ALLWEATHER PITCH REPORT
BSHC - AGM 7 May 2014
(1)General Information
Period of Operation
The all-weather pitch has been in use for twenty one seasons since its construction and official opening in September 1993.
Grant Obligations
A number of key conditions were imposed by the Sports Council when making the Grant, which we are obliged to fulfil on a long term basis. These include the following:-
- The establishment of a sinking fund with a growth of a minimum of £10,000 per annum to cater for long term pitch maintenance (especially carpet replacement).
- Making pitch available to others in the community for youth sport (particularly hockey).
Ground Lease
The original ground lease for the pitch was in place for forty years; amended to 30 years from 2007
(2)Hockerill Sports Trust
The Hockerill Sports Trust was formed in 1993, to manage the use of the pitch. This Trust has a formal constitution and comprises a joint body with representation from Hockerill Anglo European College as well as BSHC. Charitable status was awarded to this trust in 2007.
The primary duties are Management of sinking fund account, Management of lettings, Day to day maintenance, Review of long term maintenance requirements and submission of accounts to Charities Commission
Trust Structure
The management agreements were re-structured in 2007 to reflect improvements to operations. The structure has been divided into a steering committee and sub-committee for day to day management issues.
Steering Committee:-BSHC:-Colin Barber (Chairman)
Gary Griffiths
Hockerill:-Richard Markham (College Principal)
Steven Hails (exGovernor)
Sub-committee:-Colin Barber, Rhys Loveday (i/c sport)
(3)Use of Pitch
The pitch is used for the following main areas of activity:-
BSHC
Hockerill Anglo European College
Lettings
BSHC and Hockerill share the pitch equally throughout the year, although Hockerill have given up some of their time for use by other schools and to enhance early evening lettings. There is pressure from the school to have more use at weekends as the school grows.
(4)Financial Management
Lettings
The lettings will provide approximately £16,000 income this year. [Note this compares with £12,500 last year].
Lettings provide a significant proportion of our income for the sinking fund, as well as meeting the Sports Council requirements for community use.
The pitch is available for lettings from 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm every weekday evening
The rates will remain unchanged for September 2014. There is more competition from other schools.
Annual donation by BSHC and HAEC
A regular annual contribution is made by BSHC and HAEC of £4,250 each towards this fund.
This is will be kept under annual review, but will remain unchanged next year.
(5)Maintenance
The normal running costs are approximately £6,000 per annum. This includes insurance, lighting, general cleaning and maintenance, line marking, occasional repairs and management.
Maintenance costs were relatively low with the newer carpet in place, but a number of more significant items of repair are required on a regular basis (e.g major cleaning of surface, re-lamping). The maintenance costs are steadily increasing as the pitch carpet ages.
Re-lamping was carried out in 2013(a capital cost of approximately £4,000). This was carried out previously in 1998,2003 and 2009.A major pitch rejuvenation will take place in June 2014, as a consequence of algae in the carpet creating a silting up problem caused by the warm, mild, autumn. Several other pitches are known to have suffered from this as well. It will cost £14,800, but will reduce the need for some annual cleans, and possibly extend the carpet life.
(6)Sinking Fund [Target £200,000 after 10 years]
Carpet and underlay were replaced in 2006 [after 13 years] [Current carpet – 8 years old]
We continue to rebuild the sinking fund ready for the next carpet replacement.
The position at year end, in August 2014, is expected to be as follows:-
To August 2013 /This year
/ To August2014
£ / £ / £
Lettings / 132,000 / 16,000 / 148,000
Donations / 56,000 / 8,500 / 64,500
Bank interest / 17,500 / 3,500 / 21,000
205,500 / 27,000 / 233,500
Operational costs / 45,500 / 21,000 / 66,500
Anticipated surplus / 160,000 / 6,000 / 167,000
Note: Carpet replacement will be due circa 2016 – 2018, based on previous experience. The cost was in the region of £200,000 in 2006. We aim to maintain an annual surplus of approximately £15,000.
(7) Hockerill redevelopment proposals
Hockerill have obtained planning consent for a new indoor Sports Hall to the South of the Allweather pitch [i.e. along the embankment on the right as you enter the field]
This will mean repositioning the allweather pitch about 20 - 30 metres North, towards Stortford Hall Park.
Hockerill are currently fundraising and they hope to carry out the redevelopment in 2015 / 2016.
We have reserved our position to ensure the size and layout of the pitch will be repositioned on a like for like basis.
Hockerill will carry out the work in two phases – the first phase would be the repositioning of the pitch [programmed over the summer months to minimise disruption to the Hockey season] the second phase would be the construction of the Sports Hall
This should tie in with our own carpet replacement programme; we have further suggested the relocated facility might need to be a sand dressed surface, rather than a sand based surface [this would add about £40,000 to the carpet replacement cost].
In view of the Hockey Club’s aspirations for a new pitch at or near Cricket Field Lane, we have made Hockerill aware of the possibility of the Hockey Club unlocking itself from the current arrangement, should our circumstances change.
There are many issues to resolve and address but the next two or three years might see a change in status in respect of the existing arrangements.
It is worth noting the relationship with Hockerill has remained very friendly and positive for nearly 25 years since the pitch proposals were first raised, so we will need to maintain a balanced dialogue in respect of the issues as we move forward
GARY GRIFFITHS- 1 -7 May 2014