DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2005 - 2010

Contents

 

  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction and purpose of the Plan
  • Current position – where the Club is now
  • Aims and objectives
  • The Vision – where would the Club like to be ?
  • Broad recommendations – how can the Vision be achieved ?
  • Detailed SMART Action Plans :

Senior Rugby Development

Junior Rugby Development

Girls and Women Rugby Development

Rugby Coaching Development

Management and Administration

Multi Sports and Partnerships

Marketing and Promotion

Part 1

Executive Summary November 2005

 

  • Birkenhead Park has a tremendous historical record and tradition in rugby union being one of the rugby worlds oldest original clubs

 

  • Decline which started in the 1970’s has now been halted and reversed

 

  • The Club has excellent potential for development due to it’s extensive partnerships and broad based community approach

 

  • The Club must develop in all areas to secure a vibrant future

 

  • The site is owned freehold and there are no outstanding long term liabilities but further development is hindered by the old and unsuitable facilities

 

  • Improving the facilities is the key to development towards a sustainable future

 

  • Funding is in place for the 1 st phase of the Regeneration Project totalling in excess of £750,000. The project has wide financial support from Sport England, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral (SRB 6), the RFU and Entrust Biffaward. The funding mix indicates the strategic nature of the project in terms of the positive impact the Club will have on the local population

 

  • The Club is working towards the RFU / Clubmark “Seal of Approval”

 

  • Improved facilities will enable the SMART Action Plans to be fully implemented for rugby and sports development

 

  • Club to re-brand as Community Sports Club

 

  • New management structure and marketing plan to promote the Club

 Part 2

Introduction and purpose of the Plan

 

In 2002 an independent extensive feasibility study carried out by consultants Strategic Leisure Ltd established that the Club must develop in all areas to secure a viable future. The document titled “BirkenheadPark Football Club Regeneration Project” also made a very strong case for attracting external grant funding to enable the project to take place.

Since 2002 the Club has worked very hard to attract funding to finance the improvement of facilities which is regarded as essential if the sports development policies are to be successful. The Club has also developed excellent links with a broad range of partners across the community and the partnership approach is considered a key component of the Club’s development.

As part of the overall development of the Club the aim of this Plan is to help focus and guide the Club’s activities thus providing a documented and measurable structure for development. It will help the Club to clarify its objectives, resources, priorities and timescales for its future development. The Development Plan is designed to be a working document freely available to members and generally via the Club website www.birkenheadparkrugby.com. The Plan will be used by employees and officials of the Club and will be added to and adapted as development progresses.

The production and implementation of the Plan is designed to encourage ownership of the recommendations and action plans by the members, partners and all key parties involves.

Part 3

Current position – where the Club is now

 

Historical background

BirkenheadPark was formed in 1871 and has a very proud and illustrious history having been one of England’s leading Club sides for many years. The Club has produced 42 international players, over 320 County players and has hosted all the major International sides on behalf of Cheshire and the North of England. Traditionally the Club has enjoyed a very high profile in local, national and international rugby circles. In administration the Club has provided one RFU President, one British Lions Manager and eight Cheshire RFU Presidents including the current incumbent.

Since the 1970’s the Club has suffered a steady decline with the area suffering from economic downturn and changes in the local education system causing a

reduction in traditional areas of recruitment. The Club facilities, some of which date back to 1892, are now in major need of replacement and refurbishment to meet current expectations and requirements and to enable the Club to develop.

The Club did not adapt well to the era of league rugby and gradually fell from level 4 level to level 7 in National terms. Since 2000 the Club has looked to halt its decline and has had some success in re-launching youth rugby and developing excellent partnerships in the community. The 1 st XV have had 2 promotions in 2001 and 2002 and now operate in North Division 1 (level 5). Further overall Club development is being hindered by the poor facilities but once this problem has been addressed there is excellent potential for creating a very vibrant future.

Birkenhead Park Football Club today

 MEMBERSHIP

The total current membership is approaching 400 comprising the following :

 135 full playing members (rugby and squash)

  • youth rugby playing members
  • university rugby playing members (block membership)
  • non playing members
  • playing members American football and soccer (block membership)

SENIOR RUGBY

The Club operates 4 senior XV’s on a regular basis throughout the season. In 2004/5 season the 1 st XV finished in 7 th position in North Division 1. The 1 st XV also participate in the Cheshire Cup and the RFU National Cup competitions. The 2ndXV were champions of the North West League Division 1 and were promoted to the Premiership for season 2005/06. The 3 rd XV play in the Merseyside Students / Club League as well as fulfilling friendly fixtures and the 4thXV have a full programme of friendly fixture against mainly local teams.

YOUTH RUGBY

The Club has made considerable progress in expanding youth rugby and this section now has its own constitution , codes of conduct and child protection policy. Since 2001 the number of Youth teams has increased from 1 to 5 with further expansion planned. The Club has developed excellent links with the neighbouring ParkHighSpecialistSchoolSportsCollege and their “umbrella” local primary schools. This partnership is very active with mutual benefits for

Club and School. A number of youth events such as tag tournaments, taster days and rugby master classes are held regularly at the Club in conjunction with Park High and Wirral Council.

UNIVERSITY RUGBY

BirkenheadPark has been the home for LiverpoolJohnMooresUniversityRugby teams for men’s and women’s rugby for the past 10 years and it is an excellent partnership . As well as providing facilities for playing and training the Club also provided qualified coaching for the University. The Club plays an integral part in introducing and keeping students in Club rugby by providing playing opportunities in the Clubs Saturday teams. University rugby takes place principally on Wednesday afternoons with the men’s freshers team operating on a Saturday in the Merseyside Student/Club league. Both the men’s and women’s JMU rugby have enjoyed success in recent seasons with the women reaching the BUSA Shield final in 2004 and the men being promoted to the 1stXV BUSA Premiership in 2005 with the 2ndXV also winning their league. Due to problems of the generally current poor facilities and over use of pitches the women’s section were forced to temporarily relocate in 2005 pending the provision of more adequate unisex facilities. The provision of a regular stream of recruits from the University has been instrumental in enabling the Club to continue to field 4 regular Saturday teams plus the JMU Freshers XV. The JMU connection is an integral part of current life at BirkenheadPark.

RUGBY COACHES

The Club has a designated Coaching Co-ordinator and has a Coaching Development Programme. There are 15 RFU qualified senior coaches and 13 qualified junior and mini rugby coaches within the Club.

REFEREES

The Club is an active supporter of the Liverpool Referees Society and has six referees who are members of the Society. In addition there are 2 qualified senior club referees, 2 qualified youth referees and five tag rugby referees.

SQUASH

Since 2002 the squash section has managed to halt and reverse the gradual decline in playing numbers and now has its own constitution. The number of squash players is increasing and in this respect the closure of a number of local squash facilities has helped to attract new players. The squash management is

very proactive and considerable improvements have been made to the courts and clubhouse to help attract new players. In conjunction with the governing body England Squash, the Club is currently looking to implement a formal development programme with a view to attracting more young people to the sport.

OTHER SPORTING PARTNERSHIPS

Club members organise the annual North of England Schools Rugby Sevens Tournament which attracts 40 schools from across the country. The Club is the home ground for the Merseyside Nighthawks American Football team who play during the summer months and train during the winter. There is also a Sunday soccer team , BirkenheadPark FC, based at the Club although competitive matches are played on municipal grounds . There is a good link with Wirral Ladies Lacrosse Club who were formerly based at the Club and still use the facilities for occasional special fixtures outside the league season. Recent partnerships formed with the local Birkenhead 6 thFormCollege and St Anselms College offer great potential for future development. The Club is used in the summer months as the base for a number of activities in conjunction with the adjoining Birkenhead Park including Wirral Athletic Club runs, the British Cycling Federation road races and the Park Rangers Junior Soccer Tournament.

COMMUNITY LINKS

The Club is represented on the committee of the Claughton Community Group who are very proactive in community affairs and they are extremely supportive of the Club’s development proposals. The Club works closely with the Meteropolitan Borough of Wirral through the Sports Development Unit, Special Initiatives team and the local councillors. The Club works in partnership with other local Clubs and the local authority through regular active support for the Wirral Rugby Development Group. The Club is used regularly by the local community for a variety of social and fund raising events.

 

FACILITIES

 The Club has the following facilities on site which is owned freehold :

 2 grass rugby pitches (1 with match floodlights and 1 with training lights)

7 changing players changing rooms, 1 officials/squash changing room

2 squash courts

Function room with bar and kitchen

Clubhouse and bar

Weight training gym

In addition the Club has the open use of a third pitch in the adjoining park through the partnership with ParkHighSchoolSpecialistSportsCollege.

It has been identified that all the facilities and ground are in urgent need of up dating and improvement if the Club is to survive and develop.

 

MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE

The Club is currently managed by Executive Committee who are all unpaid volunteers. The Bar is managed by a paid manageress. The Club has appointed a paid part time Development Manager to drive forward the Development Project which is considered as essential to secure a good and sustainable future.

The Club is actively improving its management and has appointed a Volunteer Co-ordinator and Coaching Co-ordinator. The Club is working towards the RFU/Clubmark “Seal of Approval”.

The Club is free of all debt and has no outstanding long term liabilities, the Club has ring fenced £130,000 of its reserves towards the Development Project. The Club has been operating on an ongoing loss basis for a number of years although the scale of the annual loss has been substantially reduced. The Financial Projection produced (see appendix 1) clearly shows that the proposed new facilities will be the basis for increasing revenue to make the Club financially viable in the long term.

Part 4

Aims and objectives

 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT POSITION

The Club has in place many ingredients to enable it to develop but further progress is being hindered by the age and nature of the existing facilities.

Development needs to be planned to enable the Club to meet the following aims and objectives.

 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

  • To produce a first class sporting facility in the local area
  • To offer increased sporting opportunities to all sections of the community by creating attractive and safe environments to encourage participation
  • To provide a vibrant and secure financial future for the Club with a sustainable and efficient management structure
  • To work in partnership with other organisations to maximise opportunities
  • To impact positively on the health and well being of the local population
  • To increase the profile of the Club locally, regionally, nationally and internationally
  • To increase the use of the Club for sporting, recreational, leisure, social and business use
  • To promote the traditional virtues of the Club – sportsmanship, team spirit, friendship, hospitality and enjoyment
  • To preserve and build on the historical legacy of the Club  To help develop rugby in the Wirral area for the long term benefit of the whole rugby community

Part 5

The Vision – where would the Club like to be ?

THE VISION

To complete the transformation of the Club to a Community Sports Club which will provide significantly increased sporting opportunities in the area. The officers of the Club strongly believe that its future development is intrinsically linked to increasing the involvement of the community in participating in sport, activity and using the Club facilities.

The Community Sports Club will be the basis for the formation of the Birkenhead Park Sports Association which will be a strategic alliance of sports clubs, educational establishments, local authority, Park management, community groups and primary health care trusts working together to create a sports hub in the Birkenhead Park area based on the resources in and around the Park.

COMPONENTS OF THE VISION

Facilities

New – all weather training area, floodlit . Changing room block suitable for male and female use. Storage for equipment. Facilities to make full provision for disabled use

 

    • Conversion work – creation of community multi purpose room and rapid response fitness gym
    • Grass pitches and grounds – drainage improvements and replacement of floodlights. Landscaping and new entrance
    • Clubhouse – refurbishment of existing squash courts and bar area
    • Spectator facilities – improvements to terracing, new stand
    • Car park – increase area and surfacing of car park
    • Rugby

 

a) Maintain 4 senior men’s teams and restart a regular 5 th team

b) 1 st XV competing in North Division 1 or higher

c) Qualified coaches to be provided at all levels

  • Maintain and develop the partnership with Liverpool John MooresUniversity
  • Restart the Club women’s section linking with JMU women

f) Expand Youth rugby to cater for every age group from under 7 to under 19’s including new provision for girls rugby

  •  Work in partnership with local schools, colleges and clubs

g) Recruit and manage volunteers in all areas of the Club and particularly coaching, refereeing and management

h) Work closely with the RFU, Cheshire RFU and the Wirral Rugby Development Group and provide facilities for the benefit of the game locally, regionally and nationally

  •   Squash and other sports

 a) Improve squash facilities and increase active player numbers

 b) Implement formal squash development programme

  •   Re-brand the Club as BirkenheadPark Community Sports Club and encourage the development of existing sports American Football and Soccer as well as new sports and activities
  •  Develop partnerships with Wirral Ladies Lacrosse Club to provide venue for training and summer matches
  •   Community access and partnerships

a) Provide attractive and low cost facilities to encourage community use of Club ie community fitness gym , multi purpose function and activity room, all weather floodlit pitch

  • Launch the BirkenheadPark Sports Association linking together all local clubs, schools , colleges with community groups, local authority , Park management and primary health care trusts. The Association will be the basis for a joint approach to marketing sport and activity to the community and the basis of attracting sports development funding
  • Maintain and develop links with the Claughton Community Group and the Meteropolitan Borough of Wirral Sports Development Unit, Special Initiatives Team and local councillors

Part 6

Broad recommendations – how can the vision be achieved ?

The key to achieving the Vision has been identified as the improvement of the facilities at the Club which will be the catalyst to enable to Club to implement the development policies required to fulfil the aims and objectives of the development plan.

  • The broad sequential recommendations are as follows :
  • Identification of key facilities to be improved
  • Regeneration Project costings
  • Achievement of funding package
  • Planning approval for designs
  • Construction phase
  • Marketing of new facility
  • Full implementation of sports and club development policies
  • New management structures finalised

Once the construction phase is completed full details of how the Club will develop are examined in specific SMART action plans in section 7.

Part 7

Detailed SMART Action Plans

S pecific M easurable A greed R ealistic T ime-bound

SENIOR RUGBY DEVELOPMENT

JUNIOR RUGBY DEVELOPMENT

GIRL’S AND WOMEN’S RUGBY

RUGBY COACHING

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

MULTI SPORTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

MARKETING AND PROMOTION