Chapter 6 - Analysis and Recommendations

6.1 This section evaluates the major issues raised in the above sections and sets out some short and long term solutions to take into account in the decision making process.

6.2 At the time of the study, comments have been received from different sport clubs and schools through the questionnaire. A summary of these comments and findings from the previous chapters are grouped and listed in the three main categories below:

Table 6.1 – Summary of comments/ findings

Main issue	Summary of comments/ findings
Issues in relation to deficiencies		Poor provision in Rochford
		Lack of pitches for 10.30 kick off as required by local leagues meant two teams had to be turned away
		Cannot always fulfil home fixtures due to unavailable pitches
		Lack of council owned mini soccer pitches in Hockley / Hawkwell – those in Rayleigh / Great Wakering are all used by local teams
		Shortage of hockey pitches across the District
		Shortage for mini and junior football pitches will continue. The major shortfall will be on Sunday.
		The surplus in cricket and rugby pitches shown in the current PPM will turn into a small deficit in the future
		Imbalance geographical spread - players reside on the western side of the District i.e. Rayleigh, Wickford, Basildon tend to find it difficult to obtain pitches in the local area, thus clubs travel further to the east i.e. Rochford, Great Wakering to use pitches.
Issues in relation to management		Difficult to find adequate pitches and facilities
		Lack of information as to where/how pitches can be hired/who from
		Pitches are expensive
		Lack of consultation/information on changeover of pitch providers
		Encountered abusive grounds man
		Poor communication
		Changes to maintenance and administration methods are not an improvement
Issues in relation to facilities quality		Facilities can be poor – toilets locked, grounds staff missing, wonky goal posts, infrequent grass cutting, pot holes
		Limited facilities and poor quality
		Hedges require cutting back as balls are lost at Rawreth Lane Playing Field
		Goal nets are poor – some have not been changed for at least six seasons
		Uneven playing surface at Rawreth Lane Playing Field
		In order to move to higher level, certain criteria is received by League – there are no such facilities in Rochford Council pitches.

Comments made by football club
Comments made by hockey club
Issue identified through consultation / study

6.3 A number of recommendations are proposed arising from the findings and comment of the assessment.

6.4 An Action Plan in Appendix G has been drawn up to address the issues identified above.

Overcoming sport specific deficiencies and issues

6.5 Provide additional pitches to bring supply in line with demand would be the most straight forward solution. However, as this is not always feasible and may take a longer time to plan for and provide, some short to medium terms solutions are identified.

6.6 When assessing the future PPM in Chapter 4, it was found that there is currently an oversupply of adult football pitches and an undersupply of junior and mini football pitches, this trend will continue and there is projected to be major shortfall for pitches for Sunday use.

6.7 Since these major shortfalls are mainly occurring on a Sundays and on mini and junior soccer pitches, these identified deficits can be largely overcome either by securing community use at school sites and/or re-designation of adult pitches so that they can be used for junior and mini purposes.

6.8 Similarly, the surplus in cricket and rugby pitches shown in the current PPM is projected to turn into a small deficit by 2021. Thesmall increase in pitch usage is projected to be on Sundays for both senior and junior teams. This may be resolved by securing community use pitches at school.

6.9 As suggested in the previous Playing Pitch Strategy, schools and the wider community tend to require access to sports pitches at different times of the week, there may be scope for better temporal management of school based pitches, providing that the pitches themselves are of sufficient quality to accommodate the extra use. The responses from the school questionnaire survey indicated a willingness on the part of some to co-operate with the Council in sports/facility development initiatives of mutual benefit. The development of the dual-use of school playing pitches has the potential to assist in meeting future demand for mini and junior football.

6.10 Communications with schools which have already opened or showing an interest in opening up their pitches for community use is crucial. The Council should be more pro-active and encourage the education institutions to sign up a formal community use arrangement so that more pitches can be secured and make available for public use.

6.11 Another issue identified is the imbalance geographical spread. For pitch sports there is an acceptance that there will be a requirement for players to travel to games, however, it is identified in the survey that players reside on the western side of the District and beyond i.e. Rayleigh, Wickford, Basildon, but tend to travel to use the pitches in the east i.e. Rochford and Great Wakering. More than 50% of the teams playing in the analysis areas of Rochford and Great Wakering were from outside these areas.

6.12 When there is the opportunity for the Council to consider new provision for sport pitches, it is recommended that the types and locations for the pitches should be mini and junior football pitches, and on the western side of the District such as Rayleigh.

6.13 It is very important to note, during the preparation of this strategy, five new football pitches were opened in Priory Chase, Rayleigh in March, 2011, including three mini football and two junior pitches.

6.14 Although these new provisions have not been considered within the study, since the types and locations are as recommended, it is believed that these additional pitches would contribute to the provision in Rayleigh which is currently experiencing an undersupply of 5.3 mini football and 1.8 junior football on Sundays AM and PM.

Overcoming issues in relation to management

6.15 The Council will continue to work closely with other partners to ensure the quality of the pitches within the District.

6.16 For those pitches that received negative feedback, there is a need to encourage the contractors/ local pitch providers to adopt effective drainage, maintenance and management techniques.

6.17 Advice and information on appropriate grounds maintenance and management techniques will be provided and discussed if necessary.

6.18 As stated in the Core Strategy, the Council will take a positive approach to the provision of playing pitches i.e. the finished site will be level, free-draining and of a sufficient size to accommodate the proposed uses, as stipulated in Sport England guidance.

6.19 Some Councils have devolved the management of some pitch facilities to local sports clubs and Parish Councils, recognising the benefits that result from a greater sense of ownership among user groups; the possibility of this may need to be scrutinized in the future.

6.20 In terms of the dual use of school facilities, management issues inherent in formulating and managing can be obtained from Educational facilities - management of community use (Sport England, 1995) ¹⁶, which advises on the opportunities to develop community use of school sports facilities, looks at the different management options and offers a practical checklist for managers.

Overcoming issues in relation to facilities quality

6.21 Several issues were identified through the comments. To tackle these issues raised in relation to facilities quality, the Council should secure developer contributions¹⁷ wherever possible to improve the quality of existing playing pitches or to provide additional facilities where possible.

6.22 Potential investment in floodlit synthetic turf pitches should also be looked at. The “all weather” pitch not only can be used throughout the year and later in the evenings without the need for rest and recovery periods, but is also suitable for various activities and multiple sports.

6.23 As part of the preparation of the London Southend Airport and Environs Joint Area Action Plan, it is understood that there is a possibility that Westcliff rugby club will need to relocate. If relocation were to take place, the two Councils (Rochford District and Southend Borough) should make sure the new rugby pitches and ancillary facilities are made to standard league requirements and on to a fit-for-purpose site.

6.24 In addition, it is important to bear in mind the principle suggested in the Core Strategy - “Opportunities to accommodate playing pitches outside of the Green Belt are welcomed, as this will often provide facilities in more accessible locations, particularly if pitches are accompanying other visitor-generating activities”.

6.25 The quality and facilities specification should also be applied to all other new playing pitches proposed in the future.

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¹⁶ The guidance Educational facilities – management of community use can be obtained at www.sportenglandpublications.org.uk ¹⁷ Information to assist in securing improved sport and recreation facilities can be obtained through the Planning contributions kitbag www.sportengland.org/facilities_planning/planning_tools_and_guidance/planning_kitbag.aspx