significant improvements.

The remaining 5 rugby pitches assessed have no drainage systems and inadequate maintenance regimes.

The table below provides a summary of the facility improvements that have occurred over the past 10 years at rugby union sites in Warrington. These works have been supported by investment from the Rugby Football Union amounting to £1,039,127.

Table 57: Summary of RFU and club facility improvements in Warrington over the past 10 years

Year Club Name Works 2007 Warrington Portable floodlights 2007 Lymm Land and buildings 2009 Lymm Pitch Improvements 2012/13 Lymm Pitch maintenance equipment 2012/13 Warrington Goalpost Safety 2012/13 Warrington Changing rooms 2013/14 Lymm 200 Lux Lighting 2015/16 Lymm Pitch Improvements & Changing Room Refurbishment

Ancillary facilities

Ancillary facilities including the condition of the clubhouse, changing accommodation, toilets, showers, medical room, car parking and boundary fencing.

Eagle RUFC identified that the ancillary facilities at Thornton Road Recreation were poor, and this was confirmed through consultation with Warrington Borough Council. The two remaining WBC owned and managed sites at Appleton Thorn Playing Fields and Sow Brook Playing Fields were also deemed to be poor quality.

Both Lymm RUFC and Warrington RUFC home grounds were identified as having standard quality ancillary facilities overall, this has been supported through significant investment by

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both the clubs and the RFU in recent years. Warrington RUFC have invested significantly in their changing rooms in recent years and the quality of their changing facilities is good. Lymm RUFC changing rooms and club house are poor quality and require improvement.

Table 58: Agreed site ancillary ratings for community use sites

Site Site Name Analysis area Agreed ancillary Comments ID facilities rating 2 Appleton Thorn South Poor Limited car parking capacity. Playing Fields neighbourhood No changing room facilities. (New Lane) 14 Bridgewater High South None Car parking available. School (Upper site) neighbourhood 69 Lymm Rugby Club South Standard Recent minor improvements neighbourhood to changing rooms but still fall short of standard and configuration required. Clubhouse in poor condition. Planning permission granted for a scheme that will provide state of the art ancillary improvements for the club when delivered. 97 Sow Brook Playing South Poor Replacement changing rooms Fields neighbourhood required. Car parking limited and poor condition. 127 Thornton Road West Poor Limited car parking and poor Recreation Ground neighbourhood quality. Recent minor improvements to changing rooms but still fall short of standard and quantity required. 130 University of East Good Chester neighbourhood (Warrington Campus) 133 Warrington Sports South Standard Changing rooms underwent Club neighbourhood significant refurbishment in 2012/13 and are good quality.

Demand

Demand for rugby union pitches falls within the categories of competitive play and organised training.

Competitive Play

There are a total of 34 competitive rugby union teams within Warrington. A breakdown of the number of teams within each club is shown in the table below.

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Table 59: Summary of demand from clubs

Club Analysis area No. of rugby union teams Mini Junior Colts Senior Eagle RUFC West neighbourhood 0 0 0 2 Lymm RUFC South neighbourhood 6 4 2 4 Warrington RUFC South neighbourhood 6 4 2 4 Warrington 12 8 4 10

Organised training

Consultation confirms that all 3 clubs train at their home ground during the winter however the training facilities vary greatly between clubs. A breakdown of the training facilities utilised by each club is shown in table 60 below.

Table 60: Summary of training facilities

Club Facilities available Organised training Eagle RUFC 1 floodlit tarmac strip. Senior – Tuesday & Thursday 7.00pm The RFU are currently working with Eagle RUFC to support them with a funding application for portable floodlights which would enable them to train on a more appropriate facility. Lymm RUFC 1 floodlit pitch Touch Rugby – Thursday 7.30pm Senior - Tuesday and Thursday 7.00-9:00pm Colts Academy – Thursday 6.00–7.00pm U16 – Wednesday 6.00-7.00pm U15 – Wednesday 6.00-7.00pm U14 –Thursday 6.00-7.00pm U13 – Tuesday 6.00-7.00pm U12 – Friday 6.00-7.00pm Mini (U5 – U12) – Sunday (match or training. In late season March/April a number of these age groups may organise mid-week training to coincide with better weather and lighter evenings ) Warrington RUFC 1 grassed paddock area Senior – Thursday 7.00pm with 3 x portable Senior Colts – Tuesday & Thursday 7.00pm floodlights Junior Colts – Wednesday 7.00pm U15 – Wednesday 6.00pm U14 – Wednesday & Friday 6.30pm U13 – Friday 6.30pm U11 – Wednesday 6.00pm U10 – Friday 6.30pm 120

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Mini & Micros (U7 – U12) – Sunday (match or training)

In addition to the summary above, one of Warrington RUFC mini teams train at a 3G pitch at Whitecross Community Centre.

Warrington RUFC identified through the consultation process that their portable floodlights are at the end of their life and require replacing. The RFU have indicated during the consultation that they are aware of this and are looking to support the club with funding to secure replacement portable floodlights.

Warrington Borough Council parks team highlighted during the consultation process that the training facilities identified by Warrington RUFC is actually located on WBC land which is managed as an overflow car park as part of Walton Hall Gardens and Estate. WBC has not granted Warrington RUFC permission for training to take place on the area.

Casual or other use

Through the consultation Warrington RUFC identified that the rugby union pitches at Warrington Sports Club is used by the rugby union team from University of Chester (Warrington Campus) usually for approximately 2-3 fixtures per season when their pitch is waterlogged.

Furthermore Warrington RUFC currently have a partnership with Bridgewater High School. This partnership see’s the school play there Saturday morning matches on Warrington Sports Club rugby union pitches.

Warrington Sports Club pitches are also used for 2 sessions per season as part of the Sale Sharks Developing Player Pathway (DPP) programme.

Displaced demand

Warrington RUFC identified that they had demand that is currently expressed outside of the Warrington boundary at Moore Rugby Club. This currently consists of senior training on a Wednesday evening, at a cost of £90 per session and approximately 8 junior matches when pitches at Warrington Sports Club are unavailable due to condition or capacity.

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

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pitch, or when a league has a waiting list due to a lack of pitch provision, which in turn is hindering growth.

Warrington RUFC identified that they have unmet demand due to not having enough access to pitches. The club stated that they cannot train or play as frequently at home (Warrington Sports Club) or in Warrington which means that they have to organise to play a higher percentage of games away from home.

Due to the lack of appropriate training facilities available for all 3 clubs there is clearly a high level of unmet demand with regards to training.

Future demand

Future demand can be defined in three ways, through participation increases, housing growth and using population forecasts.

Population Growth Scenarios to estimate the demand for each pitch sport type generated from population growth is contained within the Strategy Report.

Participation increases

Consultation with clubs suggests that they have a desire to increase the number of teams within their club in the near future.

During the consultation Lymm RUFC stated that they always looking to increase the playing membership at all levels and actively encourage new members to join and past members to re-join. Of specific interest at this time is the; • Development of a Ladies section, however this is currently limited by the number and type of changing rooms that we have within our current club house. • Retention of senior players at ages range 19-45 to ensure we can continue to field 4 senior sides • Expansion of our Touch Rugby activities.

Table 61: Future demand of clubs

Club Analysis area Future demand Match equivalent sessions required36 Eagle RUFC West neighbourhood 1 x senior 1 Lymm RUFC South neighbourhood 1 x senior 1.75 1 x junior Warrington RUFC South neighbourhood 2 x senior 4.25 3 x junior Warrington 4 x senior 7 4 x junior

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In addition to the above Warrington RUFC also indicated they hope to develop Touch Rugby teams in the future.

Future demand expressed by clubs equates to an increase of 8 teams (4 senior, 4 junior and 0 mini) in Warrington. This is converted into requirements for 7 match equivalent sessions per week (based on both comeptitive match play and training). The majority of this future demand is aligned to the south neighbourhood analysis area (6 match equivalent sessions) with the remainder being aligned to the west neighbourhood (1 match equivalent session).

Population increases

Table 62: Team Generation Rates

Age group Current Current Team Future Predicted Additional teams population no. of Generation population future that may be within age teams Rate within age number of generated from the group group teams increased population

Senior Men’s (19-45) 35,656 13 2743 35,799 14 1 Senior Women (19-45) 35,267 0 0 34,209 0.0 0.0 Junior Boys (13-18) 7,686 12 641 8,408 14 2 Junior Girls (13-18) 7,190 0 0 8,010 0.0 0.0 Mini rugby mixed (7-12) 14,339 12 1195 15,802 14 2

Based on population growth by 2027 in Warrington it is anticipated that there will be an increase of 1 senior mens team, 2 junior boys teams and 2 mixed mini rugby teams. This is converted to 4 match equivalent sessions per week37 (1 for senior mens, 2 for junior boys and 1 for mini rugby). Due to the majority of rugby union infrastructure currently being in the south neighbourhood it is likely that much of this growth will occur in this analysis area.

Capacity analysis

The capacity for pitches to regularly provide for competitive play, training and other activity over a season is most often determined by quality. At minimum, the quality and therefore the capacity of a pitch affects 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 are included on the supply side. • All competitive play is on senior-sized pitches unless mini pitches are provided. • From U13 upwards, teams play 15-a-side rugby and use a full senior-sized pitch. • Mini teams (U7-12) play across half one adult pitch i.e. two matches per senior pitch.

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• For senior and junior 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’). • 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 one adult pitch. • All male adult club rugby takes place on Saturday afternoon. • All U13-18 rugby takes place on Sunday morning. • Training that takes place on club pitches is reflected by addition of team equivalents. • Team equivalents have been calculated on the basis that 30 players (two teams) train on the pitch for 90 minutes (team equivalent of one) per night.

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:

Maintenance Poor (M0) Standard (M1) Good (M2)

Natural Inadequate (D0) 0.5 1.5 2 Natural Adequate (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 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.

The peak period

In order to fully establish actual spare capacity, the peak period needs to be established. Peak time for senior male rugby union matches in Warrington is Saturday PM, for senior female rugby union peak time is Sunday PM with all junior and mini rugby taking place on Sunday. As the majority of junior and mini rugby in Warrington takes place on senior pitches, the overall peak time for senior pitches is Sunday.

Education sites

To account for curricular/ extra-curricular use of education pitches it is deemed that usage should be adjusted by 1 match equivalent session per pitch. The only time this does not apply is when a school does not use its pitches at all and the sole use is that made by the community.

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Table 63: Rugby union quality and capacity summary

Site Site name Analysis Pitch Quality Floodlit? Actual Pitch Capacity Comments ID area type rating match capacity rating (MES equivalent (MES per per sessions week) week) 38 (MES) per week 2 Appleton Thorn Playing South Senior M0 / D0 No 0.5 0.5 0 Pitches are used by Warrington Fields (New Lane) Senior M0 / D0 No 0.5 0.5 0 RUFC on an ad-hoc basis 14 Bridgewater High South Senior M0 / D0 No 1.25 0.5 0.75 Pitches have curriculum and School (Upper) extra-curricular use from school. Senior M0 / D0 No 1.25 0.5 0.75 Warrington RUFC use on an ad- hoc basis. 69 Lymm Rugby Club South Senior M2 / D2 No 2.5 3.25 0.75 Pitch two, with floodlights, used Senior M2 / D1 Yes 7.5 3 4.5 by all teams for training due the Senior M2 / D2 No 2.5 3.25 0.75 winter period. It is also used for Mini M2 / D2 No 1.5 3.25 1.75 touch rugby. Mini M2 / D2 No 1.5 3.25 1.75 127 Thornton Road West Senior M0 / D1 No 2 1.5 0.5 Pitch is used by 1st & 2nd teams Recreation Centre for matches. 130 University of Chester East Senior M0 / D0 No 1.25 0.5 0.75 Pitches are used by the (Warrington Campus) university. 133 Warrington Sports Club South Senior M1 / D2 No 3.25 2.5 0.75 Pitches are used by Warrington Senior M1/ D2 No 3.25 2.5 0.75 RUFC senior, junior and mini teams subject to availability.

38 One match equivalent session equates to 90 minutes of pitch usage per week and could be made up of training sessions and/or competitive match play. One team playing on a home and away basis i.e. a home match every other week is equal to 0.5 match equivalent sessions for senior and junior teams or 0.25 match equivalent sessions for mini teams 125

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Supply and demand anlysis

Actual spare capacity

The next step is to ascertain whether or not any identified ‘potential capacity’ can be deemed ‘actual 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 the site. 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 other activities that are difficult to quantify on a weekly basis.

Table 64: Actual spare capacity

Site Site name Analysis Pitch No. of Spare MES Comments ID area type pitches capacity available (match in the equivalent peak sessions) period 69 Lymm South Senior 2 1.5 1 The 2 non- Rugby Club floodlit senior pitches could accommodate 2 senior teams 69 Lymm South Mini 2 4.5 0 No spare Rugby Club capacity at the peak time Total 4 6 1

There are two senior pitches identified as being available in the peak period equating to 1.5 match equivalent sessions of spare capacity. On review the number of match equivalent sessions available in the peak period equates to 1.

It is important to highlight that good quality pitches often have to have their use managed to maintain its quality. The more play a pitch accomodates, the more its condition can deterioriate. Following discussions with the the Rugby Football Union it has been agreed that the actual spare capacity identified at Lymm Rugby Club should be discounted to protect the pitch quality.

Therefore there is no actual spare capacity recorded.

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Table 65: Overplay by site

Site Site Name Analysis Pitch type No. of Match equivalent Quality ID area pitches sessions rating 14 Bridgewater High South Senior 2 1.5 M0 / D0 School (Upper site) 69 Lymm Rugby Club South Senior 1 4.5 M2 / D1 127 Thornton Road West Senior 1 0.5 M0 / D1 Recreation Ground 133 Warrington Sports South Senior 2 1.5 M1 / D2 Club Total 6 8

Supply and Demand Balance

Having considered supply and demand above, the table below identifies the overall supply/demand balance in each of the analysis areas, based on match equivalent sessions.

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Table 66: Spare capacity of match equivalent sessions per week

Analysis area Actual spare Current Demand (match equivalent sessions) Future demand (match equivalent Total capacity39 sessions) Overplay Unmet demand40 Current total Future demand Future demand (population (participation growth) increase) Central neighbourhood 0 0 0 - 0 0 - East neighbourhood 0 0 0 - 0 0 - South neighbourhood 0 7.5 3 10.5 3 6 19.5 West neighbourhood 0 0.5 0 0.5 1 1 2.5 Warrington 0 8 3 11 4 7 22

Overall in Warrington there is a shortfall of 11 match equivalent sessions to meet current demand. This is further exaceberated when accounting for future demand resulting in a shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions to meet current and future demand. The shortfalls expressed are mostly in the south neighbourhood analysis area where the two biggest rugby union clubs are located. There is some shortfall expressed in the west neighbourhood analysis area.

39 In match equivalent sessions 40 Based on club consultation 128

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RUGBY UNION SUMMARY

Overall picture

• There is insufficient supply of rugby union pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • Overall in Warrington there is a current shortfall of 11 match equivalent sessions. • Overall in Warrington there is a predicted shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions based on anticipated future demand.

Supply

• There are a total of 13 grass rugby union pitches that are available for community use. The vast majority of these are located in the south neighbourhood area (85%). There is one pitch located in the East neighbourhood area, one in the West and none in Central. • Nine of these pitches are senior pitches and two are mini pitches. • There is a total of 1 match equivalent session of actual spare capacity across Warrington expressed in the South neighbourhood analysis area.

Demand

Quality

• The two mini pitches located at Lymm Rugby Clun are rated as good quality (M2/D2). • The majority of adult pitches are either poor (55%) or standard quality (18%). Only 27% of pitches are rated as good quality.

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Section 7: Cricket

Cheshire County Cricket Board (CCCB) is the main governing body for cricket across Warrington. In its aims and objectives the CCCB identifies the importance of recruiting, retaining and developing players and volunteers, and acknowledges a need to nurture a strong Club network which it identifies as the bedrock of Cheshire Cricket.

For adult cricket in Warrington the Cheshire Cricket League provides the main offering with fixtures generally taking place on Saturdays for males, Sundays for females and weekdays for veteran teams. The majority of junior provision takes place during mid-week through club based matches.

Consultation

There are 7 cricket clubs located in Warrington. Of these, 6 clubs responded to an online survey resulting in a response rate of 86%. Results from this consultation have been used to inform the key issues within this section of the needs assessment.

The club that did not respond to the online survey was Rylands Cricket Club. Information in this assessment relating to Rylands CC has been gathered through online research and consultation with CCCB.

Supply

There were a total of 20 sites within Warrington identified, providing a total of 21 cricket pitches. 12 of these pitches are available for community use, six pitches are not available for community use whilst three pitches have become disused during the last 5 years.

Table 67: List of disused sites

Site Site name Analysis area Comments ID 50 Grappenhall Hall South The school closed in July 2015 and the site is School neighbourhood current vacant with consultation currently being undertaken to inform whether or not the land will be sold off. No community use has ever been recorded for this site.

In total there are 11 grass cricket squares providing 90 natural grass cricket wickets. 10 of the grass cricket squares are available for community use providing 85 natural grass wickets. The grass cricket square not available for community use is at Lymm High School and this also has a non-turf wicket accompanying the grass square.

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Table 68: Summary of pitches available for community use by neighbourhood area

Analysis area Number of pitches Number of natural Number of non- available for community grass wickets available turf wickets use for community use available for community use Central neighbourhood 1 7 0 East neighbourhood 2 8 1 South neighbourhood 8 70 0 West neighbourhood 1 0 1 Warrington 12 85 2

All of the cricket club based pitches provide separate artificial grass wicket practice nets which provide areas for training and can help reduce overplay on grass wickets. In addition, there are seven standalone non-turf wicket pitches.

Table 69: Table of cricket facilities

Site Site Name Available for Analysis Area No. of No. of Community Natural non-turf Use grass wickets wickets

1 Appleton Cricket Club Yes South 10 11 Birchwood Academy Trust No East 1

13 Bridgewater High School Yes South 5 (Lower) 24 Cardinal Newman High No South 1 School 35 Culcheth Sports Club Yes-unused East 1 36 Dakota Park Yes West 1 45 Glazebury Cricket Club Yes East 8 48 Grange Sports & Social Yes South 8 Club 49 Grappenhall Cricket Club Yes South 10

60 HM Prison (Thorn Cross) No South 66 Lymm High School No South 5 1 68 Lymm Oughtrington Park Yes South 10 Cricket Club 86 Pewterspear Sports Yes South 7 Pavilion 91 Rylands Recreation Club Yes Central 7 106 St Gregory’s High School No West 1 129 University Academy No East 1 Warrington 133 Warrington Sports Club Yes South 10 133 Warrington Sports Club Yes South 10

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Management and Security of Tenure

The ownership and management of cricket pitches in Warrington is mixed. Nine of the cricket pitches identified are located on education sites and managed in house. Three of these sites however have pitches that have become disused within the last 5 years.

In terms of the cricket pitches used by the seven local cricket clubs, the majority of these are owned or leased by the clubs. Appleton CC, Grappenhall CC and Warrington CC all own their home grounds. Glazebury CC and Stretton CC both lease their grounds from trusts, Rylands CC rent their pitch from a private sports club, whilst Lymm Oughtrington Park CC lease their pitch from Lymm High School for a peppercorn rent.

Table 70: Table of cricket ownership

Club Home ground Analysis area Own, lease or rent Appleton Cricket Club Appleton Cricket South neighbourhood Own Club Glazebury Cricket Club Glazebury Cricket East neighbourhood Lease Club Grappenhall Cricket Club Grappenhall Cricket South neighbourhood Own Club Lymm Oughtrington Park Lymm Oughtrington South neighbourhood Lease Cricket Club Park Cricket Club Rylands Cricket Club Rylands Recreation Central neighbourhood Rent Centre Stretton Cricket Club Pewterspear Sports South neighbourhood Lease Pavilion Warrington Cricket Club Warrington Sports South neighbourhood Own Club

No clubs identified any issues with regards to security of tenure during the consultation process. However, during the period the audit was carried there was press coverage regarding Rylands Recreation Ground and possible plans for the site to become dedicated to football and rugby league which highlights a query regarding the cricket provision available at the site that is used by Rylands Cricket Club.

Furthermore, through direct discussions with the Cheshire Cricket Board it was identified that Stretton Cricket Club were facing some challenges with their lease arrangements at Pewterspear Sports Pavilion.

Future supply / current developments

As part of the needs assessment any pitch development plans that have funding in place and planning permission (where required) have been highlighted in this section. There are a number of aspirational plans for facility improvements that either do not yet have funding and/ or planning permission. The aspirational plans can be viewed in appendix 1.

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There only known development identified through the needs assessment was the planned installation of an artificial wicket at Rylands Recreation Ground, linked to the ECB Last Man Stands initiative. This development has taken place since the pitch assessments took place.

Pitch quality

The non-technical assessments of grass wicket cricket pitches in Warrington found nine pitches to be good quality, with the remaining two assessed as standard quality. Of the standalone non-turf wickets still in use, five were assessed as standard and one was assessed as poor.

Further to the site assessments, of the six clubs that responded to the consultation, four viewed their pitches as good quality with eight being deemed to be of standard quality.

Grappenhall CC identified that their pitch quality had got much better over the last year following a grant from Sport England that led to their entire outfield being replaced resulting in significant pitch improvements and led to their good quality pitch rating.

Appleton, Glazebury and Lymm Oughtrington CC’s all indicated that they believed their pitches had slightly improved over the past 12 months.

Appleton CC identified their pitch as being good quality citing their new groundsman providing more dedicated hours to pitch preparation as a key reason along with the purchase of improved roller equipment. A big issue for Appleton CC however is their outfield which suffers from poor drainage and severe undulations in places.

Appleton CC also uses other local cricket pitches for competitive match play. They use the cricket pitches at Grange Sports and Social Club and Bridgewater High School. Both pitches they identify as standard quality with no real difference in pitch quality noted in the last year.

Glazebury CC rated their pitch as standard quality but stated that they can produce a better pitch as they now have the added advantage of covers. They indicate, however, that they had struggled to keep the uncovered squares and the outfield in as good condition due to issues with their maintenance equipment.

Lymm Oughtrington CC rated their pitch as good quality citing improved treatment of pitch as the reason behind the recent improvements.

Stretton CC deemed their pitch to be standard quality. They felt that the quality of the pitch had become slightly poorer in the last year due to extremely wet weather over the winter period and because time spent on the wicket preparation has decreased due to cost.

Following review of the site assessment reports, feedback from clubs and through discussions with CCCB, a quality rating was agreed for each pitch. These results are presented in tables 71 and 72 below.

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Table 71: Grass wicket pitch ratings

Site Site Name Analysis area Agreed Quality ID Rating 1 Appleton Cricket Club South neighbourhood Good 13 Bridgewater High School (Lower) South neighbourhood Standard 45 Glazebury Cricket Club East neighbourhood Standard 48 Grange Sports & Social Club South neighbourhood Standard 49 Grappenhall Cricket Club South neighbourhood Good 66 Lymm High School South neighbourhood Standard 68 Lymm Oughtrington Park Cricket Club South neighbourhood Good 86 Pewterspear Sports Pavilion South neighbourhood Good 91 Rylands Recreation Club Central neighbourhood Standard 133 Warrington Sports Club South neighbourhood Good 133 Warrington Sports Club South neighbourhood Good

Table 72: Non-turf wicket pitch ratings

Site Site Name Analysis area Agreed Quality ID Rating 11 Birchwood Academy Trust East neighbourhood Poor 35 Culcheth Sports Club East neighbourhood Poor 36 Dakota Park West neighbourhood Poor 106 St Gregory’s High School West neighbourhood Poor 129 University Academy Warrington East neighbourhood Poor

Ancillary facilities

All cricket clubs in Warrington have access to changing room facilities at their main home ground. The quality does, however, vary from site to site. Appleton, Grappenhall, Stretton and Warrington CC view their changing facilities as good quality. Lymm Oughtrington CC rate their changing facilities as standard whilst Glazebury CC consider their changing facilities to be of a poor quality.

Car parking is identified as an issue at Glazebury CC and the car parking at Appleton CC is also limited.

Training facilities

Access to artificial grass cricket wickets and/or cricket nets is very important for cricket clubs to enable them to carry out their training, both during the season and the winter months. Three of the six clubs that responded to the consultation report a demand for additional training facilities.

Appleton CC highlighted a good non turf pitch, to ECB standard and which is easy to maintain as a need. In addition, they suggested a mobile net cage may be useful plus access to indoor training facilities. 134

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Glazebury CC identified a need for indoor practice nets or all non-turf practice areas. Stretton CC stated that an artificial turf wicket on the cricket square would support them.

Demand

The cricket clubs in Warrington vary in size with some having several senior teams and junior teams of various age-groups whilst others just have a handful of senior and junior teams. In total there are seven clubs providing a total of 26 senior male teams, two senior female teams and 28 junior teams.

As shown in the table below, the vast majority of teams are based in the South neighbourhood area of Warrington, with a small number of teams in the Central and East neighbourhood areas. There are no teams based in the West neighbourhood area.

Table 73: Summary of teams by analysis area

Analysis Area Number of competitive teams Senior male Senior female Junior Central neighbourhood 2 0 0 East neighbourhood 2 0 2 South neighbourhood 22 2 26 West neighbourhood 0 0 0 Warrington 26 2 28

Through the consultation both Glazebury CC and Stretton CC identified that the number of teams they have as a club have reduced over recent years. The other four clubs engaged in the consultation indicated that their number of members and teams had either remained at a similar level or increased slightly over recent years.

Educational use of education sites

To account for curricular/ extra-curricular use of education pitches it is deemed that usage should be increased by 7 match equivalent session per season. The only time this does not apply is when a school does not use its pitches at all and the sole use is that made by the community.

The only cricket pitch located on an education site and with both school and community use was located at Bridgewater High School, which is used by Appleton CC.

Unmet and latent demand

There was no unmet or latent demand identified by clubs through the consultation.

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Displaced demand

None of the clubs that engaged in the consultation identified any demand that was displaced outside of the Warrington boundary.

Future demand

Future demand can be defined in three ways, through participation increases, housing growth and using population forecasts.

The Strategy Report will contain a Population Growth Scenario that will estimate the additional demand for cricket arising from population development.

Population Increases

Team generation rates are used to calculate the number of teams likely to be generated in the future (2027) based on population growth.

Table 74: Team Generation Rates up to 2027

Additional teams that Current Future Predicted Current Team may be population population future Age group no. of Generation generated within age within age number of teams Rate from the group group (2027) teams increased population Senior Men’s (18-55) 52,755 26 2029 50,750 25.0 -1.0 Senior Women’s (18-55) 52,111 2 26056 49,766 1.9 0 Junior Boys (7-17) 13,789 26 530 15,154 28.6 3 Junior Girls (7-17) 12,916 4 3229 14,311 4.4 1

As can be seen in table 74 above, using this indicates that there is a projected increase of three junior boys’ teams and one junior girls’ team. There is a projected loss of one senior men’s team whilst senior female teams are anticipated to stay at the current level.

Population growth in Warrington is not expected to create additional teams at senior level, there is however a projected loss of one senior men’s team. Population growth is expected to create three junior boys’ teams and one junior girls’ team. The potential growth of teams is likely to generate a maximum of 24 match equivalent sessions per season for junior cricket, on the basis a junior team will play a maximum of 8 home matches per year. It is considered that as the estimated growth is minimal this can be absorbed into current pitch provision.

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Participation Increases

A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide.

Table 75: Future demand expressed by clubs

Club Analysis area Senior Junior Appleton CC South neighbourhood 0 1 Glazebury CC East neighbourhood 1 3 Grappenhall CC South neighbourhood 0 0 Lymm Oughtrington Park South neighbourhood 0 2 CC Stretton CC South neighbourhood 0 1 Warrington CC South neighbourhood 0 0 Warrington 1 7

During the consultation Appleton, Glazebury, Lymm Oughtrington Park and Stretton CC indicated they had plans to increase their number of teams.

Appleton CC are hoping to increase numbers in their under 9 and under 11 age-groups to establish an extra junior team by working with CCCB and developing improved school-club links. Stretton CC are also looking to increase the number of participants at under 9 age.

Glazebury CC hope to get the three junior teams they have recently lost re-established as well as introducing an additional senior male team within the next five years.

Lymm Oughtrington Park CC are focussing on increasing participation amongst females and hope to introduce a junior girls team at under 9 and under 18 level.

All the clubs indicate that they expect to be able to accommodate these new teams on their current pitches. The table below summarises the future demanded suggested by the cricket clubs consulted and indicates a potential growth of one senior team and five junior teams. This equates to the need for 12 match equivalent sessions per year during the relevant peak period for senior men’s cricket (Saturday) on the basis that a senior team will play a maximum of 12 home matches per year. The increased demand for junior cricket equates to the need for 40 match equivalent sessions per season during the relevant peak periods for junior cricket (mid-week or Sunday), on the basis that a junior team will play a maximum of 8 home matches per year

Table 76: Projected future demand by analysis area

Analysis area Senior (teams) Junior (teams) Central neighbourhood 0 0 East neighbourhood 1 2 South neighbourhood 0 3 West neighbourhood 0 0 Warrington 1 5 137

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Peak time demand

An analysis of match play data provided by cricket clubs indicates that peak time for cricket pitches in Warrington is dependent on the type of cricket being played. The peak periods are summarised below: 1. Mid-week is the peak period for younger age junior cricket and short game senior cricket (22 match equivalent sessions = 38%) 2. Saturday is the peak period for senior male cricket (21 match equivalent sessions = 36%) 3. Sunday’s is the peak period for older age junior cricket, female cricket and senior male cricket (e.g. 3rd/ 4th teams) (15 match equivalent sessions = 26%)

Capacity analysis

To determine capacity analysis for cricket it is appropriate to look at the number of match equivalent sessions over the course of a season. How much play a cricket pitch can accommodate is primarily determined by the number and quality of wickets on a pitch. Only one match is generally played per pitch per day. However, play is rotated across the wickets to reduce wear and allow for repair. Each wicket is able to accommodate a certain amount of play per season as opposed to a week.

In order to determine how much play a site can accommodate, the carrying capacity needs to be determined. The carrying capacity of a site is not simply how much play currently takes place there. Carrying capacity for cricket pitches is defined as the amount of play a site can accommodate over the cricket season without it adversely affecting its quality and use.

To help calculate pitch capacity each National Governing Body for sport provides recommendations on how many matches pitches can accommodate based on their quality. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suggests that a good quality wicket should be able to take: • 5 matches per season per grass wicket (adults) • 7 matches per season per grass wicket (juniors) • 60 matches per season per non turf wicket (adults) • 80 matches per season per non turf wicket (juniors)

Based on the above and the fact that some pitches have been rated as poor or standard quality, the pitch capacity for these sites have been revised as follows. A standard quality wicket should be able to take: • 4 matches per season per grass wicket (adults) • 6 matches per season per grass wicket (juniors) • 40 matches per season per non turf wicket (adults) • 60 matches per season per non turf wicket (juniors)

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A poor quality wicket should be able to take: • 3 matches per season per grass wicket (adults) • 5 matches per season per grass wicket (juniors) • 20 matches per season per non turf wicket (adults) • 40 matches per season per non turf wicket (juniors)

Once the carrying capacity of the pitch has been identified and how much play takes place there (its current use by the community), it is then possible to compare the two as shown in figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Pitch capacity and community use

The amount of play a site can The amount of play a site can accommodate accommodate Comparison (It’s carrying capacity for (It’s carrying capacity for community use) community use)

By doing the comparison as outlined above it is then possible to determine whether, for each pitch type it contains, a site is: • Being overplayed (current use exceeds the carrying capacity) • Being played to the level the site can sustain (current use matches the carrying capacity); or • Potentially able to accommodate some additional play (current use falls below the carrying capacity)

This information in relation to cricket is presented in table 77 below. Please note that the carrying capacity at Appleton Cricket Club has been reduced to reflect usage from United Utilities which was identified through the consultation process.

Agreed carrying capacity

For the purpose of this needs assessment and due to the fact that peak demand is evenly spread between junior and senior cricket, it is assumed that good quality wickets should be able to take 6 matches per season, standard quality wickets 5 matches per season and poor quality wickets 4 matches per season.

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Table 77: Cricket pitch capacity (of pitches identified as available for community use)

Site Site name Analysis No. of Pitch No. of No. of non- Carrying Community Education Potential ID area pitches quality grass turf capacity (per use use capacity rating wickets wickets season) (per season) (per season) rating (per season) 1 Appleton Cricket Club South 1 Good 10 - 52 51 0 1 13 Bridgewater High South 1 Standard 5 - 25 15 10 0 School (Lower site) 35 Culcheth Sports Club East 1 Poor - 1 20 0 0 20 36 Dakota Park West 1 Poor - 1 20 0 0 20 45 Glazebury Cricket Club East 1 Standard 8 - 40 23 0 17 48 Grange Sports & Social South 1 Standard 8 - 40 24 0 16 Club 49 Grappenhall Cricket South 1 Good 10 - 60 100 0 40 Club 68 Lymm Oughtrington South 1 Good 10 - 60 80 0 20 Park CC 86 Pewterspear Sports South 1 Good 7 - 42 30 0 12 Pavilion 91 Ryland’s Recreation Central 1 Standard 7 - 35 20 0 15 Ground 133 Warrington Sports Club Central 2 Good 10 - 120 120 0 0 Good 10 -

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Supply and demand analysis

Spare capacity

Once the supply and demand information has been gathered the next step is to determine whether or not any identified potential capacity can be deemed to be actual 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 the site. For example, a site may be managed to regularly operate slightly below full capacity to protect the quality of the site.

As shown in table 79 there are seven pitches which show potential spare capacity. Five of these pitches are grass wicket pitches and two pitches are non-turf wicket. The total number of potential match equivalent sessions per season provided totals 101 however 40 of these derive from poor quality non-turf wickets that are located between football pitches which affect both the quality of the outfield and the availability. It has therefore been agreed to only count the availability of grass wicket pitches which provide a possible 61 match equivalent sessions per season.

Where potential spare capacity has been identified it is important to acknowledge that this may not truly represent actual spare capacity i.e. whether pitch capacity is available at the peak times identified. As indicated on page 119, the peak periods for cricket are mixed. Saturday is the peak period for senior male teams, mid-week for junior teams with Sunday’s being the competitive match play day for older age junior teams, female teams and senior male teams for veterans.

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Table 78: Potential Spare Capacity

Site Site name Analysis Potential Comments ID area spare capacity

1 Appleton Cricket Club South 1 Discounted as capacity rating does not equate to any reasonable level of capacity. 35 Culcheth Sports Club East 20 Discounted due to being non-turf wickets located between football pitches 36 Dakota Park West 20 Discounted due to being non-turf wickets located between football pitches 45 Glazebury Cricket Club East 17 Two senior teams currently use the pitch on a Saturday; therefore no capacity exists on a Saturday. Capacity exists on a Sunday and in mid-week to support junior cricket. 48 Grange Sports & Social South 16 The pitch is currently utilised by Appleton CC, by a number of teams. As the wicket is located between Club football pitches, no additional capacity exists. 86 Pewterspear Sports South 12 Only 1 team currently uses the pitch on a Saturday, therefore capacity exists for an additional team. Pavilion No use on a Sunday and limited use mid-week, therefore capacity exists to support junior, female and veteran cricket. 91 Rylands Recreation Central 15 Two senior teams currently use the pitch on a Saturday; therefore no capacity exists on a Saturday. Ground No use on a Sunday or mid-week, therefore capacity exists to support junior, female and veteran cricket.

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Despite seven pitches showing spare capacity, there are only three that are suitable and available and have reasonable additional capacity during the peak periods identified for the different peak periods identified for cricket: • Mid-week is the peak period for younger age junior cricket and short game senior cricket • Saturday is the peak period for senior male cricket • Sunday’s is the peak period for older age junior cricket, female cricket and senior male cricket (e.g. 3rd/ 4th teams)

There is only the equivalent of 12 match equivalent sessions available on a Saturday (the peak period for senior male cricket). This provides spare capacity for one additional senior male team.

There is some more availability during mid-week and on a Sunday which are the peak periods for younger age junior cricket and short game senior cricket (mid-week) and older age junior cricket, female cricket senior male cricket (Sundays). The spare capacity identified during mid-week is 32 match equivalent sessions providing capacity for 3 additional teams (junior or short game) whilst the spare capacity for Sunday is 1.5 providing capacity for 3 additional teams (either junior, senior female or senior male teams).

Table 79: Actual spare capacity by analysis area

Analysis area Actual spare Spare Capacity Availability capacity MES per season Central neighbourhood 15 Mid-week and Sunday East neighbourhood 17 Mid-week and Sunday South neighbourhood 12 Mid-week, Saturday and Sunday West neighbourhood 0 Warrington 44

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The spare capacity identified is quite evenly spread across Warrington, with the exception of the West neighbourhood area. There is very little infrastructure to support cricket in this neighbourhood area and the spare capacity is reflective of this.

Overplay

Guidance on cricket pitches is that any pitch having more matches per wicket per season than the identified carrying capacity is overplayed. There is overplay recorded at two pitches in Warrington, namely Grappenhall Cricket Club and Lymm Oughtrington Park Cricket.

The recommendation therefore is a reduction in play on these sites in order to ensure that there is no detrimental effect on quality over time. This, however, is dependent on alternative pitches being available which suit the users and allows teams to continue to play at the appropriate level.

It is important to acknowledge that a large proportion of play at the overplayed cricket pitches is junior age cricket which will not have as much as an adverse effect on quality as senior cricket due to the shorter format of the game.

Table 80: Summary of overplay by site

Site name Analysis area Overplay (matches per season) Grappenhall CC South neighbourhood 40 Lymm Oughtrington CC South neighbourhood 20 Warrington 60

Table 80 shows that all the identified overplay occurs within the south neighbourhood analysis area which is not surprising given the significant infrastructure and prevalence of clubs in this area.

Supply/Demand Analysis

Table 81: Capacity of cricket pitches by analysis area and peak period

Analysis area Actual Demand (pitches) spare capacity MES Overplay Current Future Total total demand Central 15 0 15 0 15 neighbourhood East 17 0 17 28 11 neighbourhood South 12 60 48 24 72 neighbourhood West 0 0 0 0 0 neighbourhood Warrington 44 60 16 52 68 144

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Taking into account current demand only, there is a shortfall of pitches across Warrington equating to 16 match equivalent sessions. Any spare capacity across the different peak periods is minimal. Most of the spare capacity that exists falls either within the mid-week or Sunday periods. There is very little spare capacity on a Saturday. We do know however that there is overplay at two sites in the south neighbourhood analysis area which accounts for the majority of overplay in Warrington.

When accounting for future demand based on team generation rates and participation growth the shortfalls are exacerbated in the south and a reduction of spare capacity in the East. It is important to acknowledge however that as the majority of cricket in Warrington is currently played in the south neighbourhood analysis area due to the infrastructure within this area, it is fair to assume that much of the future demand will be expressed in this area.

What the team generation rates did demonstrate was that the growth in cricket participation is likely to be derived from junior cricket which in Warrington is played either mid-week or on a Sunday, which is where the majority of the current spare capacity exists. Overall the supply/demand balance across Warrington, based on projected population growth, is one of shortfalls in the south and minimal spare capacity elsewhere.

Through the data collected and presented in this needs assessment it is important to consider whether current provision can accommodate the demand that is currently present and also anticipated future demand.

It is important to acknowledge that junior teams can play on non-turf wickets, with play generally occurring during mid-week for younger age junior teams and on Sunday’s for older age junior teams.

Whilst considerable spare capacity exists on non-turf wickets the needs assessment has identified that there are several issues identified with these sites in relation to: • poor quality of non-turf wickets • geographic location (a large proportion are located in neighbourhood areas where there is little or no cricket club infrastructure) • location of non-turf wicket (they are often located between football or other sports pitches which affect the quality of the outfield and can restrict availability) • Cost and/or access (non-turf wickets are not located at club sites which means clubs will likely have to pay to hire. Also, a high proportion are located on education sites which could mean there may be challenges with regards to accessing during weekday evenings and weekends).

In order to quantify overplay an average square of ten wickets (60 match equivalents sessions) has been used (based on a mixture of junior and senior play). Overplay of current pitches equates to a total of 60 match equivalent sessions, suggesting that it could be accommodate through the provision of 10 additional wickets (1 pitch). However, the overplay needs to be allocated across the different peak periods identified:

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Table 82: Summary of overplay by cricket type/ peak period

Peak Cricket type Peak Period Match equivalent Additional period Percentage sessions of overplay wickets (based on current (60) (to the nearest whole play) number) Mid-week Younger age junior 38% 23 4 Saturday Senior male 36% 22 4 Sunday Older age junior, senior 26% 15 3 female and veteran

CRICKET SUMMARY

Overall picture

• Overall in Warrington there is currently capacity for one additional senior male team on a Saturday, 3 junior, senior female or senior male teams on a Sunday and 3 junior or short game format teams during weekday evenings. • When accounting for future demand based on team generation rates, there is a surplus of 0.5 pitches (equivalent to one team).

Supply

• In total, there are 21 cricket pitches identified in Warrington, of which 12 are available for community use. Six are not available for community use whilst three have become disused. • Of the 12 pitches available for community use, 10 have grass cricket squares providing 85 natural grass wickets. • There are a total 4 non-turf wickets available for community use across the borough. • Despite seven pitches showing spare capacity there are only three of these pitches that are of suitable standard and have capacity during the peak periods.

Demand

• In total there are seven clubs in Warrington providing a total of 26 senior male teams, two senior female teams and 28 junior teams. • 26 of these teams are based on the South neighbourhood analysis area, with the remaining two being based in the West neighbourhood. • Team generation rates predict an increase of 1 senior men’s team, 3 junior boys’ teams and 1 junior girls’ team. • A number of clubs report aspirations to increase the number of teams they provide. Based on this there is a predicated growth of 1 senior team and 7 junior teams. • Three of the six clubs reported a demand for additional training facilities, with a good quality non turf wicket being cited as a need. • There is overplay of 60 matches per season recorded in the South neighbourhood analysis area.

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Quality

• The audit of community use grass wicket cricket pitches found six pitches to be good quality and the remaining four to be standard quality. • All five of the non-turf wicket pitches were rated as poor quality.

Accessibility

• Security of Tenure: o During the consultation process there were no issues highlighted with regards to security of tenure.

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Appendix 1: Club development aspirations document provided by Warrington Borough Council

Appleton Thorn Car park – upgrade/extension / 2nd car park Storage Re-site pitches/pitch drainage/ additional pitches Changing rooms

Birchwood Forest Park Upgrade changing rooms Floodlight area ball court Upgrade pitch drainage

Birchwood High School Refurbishment of existing training facility

Crab Lane Rec Upgrade and extend car park Drainage to pitches Upgrade changing rooms Training

Doe Green Pitch drainage Replacement changing room

Hillock Lane Pitch drainage Changing facilities Training Upgrade and extend car park

Hood Lane Rec All weather floodlit training Car Parking Drainage Loushers Lane Upgrade car park Storage Changing rooms Pitch reconfiguration

Mary Ann Meadows Community room provision Upgrade / extend car park Training/floodlights Pitch drainage 148

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Morley Common Drain pitches far end Upgrade car park

Padgate Hall Create car park Changing rooms

Peel Hall Playing Fields Changing rooms Training Drainage Car Parking

Ridgeway Grundy Pitch drainage Replace changing rooms Storage

Shaw Street Pitch spectator rail Training/floodlights

Sow Brook Changing room replacement / relocation Pitch drainage / reconstruction / redesign of layout Car park upgrade & extension

St. Elphin’s Park Changing rooms Redesign pitches/parking

Thornton Road Upgrade and extend changing rooms Pitch drainage All weather pitch and floodlit training facility

Victoria Park Park Changing room development Pitch drainage/floodlight training area

Westy Park Construction of sports pitches Training Woolston Park Upgrade changing rooms Pitch drainage Training

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220 Warrington Borough Council

Playing Pitch Strategy

Appendix 2: Playing Pitch Strategy Action Plan

221 Status Site ID Site Name Analysis area Sport Management type Status Summary Recommended actions Partners Hierarchy Tier Priority Aim 1 pitch, 10 grass wickets of good quality. Is Ensure appropriate maintenance in order to overplayed by 1 match per season. The outfield maintain pitch quality. Explore opportunities to Protect & 1 Appleton Cricket Club South Cricket Sports Club Existing ECB Local Site Low is undulating and the pitch can suffer from introduce an artificial pitch wicket to increase Enhance waterlogging. the capacity. Investigate options to improve quality in order 2 adult pitches, both poor quality and to address overplay and build future capacity. FA Football overplayed. Poor quality changing rooms and Appleton Thorn Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision WBC limited access 2 Playing Fields (New South Local Authority Existing to the site. Key Centre High Enhance Lane Playing Fields) Two senior pitches of poor (M0/D0) quality RFU Rugby Union currently played to capacity. Poor quality Investigate options to improve quality. WBC changing rooms and limited access. 1 mini 7 v 7 pitch of standard quality and Appleton Thorn Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 3 South Football School Existing although available for commuinity use there is WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School potential community use if needed. no recorded use

Future priority order of options: 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. Currently open space, with no playing pitch 4 Bank Park Central Local Authority Disused 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. WBC Local Site Low Protect provision. 4. Redevelop site and use any developer contributions to improve other playing pitch sites (quantity and/or quality)

Maximise use for small sided social football and Bank Quay Sports to accommodate training demand. Encourage Commercial Protect & 5 Central AGP Commercial Management Existing Half size, floodlit 3G pitch of standard quality. Local Site Low Club provider to have a sinking fund is in place to Manager Enhance service and upgrade pitch.

Old school site closed in August 2016 with school relocating to new premises and Barrow Hall Lane replacement pitch provision provided. Site 6 West Football School Disused No actions School Local Site Low Protect Primary School being transferred to Great Sankey High School/ Omege MAAT. See site ID 22 for more information. 2 adult / senior pitches, dual marked for both FA Football & Retain pitches for school use. Investigate Beamont Collegiate Football and Rugby League use. Rated Orford FC Protect & 7 Central Rugby School Existing options to improve quality and support club Local Site Low Academy standard quality for Football and Poor quality School Enhance League development. for Rugby League. 4 adult pitches of standard quality with the Bennetts Recreation Ensure quality of pitches in maintained for WBC 8 East Football Parish Council Existing potential to accommodate additional capacity of Local Site Low Protect Ground current use. FA 1.5 MES per week. Bewsey Lodge Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 9 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Birchwood C of E 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 10 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. Standalone non-turf pitch located between Seek to repair and resurface the non-turf pitch ECB Cricket grass pitches. Poor quality due to damage to cater for school use if needed. School caused by improper use/ lack of maintenance 3 adult pitches of standard quality. Currently Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure FA Football Birchwood Academy played to capacity. play can continue at current site. School Protect & 11 East School Existing Local Site Medium Trust Rugby One senior pitch of standard quality with no Retain pitches for school use, potential site for RFL Enhance League recorded community use. potential community use if needed. School Carry out feasibility study to bring pitch back FA 1 full sized AGP 3G pitch with flood lights. AGP into us. Ensure appropriate maintenance and LiveWire Recently condemned. management arrangments are in place. School

222 1 adult pitch, 1 youth 9v9 pitch, 2 x mini 7v7 and 2 mini 5v5 pitches. All of poor quality. Adult Investigate options to improve quality. Retain pitch currently played to capacity. Youth pitch spare capacity on mini pitches until quality can overplayed by 1 match session per week. be improved. If pitch quality improved, potential Protect & 12 Birchwood Forest Park East Football Local Authority Existing WBC Key Centre High Whilst mini 7v7 pitch has peak time availability site to meet future increased demand. Explore Enhance of 1 match session and mini 5v5 has peak time feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the availability of 0.5 MES. Changing rooms require site. upgrading 1 senior pitch of standard quality with no Appleton CC Ensure quality of wicket is maintained for Cricket recorded community use, currently played to ECB current use. capacity. Recorded community use. School Bridgewater High 1 adults and 1 youth 9v9 pitch of poor quality. Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 13 South Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect School (Lower) Unavailable for community use. community use if needed. One senior pitch of poor (M0/D0) quality Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Rugby Union currently played to capacity with no recorded School community use if needed. community use. Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 2 adult and 1 youth 11v11 pitches of standard community use if needed. FA Football quality. Not available for community use. Consider site developmets alongisde Site ID School Bridgewater High 14 South School Existing 17. Local Site Low Protect School (Upper) Two senior pitches and one mini pitch of poor Retain pitches for school use, potential site for RFU Rugby Union (M0/D0) quality. Small amount of community community use if needed. School use by Warrington RFU. Brook Acre Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for FA 15 East Football School/College/University Existing Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. WBC Broomfields Junior 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for FA 16 South Football School/College/University Existing Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. WBC Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the site. Consider pitch for conversation to Broomfields Leisure Community Interest Full size, sand dressed floodlit AGP of poor 3G to accommodate training demand and FA 17 South AGP Existing Key Centre High Enhance Centre Company quality. 100% usage as football competitive matchplay. LiveWire Consider site developments alongside Site ID14. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. School and Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 18 Bruche Primary School East Football School/College/University Existing community use. Potential spare capacity for 0.5 WBC Local Site Low Protect community use if needed. MES per week. Burtonwood Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 19 West Football School/College/University Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Retain pitches for school use and explore 1 mini 5v5 and 1 mini 7v7, both of poor quality. Callands Primary options to improve pitch quality to address School Protect & 20 West Football School/College/University Existing Mini 5v5 is overplayed by 1.5 MES per week. Local Site Low School overplay. Site reconfiguration may be WBC Enhance 7v7v has spare capacity of 1 MES per week. appropriate. 1 adult pitch of good quality. Not available for 21 Cantilever Park South Football Sports Club Existing Retain pitch for use by semi professional club Club Local Site Low Protect community use. Maximise use for small sided social football and Commercial Protect & 21 Cantilever Park South AGP Sports Club Existing Half size, floodlit 3G pitch of standard quality. to accommodate training demand. Ensure Local Site Low Manager Enhance sinking fund is in place for future refurbishment

New school site. Part of the new development Ensure pitches provided are of agreed quality includes provision of 2 junior grass football before handover. Ensure appropriate Barrow Hall Primary pitches, provided to accommodate loss of maintenance in order to maintain pitch quality. School 22 West Football School New Local Site Medium Protect School pitches as part of school expansion across Establish community use and ensure WBC West Warrington. These pitches will not be community use agreement is in place for future available for use until 2018. use.

Future priority order of options: 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. 1 youth 11v11 pitch of poor quality, with no 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. 23 Poplars Park Central Football Local Authority Existing recorded community use. Peak time capacity of 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. WBC Local Site Low Protect 1 MES per week. No ancilliary facilities. 4. Redevelop site and use any developer contributions to improve other playing pitch sites (quantity and/or quality)

223 Standalone non-turf pitch located between Seek to repair and resurface the non-turf pitch ECB Cricket grass pitches. Poor quality due to damage to cater for school use if needed. School caused by improper use/ lack of maintenance 1 full sized AGP sand filled pitch of standard EH Consider floodlighting to extend access for Cardinal Newman High AGP quality but not floodlit. Not available for FA Protect & 24 South School Existing football and hockey usage. Local Site Low School community use. School Enhance 2 adult pitches of standard quality. Unavailable Maintain pitch for school use, potential site for FA Football for community use future community use if needed. School Rugby One senior pitch of standard quality. Retain pitches for school use, potential site for RFL League Unavailable for community use. potential community use if needed. School 1 adult pitch - access to carry out NTA was not Carlsberg Tetley Commercial 25 Central Football Commercial Management Existing provided. Therefore, pitch quality assumed as No actions Local Site Low Protect Sports and Social Club Manager standard. Overplayed by 0.5 MES. Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 1 adult standard quality. Currently played to play can continue at current site. Ensure 26 Chaigley School South Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect capacity. Recorded community use. community user agreement is in place for future use. Upgrade pitch to agreed standard following Chapelford Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Recorded building work on site and then ensure adequate 27 West Football School Existing School Local Site Medium Protect School community use. No peak time capacity. maintainenance so play can continue at current site. Investigate options to improve quality to Cherry Tree Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Currently Protect & 28 South Football School Existing address overplay. Ensure community use School Local Site Low School overplayed by 2 MES per week. Enhance agreement is in place for future use. Christ Church Primary 3 mini 7v7 pitches of poor quality. Unavailable Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 29 East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect School for community use. community use if needed. Cinnamon Brow 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 30 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. 2 mini 5v5, 2 mini 7v7, 2 youth 9v9 and 1 youth 11v11. All of poor quality. Mini 5v5 pitches and Retain spare capacity, and explore options to mini 7v7 pitches have capacity of 2.5 MES. The improve maintenance in order to help increase Crab Lane Playing Youth 9v9 has 0.5 MES per week capacity and FA Protect & 31 East Football Local Authority Existing quality of provision. Explore options to improve Key Centre High Field the youth 11v11 is played to capacity. WBC Enhance ancilliary facilities. Explore feasbility of Recorded community use. Limited car parking introducing AGP provision to the site. and changing rooms coming to the end of their lifespan. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 32 Croft Primary School East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect community use. community use if needed. School have previously had cricket pitch Cricket School marked out on school playing fields. They did Re-introduce pitch for school use if needed. School not however during the assessment period. 2 adult pitches, 2 youth 9v9 pitches and 1 mini 7v7 pitches all of good quality. Adult pitchh as Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Football 0.5 MES per week capacity, youth 9v9 has 2 community use if needed. MES capacity and mini 7v7 has 5 MES LiveWire Culcheth Community Community Interest capacity. Recorded community use. 33 East Existing School Local Site Low Protect Campus Company Full size, sand filled floodlit AGP of standard Retain pitch as sand filled AGP to support quality. Predominantly used for football training development of hockey. AGP with sporadic use for hockey matches. Potential Ensure a mechanism is in place for future capacity for additional hockey matches. sustainability, such as a sinking fund.

One senior pitch of standard quality with limited Rugby Retain pitches for school use, potential site for RFL School capacity (0.25 matches per week). Recorded League potential community use if needed. School community use. Culcheth Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 34 East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect School community use. community use if needed. Standalone non-turf pitch located between grass football pitches. Poor quality due to Can lose the wicket. The site however needs to Cricket Sports Club damage caused by improper use/ lack of be retained. 35 Culcheth Sports Club East Sports Club Existing Local Site Low Protect maintenance. No community use. 2 adult pitches of good quality. 0.5 MES per Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Football Sports Club week capacity. Recorded community use. that pitch can sustain play.

224 Standalone non-turf pitch located between Ensure appropriate maintenance in order to grass football pitches in public park. Recently Cricket maintain pitch for informal recreational WBC refurbished following damage caused by anti- community play. 36 Dakota Park West Local Authority Existing social behaviour. Local Site Low Protect 1 adult pitch and 1 mini 5v5 pitch of standard Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Football WBC quality. Played to capacity during peak periods. that pitch can sustain play. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 37 Dallam Primary School Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Protect community use but unused. community use if needed. Football Local Authority Existing Football pitches no longer available at site. Site confirmed as dedicated for rugby league provision. Investigate options to improve quality in order to address overplay and build future Dallam Recreation Two senior pitches of standard quality. The capacity. Also consider transfering training to WBC 38 Central Rugby Local Site Medium Enhance Ground Local Authority Existing pitches are currently being overused by 1.25 alternative venues to address overplay. RFL League matches per week in total. Increase car park capacity. Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the site.

1 adult pitch and 1 mini 5v5 pitch of poor Investigate options to improve quality. Retain Doe Green Recreation quality. Adult pitch played to capacity during spare capacity on mini pitches until quality can Protect & 39 West Football Local Authority Existing WBC Local Site Medium Ground peak periods. Mini 5v5 pitch has 1 MES during be improved. If pitch quality improved, potential Enhance peak period. site to meet future increased demand.

Investigate options to improve quality. Retain 1 adult pitch and 2 mini 5v5 pitches of poor spare capacity on mini pitches until quality can Protect & 40 Elizabeth Park South Football Local Authority Existing quality. Adult pitch has 0.5 MES spare capacit WBC Local Site Medium be improved. If pitch quality improved, potential Enhance and mini 5v5 pitches have 2 MES capcity. site to meet future increased demand. Euclid Avenue Playing Playing field used for informal recreational use 41 South Parish Council Existing Retain site for informal recreational use. WBC Local Site Low Protect Field only. Evelyn St Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 42 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Two senior pitches and one junior pitch of Review how spare capacity can be utlised to Burtonwood Rugby standard quality. The pitch types have spare 43 Fir Tree Lane West Parish Council Existing address current overplay and/ or provide for Parish Council Local Site Low Protect League capacity for matches of 1.75 and 0.5 per week future demand. RFL respectively. Glazebury C of E 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 44 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. Standard quality square with eight wickets. Improve square quality through increased Condition of outfield is reported as maintenance, repair and preparatory work. deteriorating. Can accommodate an additional Maximise use of capacity available at non-peak Protect & 45 Glazebury Cricket Club East Cricket Trust Existing ECB Local Site Low 17 matches per seasonwith availability on times to accommodate additional short format Enhance Sundays and week day evenings to support or junior cricket. junior cricket. Gorse Covert Primary 2 mini 7v7 pitches of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 46 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Investigate options to improve quality to 1 adult pitch and 1 youth 9v9 pitch of poor address overplay on adult pitch. Retain spare Gorsey Recreation Burtonwood Protect & 47 West Football Parish Council Existing quality. Adult pitch overplayed by 0.5 MES. capacity on youth pitch until quality can be Local Site Low Ground Parish Council Enhance Youth 9v9 pitch has 1 MES spare capacity. improved. If pitch quality improved, potential site to meet future increased demand. Standard quality square with eight wickets, located between grass football pitches. Can Sustain and improve pitch quality through Sports Club accommodate an additional 16 matches per rigorous maintenance and preparatory work as Grange Sports & ECB 48 South Cricket Sports Club Existing season but no peak time availability due to dual required. Local Site Low Protect Social Club use with football. 1 adult pitch of good quality. Overplayed by 1 Review current levels of play to maintain pitch Sports Club MES. quality. Continue with existing maintenance to maintain One senior, good quality pitch with ten grass quality. Investigate options to increase capacity Grappenhall Cricket Cricket Club Protect & 49 South Cricket Sports Club Existing wickets. Overplayed by 40 matches per to address overplay, including increasing the Local Site Low Club ECB Enhance season. number of wickets on the square and introducing a non-turf wicket.

225 Cricket Future priority order of options: 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. Grappenhall Hall 50 South Local Authority Disused Became disused in 2015 upon school closure 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. WBC Local Site Low School Football 4. Redevelop site and use any developer contributions to improve other playing pitch sites (quantity and/or quality)

Grappenhall Heys 2 mini 7v7 pitches of poor quality. Unavailable Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 51 South Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Primary School for community use. community use if needed. 3 adult pitches, 2 youth 9v9 pitches and 1 mini Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Grappenhall Village 7v7 pitch all of good quality. Only 0.5 MES per that pitch can sustain play. FA Protect & 52 South Football Sports Club Existing Key Centre Medium Sports Club week capacity on youth 9v9 pitches, all other Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision Sports Club Provide pitches played to capacity. to the site. Standalone non-turf pitch located between Seek to repair and resurface the non-turf pitch ECB Cricket grass pitches. Poor quality due to damage to cater for school use if needed. School caused by improper use/ lack of maintenance Great Sankey High 53 West School Existing Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Local Site Low Protect School 2 adult pitches of poor quality. Unavailable for community use if needed. Football School community use. Consider site developmets alongside Site ID 54 & 55. Sustain pitch quality through continued standard of maintenance. Good quality full sized 3G pitch with Ensure a mechanism is in place for future Great Sankey Leisure Community Interest floodlighting. FIFA one star certified and on FA sustainability, such as a sinking fund. FA 54 West AGP Existing Key Centre Low Protect Centre Company Pitch Register. Considered to be operating at Consider site developmets alongside Site ID 53 LiveWire capacity. & 55. Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the site. Invesitgate options to improve quality to provide Great Sankey 1 adult pitch of poor quality. No recorded useable capacity in the area. Explore Football Parish Council community use. No ancillary facilities. opportunities to access ancillary facilities at Great Sankey Parish FA 55 West Parish Council Existing adjacent Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub Local Site Low Enhance Playing Fields One senior pitch of poor quality. No recorded Great Sankey Rugby project to improve provision. community use. Parish Council League Consider site developmets alongside Site ID 55 No ancillary facilities. RFL & 56 One senior pitch of good quality. Used by Halliwell Jones Rugby Warrington 58 Central Sports Club Existing Warrington Wolves, professional rugby leage Retain pitch for use by professional club. Local Site Low Protect Stadium League Wolves team. 2 adult 11v11 pitches, 2 youth 9v9 pitches and 1 mini 5v5 pitch all of poor quality. Youth 9v9 Football pitches played to capacity with 0.5 MES of Investigate options to improve quality to overplay recorded on adult and mini 5v5 address overplay on pitches. Site is located FA pitches. next to Woolston Park (site ID 143) and whole RFL site needs to be considered in terms of SE Hillock Lane Playing Enhance & 59 East Local Authority Existing development. No pitch drainage installed. WBC Key Centre High Fields Provide Pitches currently have unrecorded use from Woolston Three senior pitches all of poor quality that are Rugby adjacenet high school which will increase Parish Council currently being over used by 7 matches per League overplay. Explore feasbility of introducing AGP week. provision to the site.

Cricket HM Prison (Thorn Football Pitches not assessed due to the secure nature 60 South HM Prison Existing Retain pitches for prison use. HM Prison Local Site Low Protect Cross) Rugby of site. League 1 adult pitch of standard quality. Pitch played to Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Football WBC capacity. that pitch can sustain play. Protect, Hood Lane Recreation Investigate options to improve quality and help 61 West Local Authority Existing Four senior pitches all of standard quality that Local Site Medium Enhance & Ground Rugby address overplay. WBC are currently being over used by 7.75 matches Provide League Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision RFL per week. to the site.

226 Latchford St James 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 62 South Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Primary community use. community use if needed. This site is in private ownership and has been submitted into the Local Plan Process as a 63 Lockers Playing Field Central Lapsed Site proposed for alternative development. potential site for use as a Gypsy & Traveller site. Locking Stumps 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 64 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 adult pitch, 1 youth 9v9 pitch and 2 mini 7v7 pitches all of poor quality. Adult pitch Investigate options to improve quality to overplayed by 1.5 MES per week, youth 9v9 address overplay on adult and mini 5v5 pitches. FA Football Loushers Lane pitch overplayed by 0.5 MES per week. Mini If pitch quality improved, potential site to meet WBC Protect & 65 South Local Authority Existing Local Site Low Recreation Ground 5v5 pitches have 0.5 MES capacity per week future increased demand. Enhance during peak periods. Rugby One senior pitch of poor quality. Currently Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order WBC League played to capacity. that pitch can sustain play. RFL Standard quality square with five grass wickets Continue with existing maintenance to maintain Cricket and one non-turf wicket, not available for quality. community use. Investigate options for community use. Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 2 adult pitches, 2 youth 11v11 pitches and 2 play can continue at current site. Ensure youth 9v9 pitches all of good quality. Adult community user agreement is in place for future Football pitches have 0.5 MES spare capacity, ECB use. remaining pitches played to capacity. School FA Protect & 66 Lymm High School South School Existing Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision Hub Site Medium use and community use. RFU Provide to the site. School Retain pitch as sand dressed AGP to support Full size, sand dressed floodlit AGP of standard development of hockey. AGP quality with community use. Also used for Ensure a mechanism is in place for future football training. sustainability, such as sinking fund. Three senior pitches of poor (M0/D1) quality. Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Rugby Union Not available for community use. community use if needed. Future priority order of options: 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. Lymm May Queen Currently open space, with no playing pitch 67 South Football Local Authority Disused 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. WBC Local Site Low Protect Field provision. 4. Redevelop site and use any developer contributions to improve other playing pitch sites (quantity and/or quality) Continue with existing maintenance to maintain quality. Investigate options to increase capacity One senior, good quality pitch with ten grass Lymm Oughtrington to address overplay, including increasing the Cricket Club 68 South Cricket Sports Club Existing wickets. Overplayed by 20 matches per Local Site Low Protect Park Cricket Club number of wickets on the square, introducing a ECB season. non-turf wicket or relocating some play to alternative pitches.

Three senior pitches, two of which are good Support the current proposals for the (M2/D2) quality and one which is of standard facility, which include: Providing a World (M2/D1) quality. The standard quality pitch is Rugby compliant 3G provision in the Area floodlit and used for training resulting in Sports Club to support training need and reduce level of Protect & 69 Lymm Rugby Club South Rugby Union Sports Club Existing overplay of 4.5 matches per week. Two mini RFU Key Centre High Provide pitches of good (M2/D2) quality. The mini overplay; enhance ancillary facilites and pitches have no actual spare capacity whilst the introduce floodlights to a second pitch to senior pitches have 1 match equivalent session reduce reliance on exisiting floodlit pitch of spare capacity. which is heavily overplayed.

Investigate options to improve quality pitch and 4 adult pitches, 2 youth 9v9 pitches and 1 mini changing facilities to increase capacity, in 7v7 pitch all of poor quality. Mini 7v7 pitch has FA Enhance & 70 Mary Ann Meadows West Football Local Authority Existing partnership with Cromwell Athletic JFC. Explore Key Centre Medium capacity of 1 MES per week. Remaining pitches WBC Provide feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the played to capacity. site. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 71 Meadowside Primary East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 adult pitch of good quality. Currently Review current levels of play to maintain pitch Football Sports Club Monks Sports & Social overplayed by MES. quality. 72 East Sports Club Existing Local Site Low Protect

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72 East Sports Club Existing Local Site Low Protect Club Rugby One senior pitch of good quality currently over Maintain pitches to current standards. Review Sports Club League used by 0.5 matches per week. current useage to address overplay. RFL Investigate options to improve quality to provide 4 adult pitches all of poor quality. 0.5 MES of FA 74 Morley Common South Football Local Authority Existing useable capacity in the area. Upgrade parking Local Site Low Enhance capacity during peak period. WBC facilities. Newchurch Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 75 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Oakwood Avenue 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 76 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. 4 adult pitches, 1 of good quality and 3 of standard quality. 1 youth 9v9 pitch, 2 mini 7v7 Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure Football pitch and 1 mini 5v5 pitch all of standard Protect play can continue at current site. quality. No available capacity during peak periods.

Maximise capacity for match play at weekends created through achieving certification, to Standard quality full sized 3G pitch. On FA address current and future Area shortfalls. Orford Jubilee Community Interest FA 77 Central Existing Pitch Register. Considerered to be operating at Ensure rigorous and regular maintenance as Hub Site Medium Neighbourhood Hub Company LiveWire Protect capacity during weekday evenings but with required to sustain pitch quality. capacity at weekends. Ensure a mechanism is in place for future AGP sustainability, such as a sinking fund.

Ensure sinking fund is in place to service and Ten half size 5v5 3G pitches , all floodlit of upgrade pitches. standard quality. Limited capacity during Protect Explore feasbility of introducing second full size weekday evenings but capacity at weekends. AGP provision to the site. 1 mini pitch of poor quality. School and Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 78 Our Lady's Primary South Football School Existing community use. 0.5 MES capacity during peak School Local Site Low Protect community use if needed. periods. Outhrington Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 79 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School for community use but unused. community use if needed. Option 2. Padgate Hall (Green 2 adult pitches of poor quality. 2 MES capacity Retain pitches to meet current and future 80 East Football Local Authority Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Lane Playing Fields) during peak periods. demand. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 81 Park Road Primary West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect for community use but unused. community use if needed.

Site currently subject to development proposal, therefore actions are seperated into two parts 1) what you want to happen if the site is not developed and 2) what will happen if planning permission is granted. Option 1. Ensure maintenance of pitch Peel Hall Playing 1 adult pitch, 1 youth 9v9 pitch and 1 mini 7v7 continues in order that the level of play can be Fields (Ballater Drive pitch all of poor quality. No changing facilities. 82 East Football Local Authority Existing sustained. Car park provision requires WBC Local Site High Protect Recreation Ground / No drainage system. extension and upgrade. Millhouse Site) Limited car parking. Option 2. Ensure developer contributions are sought to replace existing provision, and cater for additional demand created by development, both in terms of pitch provision and ancillary facilities. Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision to the site.

2 mini 7v7 pitches of poor quality. School and Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Penketh Community 83 West Football School Existing community use. 0.5 MES capacity during peak community use if needed. Ensure community School Local Site Low Protect Primary School period. user agreement is in place for future use.

Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 3 adult pitches of standard quality. School and Football community use if needed. Ensure community community use. 0.5 MES spare capacity. use agreement is in place for future use. FA Protect & 84 Penketh High School West Private Existing Local Site Medium

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84 Penketh High School West Private Existing Local Site Medium Full size, sand dressed floodlit AGP of standard School Enhance quality with community use. No hockey use or Explore feasbility of replacing current sand AGP demand at site. All useage football training AGP provision with 3G AGP provision. related. Retain pitches for school use and explore 1 youth 9v9 pitch of poor quality. School and options to improve pitch quality to address Protect & 85 Penketh South Primary West Football School Existing community use. Overplayed by 2 MES per School Local Site Low overplay. Site reconfiguration may be Enhance week. appropriate.

One senior, good quality pitch with seven grass wickets. Can accommodate an additional 12 Ensure quality of pitch is maintained for current Cricket matches per season with peak time availability. and future use. Outfield used for football during off-season. ECB Pewterspear Sports 86 South Trust Existing FA Local Site Low Protect Pavillion 1 adult pitch, 2 youth 11v11 pitches, 2 mini 7v7 pitches and 1 mini 5v5 pitches all of standard Trust Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order quality. Adult pitch and youth 11v11 pitches Football that pitch can sustain play. Ensure community overplayed by 0.5 MES. Mini 7v7 pitches and use agreement is in place for future use. Mini 5v5 pitch have 5 and 1.5 MES spare capacity respectively. 1 adult pitch of standard quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for college use, potential site for community use. community use if needed. Retain pitch as sand dressed AGP to support College Full size, sand dressed floodlit AGP of good 87 Priestley College South Football College Existing development of hockey. Also explore options EH Local Site Low Protect quality with community use. Also used for for additional hockey use. FA football training. Some capacity at weekends if Ensure a mechanism is in place for future pitch availability was extended. sustainability, such as sinking fund. Currently open space, with no playing pitch Potential relocation site for site ID 82, if appeal 88 Radley Common Central Football Local Authority Disused WBC Local Site Medium Protect provision. succesful. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 89 Ravenbank Primary South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect for community use but unused. community use if needed. Investigate options to improve quality to provide 90 Ridgeway Grundy Park South Football Local Authority Existing 2 adult pitches of poor quality. 1.5 MES useable capacity in the area. Changing facilities WBC Local Site Low Enhance capacity during peak period. require replacement. Standard quality square with seven wickets. Previously used by Rylands CC however club Liaise with site manager to understand plans Cricket WBC have recently folded and site manager plans to for pitches. utilise pitch for alternative sports.

Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order 1 adult pitch of good quality. 1 MES capacity Football that pitch can sustain play. Ensure community Sports Club during peak period. Rylands Recreation use agreement is in place for future use. Protect & 91 Central Sports Club Existing Local Site Medium Club Enhance Half size, sand dressed floodlit AGP of Encourage provider to have a sinking fund is in Sports Club AGP standard quality. place to service and upgrade pitch. WBC Investigate options to improve quality and help One senior pitch and one primary pitch of address overplay. Rugby Sports Club standard quality. Currently over used by 6 and Consider how an Rugby League compliant League RFL 1 matches per week respectively. AGP could help service training demand and reduce overplay. Playing field used for informal recreational use School 92 Sacred Heart Primary West School Existing Local Site Low Protect only. WBC Investigate options to improve quality in order Sandy Lane 1 adult pitch of poor quality. Overplayed by 2 93 South Football Local Authority Existing to address overplay, replacement changing WBC Local Site Low Enhance Recreation Ground MES per week. rooms and build future capacity. Sankey Valley St 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 94 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect James Primary School for community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 adult pitch of standard quality. 0.5 MES spare Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Football capacity during peak period. that pitch can sustain play. Investigate options to improve quality and help FA Shaw St Recreation Protect & 95 East Local Authority Existing Two senior pitches of standard quality. The address overplay. RFL Local Site Medium Ground Rugby Enhance pitches are currently being overused by 4.5 Support and consider how an Rugby League WBC League matches per week in total. compliant AGP could help service training demand and reduce overplay.

229 2 adult pitches, 1 youth 9v9 pitch and 3 mini 7v7 pitches all of good quality. 1 MES spare Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure Football FA Sir Thomas Boteler capacity on each pitch type during peak play can continue at current site. 96 South School Existing RFL Local Site Low Protect High School periods. Recorded community use. School Rugby One senior pitch of standard quality. No Retain pitches for school use, potential site for League recorded community use. potential community use if needed. 2 adult pitches of poor quality resulting in no Support and consider proposals to install Sow Brook Playing FA 97 South Football Local Authority Existing community use. Pitches unuseable for majority drainage solution and site facilities to provide Local Site Medium Enhance Fields WBC of season. useable facilities in the area. 1 adult pitch and 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor St Albans Primary Investigate options to improve quality in order FA 98 Central Football School Existing quality, with overplay recorded on both. Local Site Low Protect School that pitch can sustain existing play. School Recorded community use. St Andrews Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 99 Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. St Ann's Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 100 Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. St Barnabas Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 101 Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Football Protect for community use but unused. community use if needed. FA Investigate options to improve quality and help St Benedicts Primary RFL 102 Central School Existing One junior pitch of standard quality overused address overplay. Local Site Low School Rugby School by 2 match per week. Recorded community Consider how an Rugby League compliant Protect League WBC use. AGP could help service training demand and reduce overplay. St Bridgets Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 103 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Currently open space, with no playing pitch Future priority order of options: 104 St Elphins Park East Football Local Authority Disused WBC Local Site Low Protect provision 1 Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 105 St Elphins Primary East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect community use. community use if needed. Standalone non-turf pitch located between Seek to repair and resurface the non-turf pitch Cricket grass pitches. Poor quality due to damage to cater for school use if needed. caused by improper use/ lack of maintenance ECB Protect, St Gregorys High Investigate options to improve quality to 106 West Private Existing 5 adult pitches and 4 mini 7v7 pitches of FA Local Site Medium Enhance & School increase capacity, in partnership with Crosfields standard quality. Adult pitches overplayed by 8 School Provide Football JFC. MES. No spare capacity during peak periods. Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision Recorded community use. to the site. Hollins Green St 1 mini 7v7 pitch of Standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 107 Helen's C of E Primary East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect for community use but unused. community use if needed. School St Josephs Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 108 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. St Lewis Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 109 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. St Margerets Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 110 Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed. Planning permission (2016/28810) was granted St Oliver Plunket 111 East WBC Lapsed for residential development on this site on 18th Site proposed for alternative development. WBC Primary School May 2017 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 112 St Oswalds Primary East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect for community use but unused. community use if needed. St Paul of the Cross 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 113 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. 0.5 MES St Peter's Primary Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 114 East Football School Existing spare capacity during peak period. Recorded School Local Site Low Protect School play can continue at current site. community use. St Philip Westbrook 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality and played to Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 115 Church of England West Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect capacity. Recorded community use. play can continue at current site. Primary School St Stephens Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 116 Central Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School community use but unused. community use if needed.

230 St Thomas Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 117 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School for community use but unused. community use if needed. St Vincents Catholic 1 mini 5v5 pitch of poor quality. Overplayed by Review current levels of play to address 118 West Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Primary School 1 MES per week. Recorded community use. overplay. St Wilfred's Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 119 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School for community use but unused. community use if needed. Statham Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 120 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School for community use but unused. community use if needed. 1 youth 11v11 pitch of poor quality. Overplayed Stocks Lane Playing 121 West Football Local Authority Existing by 0.5 MES per week. No ancillary facilities Retain pitch for community use WBC Local Site Low Protect Field available at site. Stockton Heath Half size, sand dressed AGP of standard 122 South AGP School Existing Retain pitch for school use. School Local Site Low Protect Primary School quality. Not floodlit. No community use. 1 adult pitch of standard quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 123 Stretton St Matthews South Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect community use but unused. community use if needed. Replacement pitch provision provided at new Sycamore Lane 124 West Football Local Authority Disused Chapelford Primary School site. Linked to West Site proposed for alternative development. WBC Primary School Warrington school expansion plan. 2 mini 7v7 pitch of poor quality. Available for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 126 Thelwall Junior School South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect community use but unused. community use if needed. Investigate options to improve pitch quality and 2 adult pitches of poor quality. Overplayed by Football changing facilities to increase capacity and FA Thornton Road 1.5 MES per week. Enhance & 127 West Local Authority Existing address overplay. RFU Local Site Medium Recreation Centre One senior pitch of poor (M0/D1) quality Enhance Rugby Union Explore the possibility of introducing floodlights WBC overplayed by 0.5 matches per week. to RFU pitch to provide more appropriate Twiss Green Primary 1 mini 7v7 pitch of Standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 128 East Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect School for community use but unused. community use if needed. Standalone non-turf pitch located between Seek to repair and resurface the non-turf pitch Cricket grass pitches. Poor quality due to damage to cater for school use if needed. caused by improper use/ lack of maintenance 2 adult pitches and 2 youth 9v9 pitches of standard quality. Adult pitches have 1 MES Retain pitches for school use, potential site for Football spare capacity during peak period. Youth 9v9 community use if needed. pitches are overplayed by 0.5 MES per week. Recorded community use. ECB University Academy Protect & 129 East School Existing FA Local Site Low Warrington Explore oppportunities to accomodate match Enhance play at weekends through achieving School certification, to address current and future Area Standard quality full sized 3G pitch. shortfalls. Considerered to be operating near capacity AGP Ensure rigorous and regular maintenance as during weekday evenings but with capacity at required to sustain pitch quality. weekends. Ensure a mechanism is in place for future sustainability, such as a sinking fund.

1 adult pitch of good quality currently played to Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure Football capacity. Recorded community use. play can continue at current site. Full size, sand filled floodlit AGP of standard Retain pitch as sand dressed AGP to support quality with community use. Limited community development of hockey. AGP EH availability during weekday evenings. Ensure a mechanism is in place for future FA University Of Chester Considered to be operating at capacity. sustainability, such as sinking fund. Protect & 130 East University Existing RFL Key Centre Low (Warrington Campus) Enhance One senior pitch of standard quality overused RFU Rugby Investigate options to improve quality and help by 2 matches per week. Recorded community University League address overplay. use. One senior pitch of poor (M0/D0) quality Investigate options to improve quality to Rugby Union overplayed by 0.75 matches per week. Pitches address overplay. used by University. Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 4 adult pitches, 3 of standard quality and 1 of play can continue at current site. Football poor quality. Spare capacity of 2.5 MES per Site has additional capacity. Consider upgrade week. to changing facilities. 131 Victoria Park

231 131 Victoria Park Investigate options to improve quality of poor Three senior pitches, one of good quality and Rugby pitches and help address overplay. two of poor quality. Currently overplayed by 2 League Explore feasbility of introducing AGP provision FA Protect, matches per week. South Local Authority Existing to the site. RFL Hub Site High Enhance & Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order WBC Provide Rugby One senior pitch of good quality with limited 132 Victoria Park Stadium that pitch can sustain play. Retain spare League spare capacity (0.5 matches per week). capacity to maintian quality. One senior pitch of good quality with 2.5 Ensure maintenance of pitch continues in order Rugby matches per week of spare capacity. The pitch 132 Victoria Park Arena that pitch can sustain play. Regularly review League is dual use with football and is located within an useage to ensure pitch is being utilised fully. athletics track. Two senior, good quality pitches each with ten Ensure quality of pitch is maintained for current Cricket grass wickets. Currently played to capacity. and future use. Investigate options to improve quality to ECB Warrington Sports Protect & 133 South Sports Club Existing address overplay. RFU Local Site Low Club Two senior pitches of standard (M1/D2) quality Enhance Rugby Union Investigate options to introduce floodlighting to Sports Club both overplayed by 1.5 matches per week. existing site so training can be accomodated on appropriate pitch provision. Westbrook Old Hall 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 134 West Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School for community use but unused. community use if needed. Football/ Plans to reintroduce 2 sports pitches on site. Currently open space, with no playing pitch 135 Westy Park South Rugby Local Authority Lapsed PPS Steering Group to determine pitch types WBC Local Site Medium Provide provision. League based on demand. Review access/ management arrangements to Whitecross Community Half size, floodlit 3G pitch of standard quality. 136 Central AGP Local Authority Existing protect pitch and maximise it's impact. Ensure WBC Local Site Low Protect Centre Open access pitch. sinking fund is in place for future refurbishment. Rugby Play transferred to Victoria Park Stadium. 137 Wilderspool Stadium South Local Authority Disused WBC League Site identified for development. Site proposed for alternative development. Winwick Recreation 2 adult pitches and 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 138 East Football Local Authority Existing Parish Council Local Site Low Protect Ground quality. No spare capacity during peak periods. play can continue at current site. Woolston C of E 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. 0.5 MES Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 139 East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Primary School spare capacity during peak period. play can continue at current site. Woolston Community 1 mini 7v7 pitch of standard quality. 0.5 MES Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 140 East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Primary spare capacity during peak period. play can continue at current site. Woolston Learning 1 mini pitch of standard quality. Unavailable for Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 141 East Football School Existing School Local Site Low Protect Village community use. community use if needed. Woolston 1 youth 11v11 pitch of poor quality, currently Investigate options to improve quality to provide FA 142 East Football Local Authority Existing Local Site Low Enhance Neighbourhood Hub played to capacity. useable capacity in the area. WBC Investigate options to improve quality to 1 adult pitch, 1 youth 9v9 pitch, 3 mini 7v7 address overplay on adult pitch. Support and pitches and 1 mini 5v5 pitch all of poor quality. consider upgraded site changing / community FA Protect & 143 Woolston Park East Football Local Authority Existing Key Centre High Adult pitch overplayed by 1 MES. No MES facilities. Site is located next to Hillock Lane WBC Enhance capacity in the peak periods. (site ID 59) and whole site needs to be considered in terms of development. 2 youth 11v11 pitches, 2 youth 9v9 pitches, 2 The Oaks Playing mini 7v7 pitches and 2 mini 5v5 pitches all of Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 145 East Football Sports Club Existing Sports Club Local Site Low Protect Fields good quality. No MES capacity during peak play can continue at current site. periods. 1 youth 9v9 pitch and 1 mini 7v7 pitch of poor FA Tim Parry Community quality. Youth 9v9 pitch overplayed by 0.5 MES Investigate options to improve quality in order Protect & 146 West Football Parish Council Existing Great Sankey Local Site Low Centre per week. No spare capacity during peak to address overplay and build future capacity. Enhance Parish Council periods. Bradshaw Community 1 mini 7v7 pitch of Standard quality. Available Retain pitches for school use, potential site for 147 South Football School Existing WBC Local Site Low Protect Primary School for community use but unused. community use if needed. Fiddlers Ferry Power 1 adult pitch of good quality, currently played to Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure Commercial 148 West Football Commercial Management Existing Local Site Low Protect Station capacity. play can continue at current site. Manager 1 mini 5v5 pitch of standard quality. No MES St Monica's Catholic Maintain pitches to current standards to ensure 149 South Football School Existing spare capacity during peak period. Recorded School Local Site Low Protect Primary School play can continue at current site. community use. Kings Leadership 150 East AGP School Existing Half size 3G pitch not floodlit. Retain pitch for school use. School Local Site Low Protect Academy

232 Retain pitch for use by professional club. Half size 3G pitch within a dome. Used by Warrington Wolves Review community use to establish spare Warrington 151 East AGP Sports Club Existing Warrington Wolves first team and academy for Local Site Low Protect Training Dome capacity available to address overplay due to Wolves trianing. Limited community use. training taking place on grass pitches. Owned by Warrington Borough Council, and the former home of Warrington RUFC, the site became disused in 2004 following a fire which destroyed the club house at the site. Warrington RUFC continues to lease the site under terms dating back to 1959 however the Future priority order of options: condition of the site and the associated pitches 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. has deteriorated significantly. The current lease 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. WBC 152 Bridge Lane South Rugby Union Sports Club Lapsed has around 40 years still to run. 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. Local Site High Protect RFU 4. Redevelop site and use any developer The site previously provided two pitches (1 contributions to improve other playing pitch senior / 1 junior), one of which was floodlit. sites (quantity and/or quality)

As part of the consultation Warrington RUFC indicated aspirations to return to the site in the future.

Future priority order of options: 1. Retain/allocate site as strategic reserve. 2. Explore feasibility to bring back into use. St Werbergh's CofE School closed and no current playing pitch 153 South Lapsed 3. Use as open space to meet local needs. WBC Primary School provision on site. 4. Redevelop site and use any developer contributions to improve other playing pitch sites (quantity and/or quality) Rylands Sharks have worked with Poulton-with- Fearnhead Parish Council to carry out work on a playing field located opposite to Bennett’s Christ Church CoE Rugby Recreation Ground in the east neighbourhood WBC 154 East Private Existing Retain pitch for community use Local Site Low Protect Playing Field League analysis area to introduce a senior rugby RFL league pitch. The pitch measures 100 x 68 metre with a 6 metre dead balls and full size posts

233 234 235 236 Agenda Item 6 APPENDIX

WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DECEMBER 2018

237 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This is the executive summary for the Warrington Borough Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS). Both the accompanying Strategy and Action Plan and the preceding Assessment Report have been produced in accordance with Sport England guidance. The study covers the period up to 2027.

Scope

The project provides guidance and support in order to understand and assess the need for playing pitches in Warrington Borough. It provides a strategic framework for the maintenance and improvement of existing provision and covers the following sports:

 Football pitches (including 3G AGPs)  Cricket pitches  Rugby union pitches  Rugby league pitches  Hockey/Artificial grass pitches (AGPs)  Third generation turf pitches (3G pitches)

Study area

For the purpose of this analysis, Warrington Borough has been broken down into four neighbourhood areas. They are: Central, East, West and South. The analysis areas fit in line with the Council’s Strategy to provide Warrington residents with access to high quality sport facilities at a neighbourhood level.

Vision

A vision has been set out to provide a clear focus with desired outcomes for the PPS which seeks to support the Council and its partners.

“'An accessible, high quality and sustainable network of sports pitches that provides and promotes local opportunities for all Warrington residents to be physically active, irrespective of the level of play”

Aims

The following overarching aims and their associated recommendations are considered key. These are based on three Sport England themes:

1 238 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 To protect the existing supply of playing pitches where it is needed for meeting current and future needs.  Ensure, through use of the PPS, that playing pitches are protected through implementation of local planning policy.  Secure tenure and access to sites for high quality, development minded clubs through a range of solutions and partnership agreements.  Maximise community use of education facilities where needed.  To enhance playing fields, pitches and ancillary facilities through improving quality and management of sites.  Improve quality.  Adopt a tiered approach (hierarchy of provision) to the management and improvement of sites.  Work in partnership with stakeholders to secure funding.  Secure development contributions or Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  To provide new playing pitches where there is current or future demand to do so.  Rectify quantitative shortfalls in the current pitch stock.  Identify opportunities to add to the overall stock to accommodate current and future demand.

Overall conclusions

The existing position for all pitch sports is either demand is being met or there is a shortfall. The future position shows exacerbation of current shortfalls.

As such, there is a need to protect all existing playing pitch provision until demand is met.

Sport-by-sport recommendations

A number of relevant scenarios have been tested against key issues for each sport, resulting in the recommendations below. These recommendations are not solely for Warrington Borough Council to action, nor do they imply an expectation that the Council will or can afford to make the necessary investments required. Rather, the purpose of the recommendations is to guide investment for any relevant bodies, including but not

2 239 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

limited to Sport England and the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for the sports the recommendations refer to.

3 240 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Football

• There is insufficient supply of football pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • There is a current shortfall of 9.5 adult match equivalent sessions per week and a future shortfall of 14.5 match equivalent sessions per week. • There is a current shortfall of 1 youth match equivalent session per week and a future shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions per week.

• Existing demand for mini pitches is being met with no surplus of provision but there is a future shortfall of 19.5 match equivalent sessions per week. • There is demand for floodlit 3G AGP provision to accommodate football training.

 Existing quantity of football pitches to be protected.  Where pitches are overplayed and assessed as standard or poor quality, prioritise investment and review maintenance regimes to ensure that playing surfaces are of an appropriate standard to, as a minimum, sustain but preferably improve pitch quality.  Determine sites with key qualitative issues which may benefit most from technical assessment and a composed bespoke programme of works through the FA Pitch Improvement Programme.  Retain spare capacity on pitches which are currently poor to protect/improve pitch quality.  Explore opportunities to reconfigure spare capacity on adult pitches in the East neighbourhood analysis area to help cater for shortfalls expressed on youth and mini pitches.  Work with educational establishments to maximise and secure access to pitches on sites which are either available for community use but not used, or are currently unavailable for community use. This may require improvements to pitch quality and/or close liaison with educational establishments regarding management issues which influence access.  Where appropriate, develop partnerships and/or lease arrangements, with large, sustainable, development-minded clubs to manage their own ‘home’ sites thus facilitating club development.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

4 241 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3G Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs)

Supply and demand analysis highlights that Warrington Borough has insufficient supply of full sized 3G pitches to meet current and future demand, based on the FA training model and the multitude of sports which also require access to 3G pitch provision.

• There is a shortfall of between 8-10 full sized 3G AGPs to meet current football training demand • There is a shortfall of 7 full sized 3G AGPs to meet current demand for competitive football match play • There are two full sized 3G AGPs that are currently registered to support competitive football match play • There is demand for full sized 3G AGPs to be constructed to Rugby Football League specification to service Rugby League training demand • There is demand for a full sized 3G AGP to be constructed to Rugby Football Union specification to service Rugby Union training demand and some junior competitive match play

 Work with the FA to increase provision of 3G pitches to meet football training demand and utilise these pitches to accommodate competitive demand for mini football.  Carry out feasibility work at sites identified in the Action Plan to deliver increased provision of full size 3G pitches to meet training and competitive demand and consider the FA’s Parklife model as a means of doing this.  Work with partners to determine the level of 3G provision required to meet rugby league and rugby union training demand.  Work with partners to introduce rugby compliant 3G provision to meet rugby league and rugby union training demand.  Should any new 3G pitches be built, consider potential to certify for competitive use by sports additional to football as part of a shared scheme, for example to reduce shortfalls for rugby league or rugby union.  Encourage providers to have a mechanism in place which ensures the long-term sustainability of provision, such as an adequate sinking fund for maintenance, repairs and resurfacing.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

5 242 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cricket

• Overall there is sufficient supply of cricket pitches in Warrington to meet current demand. • Future demand can be met on the current supply of pitches.

 The priority is to protect and sustain current provision and participation in Warrington.  Explore options to introduce non-turf wickets at overplayed pitches, which could also support club training requirements.  Ensure security of tenure for all clubs.  Explore ways in which to maximise informal opportunity and participation.  Work with educational establishments to secure access to pitches which are currently unavailable for community use. Such options require consideration in terms of pitch maintenance and associated costs due to increased use.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

6 243 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Rugby Union

• There is insufficient supply or rugby union pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • There is current shortfall of 11 match equivalent sessions per week • There is a predicted shortfall of 22 match equivalent sessions per week based on anticipated future demand. • There is demand for floodlit 3G AGP provision to accommodate rugby Union training

 Explore options to improve poor quality overplayed pitches in order to help alleviate overplay and reduce some of the shortfalls.  Explore options for providing training away from match pitches and make clubs aware that this option is needed in order to address overplay and preserve pitch quality. This may include creating dedicated training areas, including AGPs.  Explore options for introducing floodlights at appropriate sites to enable training to take place on more suitable facilities.  Explore options to improve ancillary facilities at sites.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

7 244 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Rugby league

• There is insufficient supply of rugby league pitches in Warrington to meet demand. • There is a current shortfall of 30.5 match equivalent sessions per week. • There is a predicted shortfall of 36.75 match equivalent sessions per week based on anticipated future demand. • There is demand for floodlit 3G AGP provision to accommodate rugby league training

 As a priority, improve poor quality overplayed pitches through improved and more regular maintenance in order to help alleviate overplay and reduce shortfalls.  Explore options for providing training away from match pitches and make clubs aware that this option is needed in order to address overplay and preserve pitch quality. This may include creating dedicated training areas, including APGs.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

8 245 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hockey pitches (AGPs)

• There is demand for additional access to sand based AGP during weekday evenings for training purposes, specifically in the South neighbourhood analysis area. • The AGP provision currently utilised for hockey is strategically well positioned within the borough. • The four AGPs that have recorded hockey use and need to be retained are located at Culcheth Community Campus, Lymm High School, Priestley College and University of Chester (Warrington Campus). • Any conversion of sand based AGP surface to 3G will not be supported

by EH or Sport England unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the sand based AGP is surplus to requirements for hockey. Any proposals to convert a sand based AGP must be discussed with England Hockey and Sport England.

 Protect the following AGPs for hockey use: - Culcheth Community Campus - Lymm High School - Priestley College - University of Chester ( Warrington Campus)  Review the requirement for AGPs for hockey use alongside 3G AGP developments, as through the introduction of 3G pitches additional capacity could be released at sand based AGPs to support hockey development.  Priority should be placed on ensuring the sustainability of the current pitch stock used for hockey (identified above).  Explore opportunities to improve pitch quality in order to ensure continued hockey use.  Encourage providers to put sinking funds (formed by periodically setting aside money over time ready for surface replacement when required) in place to maintain AGP pitch quality in the long term.  The FA and England Hockey should work together to identify the feasibility of converting AGPs currently unused for hockey to 3G surfaces.  Warrington Borough Council should consider removing Permitted Development Rights of any new Artificial Grass Pitches to prevent inappropriate conversion that has detrimental impact on the existing sport.  Ensure that wherever new housing developments of eleven dwellings or more occur, adequate contributions are sought to contribute to either enhancement of existing playing pitches and ancillary provision within the locality or to create new playing

9 246 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

pitch and ancillary provision as required to meet increased demand generated by housing developments.

10 247 WARRINGTON BOROUGH PLAYING PITCH STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Delivering the Strategy

The Playing Pitch Strategy seeks to provide guidance for maintenance/management decisions and investment made across Warrington Borough. By addressing the issues identified in the Assessment Report and using the strategic framework presented in the Strategy, the current and future sporting and recreational needs of Warrington can be satisfied.

It is important that there is regular annual monitoring and review against the actions identified in the Strategy. This monitoring should be led by the local authority and supported by all members of the steering group. As a guide, if no review and subsequent update has been carried out within three years of the PPS being signed off by the Steering Group, then Sport England and the NGBs would consider the PPS and the information on which it is based to be out of date. If the PPS is used as a ‘live’ document, and kept up to date, the time frame can be extended to five years.

11 248 Agenda Item 6 Appendix Warrington Borough Council

Playing Pitch Strategy consultation

Results from online survey (February 2019)

The Strategy has been developed from research and analysis of playing pitch provision and usage within Warrington during 2016/17. Pitch sports were assessed using the guidance set out in Sport England’s ‘Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance: An approach to developing and delivering a playing pitch strategy’ (2013). The PPS covers the following playing pitches and outdoor sports facilities:

Playing pitches:

• Cricket pitches • Football pitches (including 3G AGPs) • Hockey/ artificial grass pitches (AGPs) • Rugby league pitches (including 3G AGPs) • Rugby union pitches (including 3G AGPs)

Please read the Draft Playing Pitch Strategy before answering the questions (available on the Councils website). The documents published on this page are our pre-approval consultation drafts.

Please note that this strategy is an enabling document and so does not commit the Council or any other body to funding any of the actions identified.

Supporting documents: (web links)

• Strategy & Action Plan • Assessment Report • Executive Summary

249 Agenda Item 6 Appendix

Vision and Aims

1. The Warrington Playing Pitch Strategy seeks to support the Council and its partners in the creation of:

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the vision for the draft playing pitch strategy? (tick √ one option only)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 72.45% 71

2 Agree 16.33% 16

3 Neither agree or disagree 4.08% 4

4 Disagree 5.10% 5

5 Strongly disagree 2.04% 2 answered 98

skipped 4

2. The playing pitch strategy is to be delivered with three aims in mind. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the aims?

Aim 1: To protect the existing supply of playing field sites where it is needed for meeting current and future needs. (tick one option only)

Neither Strongly Strongly Response Agree agree or Disagree agree disagree Total disagree 79.4% 15.5% 3.1% 1.0% 1.0% Aim 1 (displayed above) 97 (77) (15) (3) (1) (1)

250 Agenda Item 6 Appendix Aim 2: To enhance playing fields, pitches and ancillary facilities through improving quality and management of sites. (tick one option only)

Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Response agree agree or disagree Total disagree Aim 2 82.3% 12.5% 2.1% 2.1% 1.0% 96 (displayed (79) (12) (2) (2) (1) above)

Aim 3: To provide new playing pitches where there is current or future demand to do so. (tick √ one option only)

Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Response agree agree or disagree Total disagree Aim 3 74.2% 17.5% 3.1% 4.1% 1.0% 97 (displayed (72) (17) (3) (4) (1) above)

Matrix Charts

Response Response 2.1. Aim 1 (displayed above) Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 79.4% 77

2 Agree 15.5% 15

3 Neither agree or disagree 3.1% 3

4 Disagree 1.0% 1

5 Strongly disagree 1.0% 1

answered 97

251 Agenda Item 6 Appendix

Response Response 2.2. Aim 2 (displayed above) Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 82.3% 79

2 Agree 12.5% 12

3 Neither agree or disagree 2.1% 2

4 Disagree 2.1% 2

5 Strongly disagree 1.0% 1

answered 96

Response Response 2.3. Aim 3 (displayed above) Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 74.2% 72

2 Agree 17.5% 17

3 Neither agree or disagree 3.1% 3

4 Disagree 4.1% 4

5 Strongly disagree 1.0% 1

answered 97

252 Agenda Item 6 Appendix Area / sport / type of interest

3. Which type of playing pitch sport are you interested in?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Cricket 16.67% 16 ≤ 2 Football 47.92% 46

3 Hockey 32.29% 31 ≤ 4 Rugby League 54.17% 52

5 Rugby Union 17.71% 17 answered 96

skipped 6

4. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the recommendations for each of the following pitches? (tick √ one option only)

Neither Strongly Strongly Response Agree agree or Disagree agree disagree Total disagree 56.9% 19.4% 18.1% 4.2% 1.4% Artificial 72 (41) (14) (13) (3) (1) 19.0% 19.0% 57.1% 1.6% 3.2% Cricket 63 (12) (12) (36) (1) (2) 43.3% 20.9% 29.9% 4.5% 1.5% Grass football 67 (29) (14) (20) (3) (1) 32.8% 17.9% 46.3% 3.0% 0.0% Hockey 67 (22) (12) (31) (2) (0) 48.6% 15.7% 31.4% 1.4% 2.9% Rugby league 70 (34) (11) (22) (1) (2) 24.6% 21.5% 44.6% 6.2% 3.1% Rugby union 65 (16) (14) (29) (4) (2) answered 80 skipped 22

253 Agenda Item 6 Appendix Matrix Charts

Response Response 4.1. Artificial Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 56.9% 41

2 Agree 19.4% 14

3 Neither agree or disagree 18.1% 13

4 Disagree 4.2% 3

5 Strongly disagree 1.4% 1 answered 72

Response Response 4.2. Cricket Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 19.0% 12

2 Agree 19.0% 12

3 Neither agree or disagree 57.1% 36

4 Disagree 1.6% 1

5 Strongly disagree 3.2% 2 answered 63

Response Response 4.3. Grass football Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 43.3% 29

2 Agree 20.9% 14

3 Neither agree or disagree 29.9% 20

4 Disagree 4.5% 3

5 Strongly disagree 1.5% 1 answered 67

Response Response 4.4. Hockey Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 32.8% 22

2 Agree 17.9% 12

3 Neither agree or disagree 46.3% 31

4 Disagree 3.0% 2 5 Strongly disagree 0.0% 0 answered 67

254 Agenda Item 6 Appendix

Response Response 4.5. Rugby league Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 48.6% 34

2 Agree 15.7% 11

3 Neither agree or disagree 31.4% 22

4 Disagree 1.4% 1

5 Strongly disagree 2.9% 2 answered 70

Response Response 4.6. Rugby union Percent Total

1 Strongly agree 24.6% 16

2 Agree 21.5% 14

3 Neither agree or disagree 44.6% 29

4 Disagree 6.2% 4

5 Strongly disagree 3.1% 2 answered 65

5. Which of the following best describes you? (tick one option only)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 A local business 8.45% 6 ≤ 2 A local resident 59.15% 42 A member of a sports club / sporting

3 73.24% 52 body ≤ A member of a voluntary or

4 26.76% 19 community organisation ≤ 5 An elected Member of Warrington 0.00% 0 An elected town or parish councillor 6 0.00% 0 in Warrington ≤ An employee of any service provider

7 2.82% 2 mentioned in this survey 8 Other (please specify): 0.00% 0 answered 71

skipped 31

255 Agenda Item 6 Appendix

256 Let’s Get Moving! Active Warrington Strategy 2017-2020

Vision

Warrington – an active, vibrant town where participating in physical activity is part of daily life.

Our vision is that Warrington will become an increasingly healthy and active borough.

We will support and encourage our residents to be more active as a way to: increase mental and physical wellbeing; improve life chances, and support prosperity.

Core Outcome: In Warrington more people, move more, more often!

Supporting Strategic Aims

We want Warrington to be a borough where:

• People are proud to be part of an active town.

• Everyone understands the full benefits of physical activity. This understanding is fostered by effective and streamlined communication, to make more people aware of the opportunities for, and benefits associated with, regular physical activity.

• Without discrimination, everyone has the opportunity to try out and participate in a broad range of both traditional sports and other types of physical activity. Barriers to doing this are addressed, ensuring equal access regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, income, education or anything else.

• Those who are currently inactive are specifically supported with initiatives that encourage them to move more, in ways that suit them. Our aim is that all borough residents achieve at least 30 minutes of physical activity per week.

• There continue to be sporting opportunities for people of all levels. There is continuous provision from a grass roots level all the way through to elite sports teams and professionals.

• Inactivity is recognised by local policy makers and practitioners as a major cause of poor health and disabilities. A range of policies and actions are implemented to create active environments and increase physical activity across the whole population - enabling and encouraging more people to achieve the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended minimum of 150 minutes per week.

The Warrington Context

Locally, the Warrington Health and Wellbeing Strategy sets out a vision for stronger neighbourhoods, healthier people, a vibrant and resilient economy and greater equality across our communities. It also highlights our commitment to directing resources more effectively towards prevention of problems, rather than on more costly interventions after problems have arisen.

We know that, in many respects, Warrington is a good place to live; the local economy is strong, we have relatively low levels of crime, comparably high levels of educational attainment and most residents have good access to services, retail and recreation activities, including a number of parks and green spaces.

However, inequality is a persistent challenge: average life expectancy drops by 10 years between our most and our least deprived areas. This disparity between deprived and least deprived areas is also reflected in school readiness,

257 school attainment, access to employment, incidence of poor health and poor lifestyle habits. Challenges around mental health, particularly for young people, general levels of overweight and obesity, skills and work readiness, and the steadily increasing demand on services due to an ageing population are also all identified as major challenges for the borough.

This Active Warrington strategy…

…Will make a major contribution to wellbeing in Warrington. In the context of scarce resources and the need to reduce long term demand for costly services (for example in health and social care), we simply cannot afford to ignore the harms caused by widespread sedentary behaviour, or the benefits of increasing physical activity across the population.

There is a large - and growing - body of evidence that getting people moving more, particularly those currently classed as inactive, can play a very significant part in addressing many of the challenges outlined above. Nationally, it has been recognised that, in addition to the many benefits to physical and mental health, physical activity plays a role in areas such as: educational attainment; skills development; productivity at work; and community safety and cohesion.

In Warrington, we have a strong offer in terms of sports provision, including new sports facilities and leisure centres and an enormous network of small and medium sized sports clubs. We also have a number of community groups offering opportunities to be active without being “sporty,” many community and charity events and a network of parks and green spaces that can be used for free for recreation and activity.

However, in order to successfully shift to being a more active borough, there needs to be a change in everyone’s mindset. Being more active and supporting others to become active is a shared responsibility; it can no longer be seen as something that is solely the role of the sports, leisure & public health sectors.

Changing culture, and communicating the benefits of increased physical activity to policy makers and the wider community is a key area of focus for this strategy. An important part of changing how people think about sport and physical activity, and encouraging widespread participation, will be ensuring everyone (public and professionals) understands just how far-reaching and important the benefits are for all ages and all sections of society.

Starting Well

By aiming to embed and interest and enjoyment of physical activity and sport from a very young age, we want to create a generation of young people who will become lifelong participants of physical activity and enjoy the benefits it brings. Creating a culture of active young people and active families will be key to the long-term success of this strategy.

Being physically active is a really important part of ensuring the best start in life. It not only helps tackle some of the more obvious challenges such as healthy weight, but also has been shown to contribute significantly to:

• Improved mental health and emotional wellbeing • Better ability to concentrate, higher educational attainment and improved school readiness • Healthy growth and development and improved motor skills • Improved social skills and self-confidence • Reduced risk of perpetrating anti-social behaviour or engaging in other risky behaviours

258 The Chief Medical Officer guidelines for children and young people is moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours each day. The most recent local data available indicates that boys tend to do more physical activity than girls; however very few pupils reach the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for physical activity for children (only 5% in the week of the survey).

Children and Families will be a key focus for the Active Warrington strategy 2017-20. We will aim to:

• Increase year on year the number of children meeting the CMO’s recommended guidelines • Decrease year on year the number of children participating in long periods of sedentary behaviour (often known as screen time) • Target resources in an evidence-based way towards areas or particular groups of young people identified as being most at risk in terms of lack of physical activity.

Living Well

We want Warrington residents to be as healthy and well as possible for as long as possible and we want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that increased physical activity can bring. This includes those who may not have been active for some time, those with a disability or long term health condition or recovering from illness.

Being physically inactive is the 4th leading cause of death worldwide and has been shown to be a major contributory risk factor in a range of serious diseases and conditions. Even switching from being completely inactive to doing 30 minutes of activity per week can massively reduce a person’s risk of both physical and mental ill health.

Being active also has a knock-on impact on work productivity, ability to engage in family life and contribute to the wider community as well as providing the opportunity to develop and build new skills, increase confidence and connect with others.

Taking action to increase physical activity among the working age population will directly contribute to:

• People in Warrington living longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives • Gaps in life expectancy between communities being reduced • Improved health and wellbeing in our workforce • Improved levels of mental health • Early intervention and prevention of ill health in later life

In the most recent Active People’s survey undertaken by Sport England, Warrington saw an increase in people participating in sport for 30 minutes at least once a week (from 36% to 43%) and we are now 1st in the North West for this particular indicator, which is a positive step forward.

However, Public Health England research shows that only approximately 57% of adults in Warrington achieve the recommended minimum 150 minutes of physical activity per week and around 27% of adults are classed as inactive – meaning they do less than 30 minutes activity per week.

Local data also shows that men are generally more active than women and that people in south Warrington are the most active, with less well-off areas of the borough being the most likely to be the least active.

We will:

Aim to increase year on year the number of people in the borough meeting the recommended target of 150 minutes physical activity per week, and to reduce year on year the number of people classed as “inactive” (doing less than 30 mins per week). To achieve this we will: 3

259 • Work with employers and policy makers to enable a physically active workforce, including a focus on active travel • Undertake targeted work with health and other professionals and identified high risk population groups to promote physical activity as a means of preventing and managing chronic health conditions • Work to build capacity in the sports sector and the community sector to maximise the numbers of people they can attract and work with to increase overall physical activity in the borough. This would include specific offers to address perceived barriers to participation • Promote opportunities for whole families to be physically active

Ageing Well

In Warrington by 2030, it is predicted that the population aged 65+ will have increased by nearly 60% compared to 2010 levels, which represents a major challenge to public services. The projected number of people with dementia is expected to almost double (from 2100 to 4100) over the next 20 years, with an increase of approximately 300 people anticipated by 2020.

Becoming or remaining physically active is really important as people get older. In addition to all the benefits of reduced risk of physical and mental illness (including dementia), there is specific evidence that it helps maintain muscle mass and bone density (a particular challenge for this age group) and significantly reduces the risk of falls (by 30%) and hip fractures (by 68%). Taking part in physical activity offers the opportunity for older people to maintain strong social connections, remain part of a community and reduce the risk of becoming isolated, all of which are identified as extremely important for mental health and wellbeing. Having an active and well older population also has a number of knock-on benefits for families, the voluntary sector and communities.

National figures show that the older we get, the less likely we are to exercise, and local data indicate that Warrington is no exception to this.

In light of the above, the overall increases in health and wellbeing which come from being physically active into old age have the potential to significantly ease pressure on public services as our population ages by ensuring that people are able to live independently and well for longer.

We will:

• Aim to reduce year on year the number of people over the age of 55 who are classed as “inactive” • Aim to embed physical activity into our borough-wide approach to prevention of ill-health, ensuring a diverse offer which meets the needs of older people

Strong and Resilient Communities in Warrington

The local economy, the environment, feeling safe, access to services, recreation and employment, and a sense of community all impact on our health and wellbeing regardless of age.

Physical activity can contribute in a number of ways to creating and maintaining strong and resilient communities. By increasing physical activity across a population we will contribute to:

Stronger, healthier communities with reduced loneliness, increased resilience, more family based events and activities, reduced illness and premature deaths, greater sense of community

260 Better Places to live and work with increased use of parks and green space, improved air quality by reducing the number of car journeys that are made and replacing them with “active travel” options (walking, cycling…), more vibrant outdoor activity and culture, safer environment, more attractive, places to live with plenty going on

Stronger local economy, with more productive and skilled/talented employees, reduced levels of sickness and higher productivity, supporting successful local businesses and greater prosperity for all. In addition, the sports and physical activity industry itself brings in a significant contribution to the local economy and provides many jobs.

We will:

• Make use of existing national and local campaigns to promote physical activity and Warrington as an active borough • Take a pro-active approach to co-ordinating and effectively targeting messages that are communicated in the borough around physical activity, including campaigns to maximise the use of green spaces for recreation and exercise • Work with decision makers to ensure the importance of physical activity is understood and factored into new developments and decisions about the long-term future of the borough • Support as far as possible inclusive mass participation events, which enable all members of the community to take part in physical activity

How Will The Strategy be Delivered?

This strategy can only be delivered by as many people as possible coming together to be part of it. In addition to the work and support provided by local services and local leisure providers, we want to encourage as many people as possible from our communities to get involved in whatever way they can.

Our Active Warrington Delivery Framework will therefore seek to recruit “champions” from both within our organisations and from the wider community to drive forward specific strands of work. In this way, we would hope to benefit from a mixture of targeted professional expertise and from workstream leads/champions who are genuinely interested and passionate about making a difference and achieving the goals agreed under each workstream.

The work streams will focus on:

• Leisure industry, sport clubs and facilities • Children, Young People and Families • Third sector, community assets and small funding pots • Targeted input to health improvement and clinical programmes • Businesses, active workforce and mass participation • Communications and customer insight, which is identified as a fundamental underpinning element of all work streams and the whole Active Warrington approach.

How Will We Assess Progress?

The Active Warrington Strategic Steering Group will provide a high level oversight, challenge and co-ordination role with overall (borough wide) progress towards increased physical activity and the longer-term outcomes associated with it monitored annually.

261 In addition, work stream leads will be expected to provide more frequent updates on progress, emerging priorities and challenges to the steering group.

This will enable strategic priorities to be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis should new priorities or trends start to be identified.

Quantitative Evidence

- Sport England KPIs - Public Health England data on population health - Participation rates at local facilities and in local events - Take-up around specific initiatives - Take up of Active Travel Plans by workplaces and schools - Evidence of inward investment - Local surveys (such as Warrington Health and Wellbeing survey, travel to work and school surveys, cycle parking surveys etc) if available

Active Warrington partners will also aim to address gaps in knowledge and customer insight by effective sharing and pooling data, intelligence and anonymised customer data in order to support continued identification of priority areas and population groups in the community efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

Qualitative Evidence

The group will also consider more qualitative or anecdotal evidence, as provided by:

- Wider engagement opportunities undertaken and any outcomes from this (e.g. have we influenced planning policy/ is there evidence of culture change within our organisations/ wider employers, can we assess community attitudes to PA etc) - Service user or participant feedback - Dialogue with local clubs, groups and communities - Other customer insight should it become available

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