Stones’ football facilities – top flight or fighting relegation?

Is Stone getting a kicking when it comes to the provision of football facilities? Andy Osgathorpe provides his analysis of the football provision in Stone.

Former Stone Town Councillor, High School teacher (Physics and ICT) and qualified sports coach Andy Osgathorpe has written the following piece about football provision and the access that we have to open green spaces in our town. During his time as Town Councillor, Andy championed open green spaces and better sports provision for Stone, something he’s still very passionate about. Andy writes:

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When I first arrived in Stone during the late ’70s, I was surprised a town of this size had such poor facilities for playing football. Changing rooms were non- existent and this was epitomised by the town’s Westbridge Park; it did not even have public toilets and … forty years later, it still doesn’t, even after the new £10M pool and fitness centre.

My amazement and bewilderment was retained over the next the 40+ years, not only with playing field capacity for sport but also publicly accessible open green spaces. During this time, despite a considerable population increase in the town, playing fields and open green spaces have declined and although recognise by the Borough, the matter has still to be addressed. This does not appear to be the case with development which appears to be the alternative scenario.

An analysis of football pitches alone, both past and present looks something like this:

*Note the type of pitch is more a reflection of who plays on it, rather than its sizing, despite Staff FA guidelines stating an adult pitch playing surface should be 100m x 64m

Entries marked (A to D) represents a loss of pitches which have not been replaced either as pitches nor has the open greenspace they once occupied. Instead, the space is dissolved into a sea of mitigated alternatives such as a developer’s financial contributions (S106 grant) towards other offsite “sports & leisure projects”. e.g. New pool and fitness centre on Westbridge. Or a small children’s play area on site and/or a few planted flower borders and beds. However, the larger open space for ball games and play are lost forever. e.g. Whitebridge Estate, Millennium Way.

Examples of how recent development impacts on pitches and open green space.

In the case of D) at the estate now called Millers Reach, the development has not even included a children’s play area on the estate. Instead peripheral spaces containing beds and borders are planted with hedges and trees and are … integrated amongst the new housing. It also screens them from the adjacent A34. New residents believed they would be able to use the open spaces on the adjacent Tilling Drive recreation ground (G) only to find 1/3 of it being sold off for development. It would appear the green open spaces necessary for the Walton development to be agreed in the early ’70s, now appears to be unjustifiably deemed surplus to requirements, despite the addition of 220 houses adjacent to the park at Millers Reach.

In some cases, mitigated alternatives can make a contribution to a particular sport at great cost to the local community. Large open green spaces e.g. The sale of Bibby’s playing field benefitted Stone Rugby Club by about £400,000 to be invested in a new site 3km away at Aston, joining forces with Stone Hockey Club. Unfortunately, this is of no use whatsoever to local children and elderly residents using local space for recreation and play. In return, Stafford Borough Council will make a further contribution of £200,000 to the hockey club on the Aston site, as part of the mitigation for the loss of playing field on Tilling Drive to build a Care Home.

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In comparison, the two junior football pitches (C) prepared on the flood plain at Westbridge were replaced (without consultation with the Stone public or Town Council) with a wildflower meadow. Again, no replacement pitches were provided but at least the site remains as open green space for the public.

I predict similar will happen to (E), the old Stone Youth & Community Centre. Not only does the site contain a small football pitch surrounded by green open space (often ignored in some SBC sports consultations) but it also contains a small indoor hall (“The Barn”). Attempts to protect the site by proposing it had a “Local Green Space” designation, were opposed by the County Council  who “reserve its right to dispose of this site for possible residential development in the future.” This despite its use by local people, schools and groups. Amongst these groups were the Stone based football team WhyCH Ladies FC, Staffordshire FA’s very first disabled female football team; something Stone should be proud of but now history?

(H) The Walton Common “pitch” has barely the required minimum dimensions for a pitch when it is marked and is not a popular site for Stone teams.

There are no full-sized adult pitches in Stone, and none of them are big enough to support our premier football side Stone Old Alleynians F.C. playing in their current standards (North West Counties League and Staffs Senior league).

All this either causes clubs to fold or takes our local field sports teams out of Stone and into the countryside, away from the very community from which they are derived and supported. Of course, this doesn’t happen so much in Stafford with teams like Stafford Town FC and Stafford RC. The latter couldn’t move more than ½ mile away from its existing ground because it has a strong community focus? Instead, the new ground was built on a buffer zone next to a wildlife site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for birds and the old ground sold off for …housing.

Whilst you could argue that football doesn’t appear to be as popular as it used to be, and the loss of these 6 Stone pitches are justified. Football certainly doesn’t have the same modus operandi as 50 years ago. Instead of loads of blokes playing games on Saturdays and Sundays (particularly through pub teams), there is a much wider variety of teams and game type, such WhyCH FC, (see above)  female teams, well developed junior and youth football setups for u9 upwards, and walking football for us oldies …well, anybody really. So, if you can kick a “bag of wind”, you can probably find similar to yourself to share a game, but not in Stone.

The evidence for Stone’s current engagement with our national game can be demonstrated at Yarnfield (not Stone?) which is where most Stone named football teams play, simply because there is good capacity. In the season 2018/19, Staffs FA had registered 22 teams which bear the town’s name. Only 4 of them played in Stone, the rest playing at Well Being Park, Yarnfield, now a FA Community Centre of Excellence and all due to much effort, money and dedication by local businessman Bob Bowers. Yarnfield was as close as he could get despite his efforts to be Stone Based. So its hardly surprising Stone loses out to development whilst SBC rely on the Yarnfield capacity to address Stone’s football demand. Stone’s oldest and most senior Club, Stone Old Alleynians FC play their home games on this site. Their current standard of play sees them playing in the preliminary round of the FA Cup. Shouldn’t these games be played in Stone? Indeed shouldn’t there be local capacity to develop football at all levels actually in Stone?

There is also a problem when trying to play football using capacity in  Stone’s Schools and whilst the FA approve and support school/community usage through their “Tool Pack”, this does not usually happen. e.g. There was some junior provision at Walton Middle School, but no such arrangement currently exists at Alleyne’s Academy. Whilst Freedom Leisure is engaged by SBC to run Sport, Leisure & Recreational facilities within the Borough,  no such agreement currently exists at Alleynes to enable community use. Facilities such as a sports hall, squash courts, training room, floodlit small astro, small rugby pitch and two grassed football pitches, all remain unused out of school hours. if SBC Phase 1 of the Stone Leisure Project is completed (part of which is the Westbridge Pool and facilities) we should have the old Alleyne’s Pool converted for dry sports use as well.

So why haven’t these problems been picked up by the appropriate SBC specialist consultants?

There could be several reasons, none of which are conducive to a better outcome. Here are a few thoughts.

1. Inaccuracies in the collection and analysis of data.
   There will always be some inevitable omission of data which occurs in these reports. They usually have a minimal impact on the wider, Borough perspective, but they are significant to smaller size areas such as a village and even a town like Stone. Furthermore, it occurs to me, the data errors are propagated and misinterpreted in other future consultants reports and recommendations may not be taken up. Unfortunately, many of these reports fail to recognise the autonomy, strengths, and weaknesses of a smaller area such as the Town and with a concentrated urban population of over 16,000, its residents’ needs should really weigh heavily within a report. Instead, its provision, shortage and capacity are absorbed into a larger region within the Borough. E.g. The fact there is no adult pitch and changing rooms for our national game in Stone town goes unrecognised when the town is included into a “north area” or north Staffordshire provision for analysis, simply because it accommodated by the FA facility in Yarnfield.  The existing pitches are identified for improvement but often within the wider playing provision context of the region.  In comparison, housing development in Stone is specifically recognised by name, number and area, Stone being defined as the second town within the Borough’s development hierarchy. i.e. A Strategic Development Location (Udall Estate, Eccleshall road) 500 houses by 2031? There is no such recognition for Stone’s Sports, Leisure and Recreational needs and certainly no drivers.Statistical comparisons for Borough/County and even National indicators can lose relevance when applied to the town. E.g. Sport England’s “Sports Market Segmentation Modelling” can assume some conformity to Borough parameters. Concluding that the Borough is short of Cricket pitches/facilities, takes little account of those in and around Stone producing good local provision. On the other hand, the achievements of our International and Olympic standard canoeists, and the culture and dedication set up by our club is barely a mention in these reports? It illustrates how a top-down approach can fail to identify local strengths, some of which are very particular to the town.The reports also appear to give too much weight to “private facilities”, when in fact they may have restricted public access. e.g. There are two public outdoor tennis courts in Stone, but 6 at the private members club, Stone Lawn Tennis & Squash Club, and for the record, none at Alleynes Sports Centre, even if the centre was open to the public. SBC latest Consultants reports assumes wrongly there are 4?). So instead of 12 courts, appearing to be available for the public, only 2 are bookable. The provision looks good, but in practice, it is not available to the public.

3. Political aims and interpretation of a report’s outcomes.I believe the reports themselves reflect the current thinking of leading officers in the Borough in executing the agenda of their political masters. Afterall if you produce report which is not beneficial to the aims of the Council, you will be unlikely to get much repeat business; you don’t bite the hand which feeds you. What was not a recommendation in one report becomes a “done deal” in another and the report reflects the current thinking instead of properly informing it. A typical example being the role of Tilling Drive playing fields from originally having no role as a site nor as part of the “Stone Leisure Strategy”,  to being potentially reduced in size and yet refurbished in order to provide revenue to the over-budgeted Westbridge Park. It also demonstrates a true lack of strategic vision for Stone, resulting in piecemeal solutions and ad hoc funding as for Westbridge Park.Interesting to note the last consultants’ reports on “Westbridge” infers the demise of the two remaining football pitches by stating “In the short to medium term there will still be football pitches at Westbridge Park;” A statement supported by SBC. The report was commissioned by SBC to add credence to the “Destination Park” ambition of SBC for Westbridge. In so doing, children play areas could actually replace the football pitch/es, never to be replaced.
4. FundingWhilst most projects are financed through the Borough’s own resources, lottery funding and the like, and a sports’ National Governing Bodies (e.g. FA For Football), in Stone, Stafford Borough Council are selling off parts of playing fields to build a supermarket and a care home to fund what has been bulldozed. To date, we have not seen one new football pitch of any size and there is still no changing rooms or toilets next to the existing pitches. In the case of SBC’s latest idea, the sell-off of ⅓ of Tilling Drive playing fields will result in a 10m high care home built in front of residents’ bungalows. It will deprive them of passive solar heat and direct sunlight at this time of the year, and space on the park which was an entitlement when their homes were built;  and all in aid of proving children’s play facilities on Westbridge Park? The capital receipts for the sale of land (£900,000) should pay for the Westbridge play areas (£400,00), some new changing rooms on Tilling Drive and the regrading of the pitch (£285,000). SBC will also grant £200,000 to Stone Hockey (& Rugby) Club at Aston (3km away) to replace the land sold at Tilling Drive to enable club facilities to be developed.