Stoke-on-trent sport and physical activity strategy 2009-2016

Football Site Quality and ManagementQuality101. The priorities for future investment/attention should focus on the following:Changing Facilities102. All senior sites should have good quality changing facilities that meet FAguidelines. Whilst changing facilities for minis and juniors is a desirable ratherthan an essential FA requirement, all mini/junior sites (not associated withsenior pitches) should ideally have access to basic toilet/wash facilities as aminimum.Grass Pitch Quality103. All pitches should be well-drained and well-maintained, avoiding over-use.Pitches should be allowed to fully recover at the conclusion of the season:• only pitches not used or only lightly used during the season should beallocated for pre-season training matches. Whilst under normalcircumstances the adult game requires changing facilities, considerationshould be given to the use of sites without changing for pre-seasontraining matches to maximise reparation/recovery time of the most heavilyused pitches;• conflict by booking out sites for other activities during the close seasonshould be avoided. Where this is not possible consideration should begiven to developing alternative sites for football;• All new sites should be located in areas not prone to flooding.Site Security104. Where possible, and where they are not public open space, sites should besecured (fenced) to reduce/prevent unofficial use of pitches, vandalism ofchanging facilities and dog fouling.Pricing105. The consultation process for the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy identifiedstrong concerns about pricing as a general issue across all activities. Withthe current economic climate it is likely that many more people will need to becareful about their expenditure. It is essential that the grass pitches providedNortoft Partnerships Ltd <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent Page | 308Sport & Physical Activity Strategy 2009-2016October 2009