Grass Pitch Improvement Fund
To tackle inequalities by providing improved access to good quality, safe playing facilities for targeted groups.What is the Grass Pitch Improvement Fund (GPIF)?
The Grass Pitch Improvement Fund (GPIF) aims to tackle inequalities by providing improved access to good quality, safe playing facilities for targeted groups. The Sport England Lottery Fund will provide funding for projects.
Priority will be given to applications which support cricket for the following groups:
- Women’s and girls’ cricket
- Cricket in diverse communities
- Disability cricket
- Low socio-economic groups (LSEG)
For full guidance notes, and to see if your club would be eligible please click the button below.
Purpose of the Grass Pitch Improvement Fund
- Improving the quality of squares and outfields (for grass pitches rated ‘unsuitable’ or ‘basic’ to improve to at least ‘good’)
- Creating sustainable management of sites (through irrigation and machinery improvements)
- Installing hybrid pitches to increase playing capacity
The fund aims to improve natural grass playing facilities graded at ‘Basic’ or below, up to at least ‘Good’ – as determined by PitchPower reports issued by County or Regional Pitch Advisors
What is PitchPower?
PitchPower is an app developed by the Football Foundation (FF) for assessing the
performance of natural turf football, rugby and cricket playing facilities.
In Cricket, PitchPower Pro is used by the County Pitch Advisors (CPAs) across England
and Wales to make expert assessments of grass squares and outfields. During a
PitchPower Pro site visit, your CPA will carry out a series of measurements on your site
to get data that is entered into PitchPower to produce your PitchPower Pro report. This
will include an assessment of playing quality (to four different levels) and
recommendations on how you can work to improve your square and outfield.
In order to be eligible to apply for the Grass Pitch Improvement Fund, the PitchPower report at your club must be rated as ‘Unsuitable’ or ‘Basic’.
For PitchPower visits related to the GPIF please contact Harry Watts, Club Development Manager, on harry.watts@gloucestershirecricketfoundation.org
Harry Watts / Club Development Manager
Harry joined the team in August 2022 as our Urban Development Officer and was initially responsible for growing the game of cricket in the urban areas of Bristol and Gloucester. In April 2024, Harry was promoted to Club Development Manager where he now delivers on a number of ECB priority areas including Facility Development, Clubmark, as well as working with Local Authorities on their Playing Pitch Strategies.
In 2018, Harry graduated from Swansea University with a degree in Media & Communications and later gained a PGCE in Primary Education from UWE, having spent multiple years working in primary schools. At his local club, Thornbury CC, Harry supports in different areas, including being an emergency player when required!
Now in his exciting role as Club Development Manager, he is responsible for leading the team of club development staff and working closely with cricket clubs across the county to provide direct support with the aim of creating sustainable clubs for the future. Furthermore, Harry leads youth competitions and the ECB Clubmark Accreditation and sits on a number of GCF Development Groups and Committees.
As a local Bristolian, Harry is a Bristol Rovers supporter and is a big all-round sports fan.