BLACKWELL MINERS WELFARE F.C.

1. BLACKWELL MINERS WELFARE F.C. Business Plan For Primrose Hill Changing Facilities

2. Aims and Objectives • Our aims are to create a community based organisation which provides the opportunity and platform for the youth of the area to practise sport and other social activities. We aim to give all members of the community the chance to be involved with our organisation whether it be by participation or by spectator support.

3. The Team • Project Manager – Stephen Harris • Assistant Project Manager – Martin English • In 2001 the team completed a project to install floodlighting on the ground and in 2005 we upgraded the ground to include concrete walkways on 2 sides of the playing surface along with additional perimeter fencing to the pitch. • Since being appointed in 1998 the project manager and his club committee have continued to work towards improving the level of facilities at the ground and have introduced youth teams and development of the coaching staff to meet this programme.

4. Community Opportunities • Past, present, & future: • The facilities offered by the Blackwell Miners Welfare over the years has encompassed many fields of sports and activities. Cricket, Football, Rugby, Bowls and Tennis have all been a source of entertainment for the villagers and parishioners of Blackwell. However today the principle pastimes enjoyed are by 5 football teams, one cricket team, a bowls team and an Athletics club. • All these teams utilise the present facilities and the football clubs also use other pitches maintained by the Blackwell Parish Council. • All groups operate a policy of open participation for all members of the community and to this end they have organised group training sessions for anyone interested. • As well as the participation in these sports, the community has the opportunity to watch the games in a safe environment

5. Problems and Setbacks • Problems and Setbacks: • The major problem for the participating groups and supporters are the outdated changing and toilet facilities. Whilst the condition of the playing surface, stadium availability and facilities for spectator viewing have improved over recent years, the condition of the changing area which was built in 1906 has deteriorated drastically.

6. Acceptable Standards • The authorities have recognised that for the safe and healthy participation in sport, adequate changing facilities and toilet facilities should be accessible for both healthy and disabled members of the community

7. Alternative Groups and Facilities in the Area • Other similar organisations in the area include – Tibshelf Football and Cricket Clubs / Morton Cricket Club / Pilsley Cricket club • These clubs operate at different standards but do not have the advantage of floodlighting on the grounds. In the case of Tibshelf football clubs they have to utilise pitches in both their own parish as well as Blackwell parish pitches, none of which have the advantage of the good spectator viewing facilities offered at Blackwell.

8. Goals & Objectives • Five-year goals • To have New changing facilities on the ground • To increase community participation in all groups • To expand the coaching and training programmes • To extend the choice of activities on the ground • To achieve the highest level of participation for the groups involved on the ground.

9. Financial Plan • The purchase of the new facilities will be achieved through funding from National sports bodies, commercial funding grants and through a vigorous fund raising activity programme from the participating groups. • The maintenance costs of the facilities will continue to be met by the participating groups.

10. Resource Requirements • Changing rooms for home and away teams to include toilets, wash basins, showers and heating. • Changing rooms for match officials to include toilets, wash basin, shower and heating • Toilet facilities for Disabled, Male & Female • Kitchen area to prepare refreshments for both participants and spectators.

11. Risks & Rewards • Risks • That the funding requirements cannot be met in time and thus secured funding may be withdrawn • Addressing risk • Make all applications correctly and produce sensible project briefs, feasibility plans and workable project programme and timescales. • Rewards • Project is completed to schedule and in accordance with planned budget

12. Key Issues • Short term • That the present facilities deteriorate to such an extent that finance needs to be channelled into maintaining them in order to continue. • Long term • That the present facilities become unusable or fall below the standards set for the current level of participation. • If the present standard falls, the level of participation would need to be reduced accordingly. • The funding needs to match the requirements expected from the sports national bodies.

13. PROJECT BRIEF New changing facilities on Primrose Hill Sports Ground, Blackwell

14. Introdution Who are we?

15. The Scheme Partners Blackwell M.W. Football Club Blackwell M.W. Cricket Club Blackwell M.W. Bowls Club BADYS Blackwell Youth Club

16. 21-year-old William Henry Foulke William Henry Foulke was born in Blackwell (Derbyshire) on April 12, 1874, and at first played for Alfreton and Blackwell Colliery before joining Sheffield United in 1894. He was a bear of a man and a veritable colossus. He played for England once in 1897 (4:0 Wales). ”Fatty” Foulke had prodigious strength and packed a cannon blast with his foot. He was constantly gaining in mass and weighed in at well over 130 kg, yet despite his great bulk was admirably nimble in goal.Between 1894 and 1905, ”Fatty” Foulke played 291 league matches for Sheffield United, conceding a total of 404 goals. During the 1905/06 season, he played 34 league matches for Chelsea London (27 goals), and during the 1906/07 season another 22 (30 goals) for Bradford City. He was without a doubt the world's heaviest national goalkeeper, and not only in the 19th century. Occasionally, he still played cricket for Derbyshire. His excessive weight was the main reason why he did not live long, and he died on May 1, 1916. FAMOUS SONS of BLACKWELL FA Cup Winner, 1899, 1901 (both Sheffield United) Worked as a miner in Blackwell, Derbyshire before being signed by Sheffield United having already turned down Derby County. The tallest player ever to play for England. Surprising agile and an expert penalty stopper - this by adopting the strategy of charging of his line, this being permitted in the early 1900s. Faulke also had an enormous throw. During one game in 1897, he caught the crossbar my mistake, snapping it in two. Once appeared in a bath towel because there was a clash of colours and no other shirt that would fit him. William Henry Foulke later in the highest English league

17. Where are we? • LOCATION • The village of Blackwell is situated in Derbyshire close to the Nottinghamshire border and 2 miles from the Junction 28 of the M1 motorway. It is part of the District of Bolsover (BDC) and served by the Blackwell Parish Council (BPC). The parish covers 1,738 acres and has a population of 4,230. The village has some 1700 households of which around 560 do not have access to a car. Some 800 children are in the age bracket of 0 to 15 and 150 adults are unemployed.

18. SITE PLAN OF PROPOSED PROJECT Position of new facility Existing facility

19. Cricket takes over in the summer IN THE AREA • Top right – Former colliery workshops now used by H.W.Martin Ltd Above – The Saxon church of St. Werburgh Above – Match day action with the beautiful Derbyshire countryside in the distance Club headquarters – The Welfare

20. Blackwell receives an entry in the Doomsday book of 1085 showing that there was a Lord of the manor, 13 Villeins, 4 Bordars with ploughs, 7 acres of meadow, 1 wood and 1 priest with bordar. Whether the villeins were the first football team in the village was not recorded. The meaning of Blackwell is attributed to a ‘Dark Spring’ and is believed to be a spring on the hill known as ‘Sinai’ opposite the church. As coal deposits are close to the surface in that area it may well be they coloured the water to a dark appearance. The community was served by the mining industry throughout the 1800’s but the first deep mine was sunk in 1870 and known as ‘A’ Winning with the nearby ‘B’ Winning (Hilcote) soon after. The community expanded around this time and records from the Derbyshire Times show that organised football took place in the village even around this era. Without the distractions of television, sport was a major interest for all the villagers. In 1900 the present sports ground was opened and Rugby and cricket was played. Football matches tended to be played on other pitches in the village. The cricket ground has staged many important games during its history, with county games being played there, and holds the world record for the 9th wicket stand – 283 Derbyshire v Glamorgan. The Rugby teams also played at a high level entertaining teams such as London Scottish during their peak. The village produced many good ‘home-grown’ teams and everyone turned out to see family, friends and work-mates in action. One record from a treasurers account showed an entry for one game of £40 gate money @ sixpence each. This equates to 1600 paying customers. Teams around the early to middle of the century competed in the Ripley and District leagues.In the early 50’s the team moved to the Notts. Alliance and enjoyed instant success when they finished runners-up to a very strong Gedling Colliery side who dominated local football at that time. The following 2 seasons saw them finish 3rd and in 1954/55 the team won the Notts Alliance Championship and finished runners-up to Boots Athletic in the Senior Cup, losing 6-3 in front of 6,000 people at Meadow Lane. That day the village was like a ghost town when 6 train coaches and numerous buses ferried the villagers to the game. Since the closure of the collieries in the late 1960’s no industry has been associated within the village although the former colliery buildings have been utilised by several small businesses in recent years. The hamlet is not blessed with many commercial outlets and is served by a general store that also doubles as newsagents, post office and has an ATM. A community Hall, Health centre and old peoples home are all maintained by the BDC and parish council. The converted ‘Brigade Hall’ once the venue of the clubs changing rooms has now been converted into The Cottage Inn restaurant. The village has one public house and the Miners Welfare which hosts a Bowling, Cricket and Football clubs and headquarters for several hobby clubs. Public transport links the village to nearby Alfreton & Sutton in Ashfield and larger shopping complexes at Chesterfield and Mansfield. Blackwell has a church St. Werburgh which is one of the oldest in Derbyshire and this also has a fascinating history in its own right dating back to Saxon times. A Chapel has recently been demolished after falling into disrepair, thus ending another amenity within the village. Blackwell - A Very Brief History

21. Was this the first crowd at a Blackwell match. It is believed that this may have been the opening of the pavilion (demolished in the 1970’s) probably the Mine managers wife on the front row. The old Colliery ‘Rows’ – homes to the miners of Blackwell. Ground on right The team of 1947 Derbyshire Medal Winners Jack Harper in typical pose

22. PRIMROSE HILL’s WORLD RECORD This record stands today and hopefully will never be beaten. Lets hope the venue can still remain DERBYSHIRE v WARWICKSHIRE MATCH DRAWN Played at Blackwell Colliery Ground, 18, 20 and 21 June 1910  WARWICKSHIRE 504 for eight declared (Charlesworth 216, Quaife 88, Kinneir 87) and 63 for two.  DERBYSHIRE 262 (Newton 87, Higson 36, Jelf 33, Foster 5 —62) SECOND INNINGS E. Needham c Charlesworth b Foster 34 F.A. Newton lbw b Quaife 21 J. Handford c Foster b Field 16 S.W.A. Cadman b Foster 0 A. Morton b Santall 13 C. F. Root run out 34 T.A. Higson c Charlesworth b Field 2 A. Warren c Phillips b Field 123 H.F.D. Jelf c Charlesworth b Field 0 J. Chapman b Foster 165 J. Humpries not out 8 Extras 14 430 BOWLING O M R W Foster 26.4 4 119 3 Phillips 9 0 27 0 Quaife 12 2 47 1 Santall 22 4 66 1 Field 29 5 124 4 Charlesworth 4 1 16 0 Baker 2 0 7 0 Umpires: White and Moss The ninth-wicket stand of 283 between Warren and Chapman remains a world record for the ninth wicket.

23. OUR EXISTING FACILITIES – a guide Primrose Hill Sports ground has at present two entrances. At the bottom end of the ground is a large double mesh iron gate. On match days the public enter through the side gate located on Colliery road, adjacent to the Cottage Inn. The whole ground is surrounded by a brick built wall, constructed from the bricks from Blackwell Colliery brickyard circa 1890. In days gone bye another double gate was in the corner of Colliery Road / The Ridge, this has since been bricked in.

24. Once on the ground the present changing facilities, ‘The Rifle Range’ can be seen in the far corner. This building was erected circa 1906

25. Inside the building as you enter on your right is the kitchen area which has a serving hatch to the outside for use on match days. The Tea Bar serves refreshments to the supporters and participants. We also have a Hospitality room to entertain visiting officials.

26. The referee’s room Away changing room Away changing room shower Away changing room toilet

27. The ‘Gym’ mainly used for storage of the aluminium goalposts and ground maintenance equipment, but in bad weather spectators can enjoy their refreshments in here and we have also used it for training. Ground maintenance is extremely important for the all year round activities to continue. Thanks to a grant from SSP we were able to purchase a Ransome sit on mower and other equipment to enable this to be carried out by the committee.

28. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS AROUND THE GROUND In October 2001 we commissioned the floodlights on the ground which enabled us to maintain the present level of football that our senior side competes. They also gave us more opportunity to coach players in midweek and also provide the facilities to other clubs and organisations in the area.. The lighting project was initially costed at £34,000 but through the efforts of the committee we managed to complete a lot of the work our selves. The trenching out for cabling, installation of column mountings etc. meant that we made a saving of £10,000. This page shows a record of our efforts in this scheme.

29. ACHIEVEMENTS ON THE GROUND Over the past couple of years we have added to the facilities on the ground. Two covered areas has been erected, one with 60 seats that we obtained from Leicester City’s old Filbert Street ground. Barriers have been erected around the playing pitch. On the cricket field side, these barriers together with the 3 floodlight columns are removed to allow the cricket matches to take place. We have installed FA Standard aluminium goal posts and put concrete walkways around 2 sides of the pitch for spectator convenience. We also have PA System to make announcements.

30. THE NEED FOR NEW FACILITIES The present building was erected in 1906 and has since been modified and added to over the years to meet the standards required by the leagues and associations at which we compete. We find our selves in the position of decided whether to spend money on the present facility to keep the premises in good repair, knowing full well that sooner rather than later the building will become unmanageable. The showers are poor and various complaints throughout each season are made about them. The toilets are poor and do not have any wash basin facilities. The facility is extremely cold in winter months due to the size and design of the premises. The building has been subject to various episodes of vandalism. The position of the building, in the far corner of the ground, means that participants and spectators have to walk over grassed areas to get to the facilities. In winter months when the ground is wet and damp people become caked in mud whilst making their way to the building. For people with a disability or wheelchair it would be impossible to get totoilets. The governing bodies of the sports we compete in have warned us that the facilities need to improve. One example of this has seen the once thriving cricket club reduced from having four weekend teams competing in a high level of cricket, to now having only one team on Sundays. We do not want the same fate to happen to the football sections after all the hard work that has got them to their present standing.

31. THE PLAN Our plan was to go down the road of constructing a new facility rather than modify the existing building, whilst power, water and sewerage supplies already exist in this building, it would require more money to demolish the building. Our intention was to have a new changing block built behind the top goals of the football pitch. This would be angled towards the cricket area and would be sited into the corner of the ground to allow hard standing areas to be installed into this corner. These hard standing areas would allow better spectator viewing and easier access to the new facilities toilets, especially for the disabled. A new double gate would be created in the corner that would allow for heavy vehicle access during construction and also give better access for disabled etc. This position would give the premises a more secure location and alleviate vandalism. The premises would meet the required standards set down for the floor space requirements of new changing rooms as well as having the necessary toileting, showering and heating. We also plan to incorporate kitchen and refreshment facilities. The existing building would be kept on as a storage area for the goal posts and ground maintenance equipment.

32. THE PLAN At present, the ground has no car parking on site, but patrons can utilise the large car parking area of the Welfare. This car park is secure with a barrier at its entrance. It is surrounded by palisade galvanised fencing and only accessible for vehicles through the barrier. Exit from the car parking area is by keying in a unique number at the barrier. Further car parking is available on Primrose Hill or at the nearby Blackwell Community car park. Our intention is to add a single gate to the palisade fencing on the Whites Lane end of the car park. Patrons can then safely park their vehicles in the Welfare car park, which is CTV monitored, and walk along Whites Lane to the proposed new double gate entrance on the corner of the ground. Any patrons with wheelchairs or disabilities would use the new double gate as standard. This facility would alleviate parking congestion on Primrose Hill and reduce the time spent walking to the sports ground entrances.

33. THE PLAN continued The work would need to be done in various stages and cause a minimum disruption as possible to ongoing activities. The football season operates between August and May with the cricket season operating from April to September. We are practised in the operation of removing the three floodlight columns from the cricket field side and the perimeter barriers on that side are also removed for the duration of the cricket season. Whilst the work was being completed the groups would continue to operate from the existing building, which would limit disruption to the clubs activities. On completion of the new facilities the existing building would be utilised as storage area. The Cricket score box and container on site would be removed to eliminate a target for vandalism. Ideally the work will be scheduled to implement the various new proposals with the minimal disruption caused. I.e. New double gate erected, allowing access to site for heavy vehicles during construction, allowing base slabs to be laid, allowing building work to continue to a structured timetable.

34. THE NEEDS • Home and Away changing rooms with a minimum floor area of 18 m2(excluding shower and dryingarea.) Each room to have shower area with minimum of 4 shower heads and a drying area, post showering. 1 WC / 1 urinal and 1 wash basin in each room. Seating for a minimum of 16 persons, heating, lighting and ventilation in each room. • Match officials changing room with a minimum floor area, (excluding shower and drying area) of 5 m2. Room to have shower, drying area, WC and wash basin. Seating for a minimum of 3 persons, maximum of 5, heating, lighting and ventilation in room. These requirements are based on Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) Data sheets which in turn are in accordance with FA League Standards.

35. THE NEEDS • Toilet facilities for the public and disabled. Facility to be suitable for unisex and incorporate wash basin and conform to modern standards for these requirements. • Kitchen area with serving hatch to allow refreshments to be prepared for participants and for the general public. • Hard standing area adjacent to the new building to enable better access to the toileting facilities. • New double gate access adjacent to the new building and hard standing area. • Single gate addition to the Welfare car parking area. Our ground meets the requirements laid down by the league in which we compete. We have hard standing the length of 2 sides of the playing surface which in turn is surrounded on 4 sides by a perimeter barrier 2 metres from the pitch. We have floodlights, Public Address system, Team dugouts /shelters each for 8 persons, seating for 60 persons with covered area for a further 140 persons, turnstile, Tea bar, public toilets and the ground is surrounded by a boundary wall. The only requirement missing for an advancement to a higher standard of football would be acceptable changing facilities that are in close proximity to the playing area.

36. PROJECT AGENDA AND TIMETABLE OF KEY POINTS • Form steering group of all interested parties to oversee project • Football section / cricket section / bowls section / BADYS / Youth club • Informing groups and organisations of our plans • Blackwell and Tibshelf Sports Action Group • Blackwell Parish Council • Bolsover and District County Council • Derbyshire County FA – Sports development • Football Foundation development office • Football Stadia Improvement Fund • Derbyshire County Council – Derbyshire Sport • The funding needs to match the requirements expected from the sports national bodies.

37. PLAN OF ACTION Now that we have investigated the needs and requirements of the groups, we have embarked on the task of bringing our aims to fruition. We have contacted as many groups, bodies as possible to achieve our aims and our first task was to obtain plans of the new building and move these plans through the appropriate planning departments. To this end we applied to the Derbyshire Community Foundation for funding for a feasibility study and costs towards the design and approval for planning permission of these designs. We were delighted to have been awarded in July 2006 a grant of £9600.00 from THE BRIDGING THE GAP fund to meet these costs. We then employed a local Architect – OLDROYD Associates and signed a contract worth £6700 for the architectural services on the project. Oldroyd Associates have submitted various plans and designs which have finally been given the seal of approval by all the groups and the various governing bodies I.e. Football Foundation / Central Midland League and these were submitted for planning permission to the Bolsover District planning department. Full planning permission was given on 13th August 2007 with certain conditions to be met before work could be begun. Work now has to be started before 12th August 2010 otherwise a new planning permission will be needed. We have given our Architect a brief to now investigate the costs for the new building so that we can accurately assess the necessary costs that we need to raise either ourselves or through funding bodies. He is currently meeting with contractors to assess these costs. One of the bodies that could help with funding of this project is FOOTBALL STADIUM IMPROVEMENT FUND (FSIF) but at our current level of football, Level 7, we would only be allowed to tap into a £20,000 grant. If we were at Level 6, we would be able to apply for a £100,000 grant. We were therefore delighted that our league the Central Midlands Football league announced plans to create a Step 6 league to commence for season 2007/2008. This league would be created from CMFL clubs and Leicester Senior league clubs. We have been invited by the league committee to take part in this new league, but they have told us that certain standards need to be met for us to be allowed to join. These standards need to be met by March 31st 2008. The main problem we have is that the showering facilities, washing facilities in the existing changing rooms do not meet the required standards. So in order to meet these standards we are planning to install wash basins with hot and cold water in the buildings 6 toilet / changing rooms and the installation of 9 new shower heads. These will operate from a new hot water system that will be installed in the existing changing rooms Gym area. This system will utilise a new 32mm water supply that needs to be installed onto the ground at a cost of £764.00. The total cost of this refurbishment work will be £6000.00 and we are hoping the Bolsover District Council – Neighbourhood Sports Fund – Better Facilities Capital Grants scheme will fund this work. We currently have an application with them that will be heard in December 2007. Most of the new equipment being installed in the existing building will be able to be transferred into the new facilites, plus we will have the correct water supply pressure on the ground as well for the new facilities.

38. PLAN OF ACTION continued Whilst during the feasibility study we outlined the fact that we did not want to spend money renovating the existing building, we find our selves in a catch 22 situation. If we do not get our changing rooms to the required standard we will not be allowed entry into a league were we can hopefully apply for up to £100,00 of funding. If we do not get in this league we face the fact that the new facilities may take a lot longer to be built whilst we obtain the necessary funding. We are therefore quite hopeful that with the successful installation of the showering and washing facilities in place we will be able to bring our dream of new changing rooms to a reality sooner rather than later. The following pages contain the plans for the new building and the planning permission details. Also contained are quotations and details of the likely programme and current costs already incurred.