Pitch battle: Angela Rayner’s reforms might put 1000’s of sports activities fields in danger
Thousands of football and cricket pitches could be concreted over under Angela Rayner‘s proposed planning reforms, MPs have been warned.
Labour is planning to strip Sport England of its right to be consulted on housing developments on playing fields and sports pitches in a push to hit its target of building 1.5million homes.
The reforms were championed by former housing secretary Angela Rayner before she quit over a tax scandal. A public consultation was quietly launched on November 18 and runs to January 13.
But former Olympic champion cyclist Chris Boardman, who is the chairman of Sport England, warned that playing fields were ‘far more than patches of grass’ and must be protected at all costs.
He added: ‘Active children grow into active adults, and that simple truth underpins a healthy, confident society.
‘Protecting and improving the spaces that enable that journey – especially the playing fields within our school grounds – is therefore essential. If we get this right, we don’t just safeguard sport; we safeguard wellbeing, growth and the future prospects of millions of young people.’
The proposals, which critics say will damage Sport England’s ability to protect courts, sports halls and leisure centres, are part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Such facilities are essential to the health, wellbeing and enjoyment of both children and adults, say campaigners, with Labour’s proposals coming amid an epidemic of obesity.
In addition to stripping Sport England of its right to be a ‘statutory consultee’, Labour has also proposed removing The Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust from the list of organisations that have to be consulted by law on planning applications.
The reforms were championed by former housing secretary Angela Rayner before she quit over a tax scandal
Football and cricket pitches across the country could be at risk of development, as Labour consider plans to strip Sport England of its right to be consulted on housing developments (File image)
Former Olympic champion cyclist Chris Boardman, now the chairman of Sport England, warned that playing fields must be protected at all costs
The Sport and Recreation Alliance, representing 280 groups including British Cycling, the Lawn Tennis Association and Rugby Football Union, is urging a rethink. Chief executive Lisa Wainwright called the changes ‘a huge mistake’ and said once fields were built on ‘they’re gone for good’.
She added: ‘While we acknowledge the Government’s ambition to increase housebuilding and drive growth, this must not come at the cost of much-loved playing fields and community sports facilities.’ Tory spokesman Sir James Cleverly, said: ‘Labour is stripping powers from local people… centralising decisions that should belong to communities. Conservatives support more of the right homes in the right places, but concreting over cherished community spaces through top-down Whitehall diktats is wrong.’
An estimated 10,000 playing fields were sold off in the 1980s and 1990s, but the figure plummeted after protections were introduced in 1996 and 2001.
Sport England figures show it protected 1,038 playing fields in the year to March 2024 – with 60 per cent of the cases in which it raised an objection eventually being approved with improved or safeguarded playing fields or sports pitches.
A government spokesman said: ‘We do not recognise these claims. We remain committed to protecting and extending our playing field capacity, which is why the planning system explicitly protects playing fields. We will reform the system to ensure it is sensible, balanced and does not create unintended delays, so we can build the homes people desperately need under our Plan for Change.’
