Access to high-quality, appropriate and sustainable hockey facilities is fundamental to the long-term success of every club and to the future growth of hockey in England. The greatest challenge is not simply maintaining existing pitches, but also ensuring they remain available, affordable and fit for purpose for future generations. With many artificial grass pitches across the country approaching the end of their lifecycle, securing long-term hockey provision requires clubs, facility providers and England Hockey to work together more strategically than ever before.
We are committed to protecting and strengthening the national network of hockey facilities. Through strategic partnerships, facility planning, advocacy and initiatives such as the Pitch Together Fund, we are working with clubs and facility providers to develop long-term solutions for hockey provision. We encourage all clubs to think carefully about how they can secure and develop their current and future provision.
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- Maintain accurate facilities data
- We need to use accurate data to build a clear picture of provision, to strengthen our case for planning purposes and to secure current and future hockey provision. Every club has a role to play in this – by making sure your venue information, your pitch usage information and your facility quality ratings are always up to date on the Club Portal you can help us maintain and share accurate information.
- England Hockey works with Sport England, local authorities and other partners to protect and improve hockey facilities across the country. The information you provide helps us:
- build a clear picture of current hockey provision
- influence Playing Pitch Strategies and local planning decisions;
- demonstrate the demand for hockey facilities;
- identify where investment is needed; and
- develop future funding and loan opportunities for clubs.
- Spend time building good relationships with your facility provider
- Do you recognise the importance of a good relationship with your facility provider? Often these relationships can remain transactional, centred around annual bookings rather than shared long-term planning. You should seek to engage not only with bookings teams but also with school leadership, local authority officers, leisure operators and other strategic decision-makers.
- Understanding and demonstrating the value your club brings is an important first step in building stronger relationships. Knowing your annual spend on pitch hire, being clear on your usage requirements and highlighting how much your club has contributed since the last resurfacing can help strengthen discussions around long-term access, facility improvements and future investment.
- It is good practice to ensure there is a long-term agreement or partnership in place that provides security of access for the clubs. Such agreements can take multiple forms, depending on the nature of the facility. If you need further help to get a Community Use Agreement in place, read more here: Community Use Agreements | Sport England. If you work with a school or rent a pitch at a school site, click here: Working with facility providers | Buddle
- Prioritise Security of Tenure & Access
- Do you have security around the long-term use of your facilities? The majority of hockey clubs hire facilities from schools, colleges, universities, leisure trusts or local authorities. As a result, clubs often have limited control over the long-term future of the pitches they use. Consider your Security of tenure | Buddle, which is your legal right to use a piece of land or building. This could be for a fixed period or permanently.
- Community Use Agreements can also help - click here to find out more: Community Use Agreements | Sport England If you work with a school or rent a pitch at a school site, read more here: Working with facility providers | Buddle.
- Finally, the England Hockey Pitch Together Fund can also help clubs to operate in a way that gives them greater long term security and control over their facility use.
- Do you understand the condition and remaining lifespan of your pitch?
- Are you thinking ahead and is there a clear resurfacing or replacement plan in place? Have you engaged England Hockey and your facility provider in future planning to explore what opportunities may be available to help you? https://nottssport.com/news/pitch-condition-survey
- If your club owns or manages its own facility, do you have a lifecycle maintenance plan, sinking fund and long-term financial strategy to ensure the facility remains sustainable?
- Have you considered the support available from England Hockey's approved facility partners, technical guidance and expertise can help maintain and improve your facilities, e.g. Notts Sport, Harrod Sport, Kingfisher Lighting and Marsh Sport.
- Have you explored the England Hockey Pitch Together Fund and other funding opportunities to improve existing facilities or support long-term facility sustainability and future investment?
- How sustainable is your facility? Have you considered environmental measures such as energy efficiency, water management, recycling and reducing your carbon footprint? Becoming more environmentally sustainable | Buddle
- Maintain accurate facilities data
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- Are you clear on your facility aspirations?
- Do you know where you want to be in terms of facilities over the next 5-10 years? Do you have a long-term facilities plan based on your wider club development strategy to ensure you can reflect the future needs of your members?
- Is there an opportunity for you to take greater control over or get more security of access to your facility?
- Is your facility recognised within the local Playing Pitch Strategy, and is your club actively engaged in local planning discussions to help protect and develop hockey provision? Read more about Community Use Agreements.
- Read our Case Study which shares how a strong partnership with their facility provider has enabled Yeovil & Sherborne HC make hockey more sustainable
- Can your club demonstrate the value it brings to the facility? Consider your annual pitch hire spend, long-term financial investment, participation, volunteer contribution and wider community impact.
- Are you clear on your facility aspirations?
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- Is your club prepared for future growth? Consider local housing developments, demographic changes and opportunities to increase participation and maximise facility use. https://www.sportengland.org/guidance-and-support/facilities-and-planning/planning-sport/assessing-needs-and-playing-pitch
Learning & Development Opportunities
England Hockey has a programme of national webinars and local club forums that all clubs can attend. Please look at our club support page for our current webinars and local club forums on Appropriate Sustainable Facilities - Club Support | England Hockey
Other Useful Information
Buddle: provides free learning and support resources for clubs.
Sport England: is a government-backed public body responsible for growing and developing grassroots sport and physical activity across England.
England Hockey can support clubs on all aspects of facility planning and development, including facility management, pitch maintenance, lifecycle planning, funding opportunities, technical guidance and building productive relationships with facility providers. Visit the England Hockey Facilities webpages or contact the Facilities Team at facilities@englandhockey.co.uk.
