Landscape & A m en it y
March 2024
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Special Feature Professional Groundscare
History made by all-female grounds team at North London derby An all-female grounds team prepared the pitch at Emirates Stadium for Arsenal vs Tottenham in the Women’s Super League on Sunday 3 March 2024. In the months leading up to the match, the Women’s Super League and Women in Football, both sponsored by Barclays, have collaborated with the Grounds Management Association, the leading membership organisation representing grounds personnel in the UK, and Arsenal Football Club to help 13 female grounds professionals make history as the first all-female grounds team to prepare a Women’s Super League match. The team includes: • Alexia Doughty (Apprentice Groundsperson at Stratford Sports Club) • Beth Gibbs (Groundsperson at Wellington School and GMA Young Board member)
The trailblazing group of women prepared the Emirates Stadium pitch ahead of the North London derby with the aim of encouraging young girls and boys to consider a career in grounds management, an industry in need of young talented recruits who are passionate about sport. Despite an uplift of women playing sport across all levels, however, only 2% of the grounds management sector, which is responsible for maintaining the nation’s pitches, is female. CEO of the leading membership organisation representing grounds personnel in the UK, the Grounds Management Association, Geoff Webb says: •
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Bobbie Murphy (Apprentice Groundsperson at Arsenal Football Club) Carlie Lambert (Apprentice Groundsperson for Worcestershire County Cricket Club) Emily Geach (Volunteer
“Grounds staff are essential in making sport possible, and, without them, we simply wouldn’t have the pitches we need for our nation’s enjoyment of sport. “Research shows that women make up a small percentage of the number of grounds staff we have working in the sector and so, if we want to provide more pitches to keep up with the increased demand for grass playing surfaces, we need more to enter the sector. “We’re delighted to see some exceptional examples of women working in the sector celebrated at a such an important fixture
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Groundsperson at Boconnoc Cricket Club and Tormarton Cricket Club) Georgie Grimes (Groundsperson for The FA at St George’s Park) Jasmine Nicholls (Groundsperson for Yorkshire County Cricket Club)
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in the Barclays Women’s Super League calendar and we hope their example encourages more people to consider careers in grounds management.” The 13 women involved come from different venues across a variety of sporting and educational facilities and will be led by Tara Sandford, Groundsperson at Arsenal Football Club, who when reflecting on the initiative, said: “The consistent level of support •
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Liddy Ford (Groundsperson for The FA at St George’s Park and GMA Young Board member) Meg Lay (Groundsperson at Lord’s, Marylebone Cricket Club and GMA Young Board member) Phoebe Taylorson (Apprentice Groundperson
we have seen for our women’s team this season shows how much the game continues to grow, and it’s important that we harness this to encourage more girls to pursue a career in football.
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“I hope our all-female grounds team showcases the different opportunities that exist within football and inspires more women to get into the game.” The GMA
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at Middlesbrough Football Club) Rachel Hunter-Worrall (Groundperson at Queen Ethelburga’s School in York) Zibby Parker (Part time Groundsperson at Ipswich Town FC and Essex County Cricket Club)
Green Roofs & Living Walls Boosting sustainability by innovation Page 8
New research reveals challenges of delivering BNG A study from national green space management charity, the Land Trust, in partnership with the Land, Planning and Development Federation (LPDF) and the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has found that despite the challenges it presents, 95% of respondents support the launch of BNG regulations, with only 5% in opposition. However, just 7% of land promoters and developers believe the
fulfilment of mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements are “comfortably achievable”. Close to half (45%) felt the principles are “somewhat achievable”, and 43% said fulfilment would be “very challenging”. Of the 42 land promoters and developers surveyed, for the second year running, the availability of land onsite to deliver BNG was the most popular response with 88% of respondents
calling out the concern. The second most common concern was the impact BNG would have on the overall viability of a site (69%), followed by the provision of “appropriate administration resource and skillset within the Local Planning Authority” (62%). Alan Carter, Chief Executive at the Land Trust said: “As the wider industry gets to grips with the practicalities of the regulations and begins to understand their
impact on housing delivery, it seems clear there will need to be flexibility in approach with a tailored, partnership solution for each development, whether BNG fulfilment is on or offsite. The respondents are keen to work with trusted partners like the Land Trust which will assist them in delivering high quality and sustainable stewardship solutions
for their BNG requirements. “We are very much open for business and have a number of differing products which provide a secure and tailored delivery model for your BNG needs, whilst also delivering longer term social value for the communities who live and work around our sites.” Land Trust
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