Protected Sports Fields On The Rise

The UK government has claimed it is succeeding in its fight to protect existing sports fields from being taken over and demolished by land developers.

The latest figures show 97.5% of planning applications resulted in improved or protected sports provision. The number of applications that had a negative impact fell from 40 in 2005/6 to 29 in 2006/7, 2.5% of the total.

‘These figures are proof that the tough policies we put in place are working,’ said sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe.

‘Our initiative to ensure that smaller, junior pitches are also protected from development will help make a reality of our ambition to increase sport participation in the run-up to London 2012 and leave a lasting legacy for the country.’

In future, all proposed developments that could affect or lead to the loss of a playing field bigger than 0.2 hectares will now be looked at by grassroots funding body Sport England.

Sport England objects to all applications unless the developer, including local councils, can prove it will improve or protect sports provision.

Under the old system, however, Sport England could only assess applications for playing fields larger than 0.4 hectares, which meant many junior pitches, typically found at primary schools, slipped through the net.

As well as the extension of planning protection to junior pitches, Sport England also announced agreements with the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union to work together to safeguard sports provision at the local level.
 
Figures published by the National Playing Fields Association in 2005 revealed that England had lost 45% of the playing fields it had in 1992.