WIREDGOV

New figures show we continue to uphold our commitment to protecting and enhancing playing field provision.

Our commitment to protecting playing fields means that 94% of all concluded planning applications in England have resulted in improved or safeguarded facilities.

The figures, released yesterday, cover the period April 2018-March 2019 and highlight our enduring commitment to protect and enhance playing fields as part of our role as a statutory consultee on planning applications.

This means we must be consulted whenever anyone wants to develop on a playing field and we’ll always object if we believe sports provision in the community will be diminished as a result.

The data shows:

• 94% (1,078 out of 1,144) of concluded planning applications affecting playing fields resulted in improved or safeguarded sports provision.
• In 43% of the cases where we originally objected to an application, further negotiations led to an overall improvement in sports provision.
• Of the 130 applications where we maintained our objection, 64 were either withdrawn by the applicants or refused planning permission.

Click here for the full press release