The development of a Football Hub at the Brentwood Centre is one of the key priorities of the Council’s Leisure Strategy which was agreed by members at the Policy, Projects and Resources Committee on 18 September 2018.

The proposal is to build 2 x Third Generation (3G) Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP) community pitches and 4 grass pitches, together with a hub building which will provide changing rooms, toilets and kitchen/servery. 

At the 4 March 2020 Ordinary Council, Members agreed for the inclusion of £3.5m in the Capital Programme for the development of the Football Hub as part of the budget setting process. It was agreed at the Community and Health Committee on 10 March 2020, that expenditure would only occur, subject to the full business plan and operating model being approved by a future Policy, Resource and Economic Development Committee. The Business Plan is attached as Appendix A. The plan has looked at a number of options for the development: hub location, floor plan, facility mix and operating model to ensure that the business plan is both financially viable and supports the needs of the community both now and in the future.

Cllr Russell MOVED and Cllr Gelderbloem SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

1. Agree the recommendations in the business plan (Appendix A) including: a) Option 3 preferred hub building size, 2 x 3G AGPs and 4 grass pitches as set out in Appendix 6 of the Business Plan. b) Option 4 preferred operating model as set out in Pages 8 and 9 of the Business Plan.

2. Subject to the agreement of the business plan and successful application for funding from the Football Foundation, agree the drawdown of the £2.8m allocation of funding to support the Football Hub Development.

3 Delegate Authority to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Chair of Community, Environment and Enforcement to agree for officers to commence a procurement exercise to appoint, main contractor, 3G pitch contractor and Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor support for the project delivery.

4 Progress the funding submission to the Football Foundation.

Reasons for Recommendation

The Play Pitch Strategy in 2018 identified a clear need for both grass pitches and 3G AGPs to be added within the Borough and the A12 Corridor in particular.

The Local Football Facility Plan in 2020 which was to highlight where investment in football facilities would need to be accurately targeted. The purpose of plan is to identify the priority projects for potential investment in Brentwood. There is also a need to take into account that 3G AGPs are meeting recreational demand from high levels of non-traditional football participation at the Brentwood Centre.

The Council’s Leisure Strategy 2020-25 identifies the development of a football hub at the Brentwood Centre site as one of the key priorities of the Strategy.