Playing fields
Land in the open air provided for physical education or recreation
- Design stage
- Co-design
- Tags
- local plan
- Frequency of updates
- Every 6 months
- Discussion
- Join the discussion on GitHub
- Last updated
- 26 September 2024
Backlog
Who asked for 'Playing fields' data?
Identified by the Geospatial Commission as a national dataset to make data easier to find for the sector.
What is the driver for the request?
Other
Which 2024 focus area does the request support?
Modern planning software;Faster local plans
Screen
What is the 'Playing fields' consideration?
Pitches for sports including football, rugby union, rugby league, hockey, lacrosse, cricket, American football etc
Is there legislation that defines 'Playing fields'?
Yes
What is the legislation that defines 'Playing fields'?
"“Playing field” means the whole of a site which encompasses at least one playing pitch;" - The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Amendment) Order 1996, Paragraph 3b(i)
Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Playing fields'?
'Local planning authorities are required to consult with us [Sport England] on planning applications that affect playing field land, and our policy is to object to applications unless they meet one of five specific exceptions, which include:
- The proposals will improve the use of a playing field for sport
- Replacement playing field land is to be provided
- There has been a robust assessment that demonstrates there is an excess of playing field land.'
Which organisations do we think should publish the data?
Local authorities;Ordnance Survey;Sport England
Is the Playing fields a trigger?
Yes
What needs to be done because Playing fields has acted as the trigger?
Playing field provision would require an LPA to produce a Playing Pitch Strategy.
Is the Playing fields something to consult during plan making?
Yes
Provide information about when Playing fields is used during plan making
The provision of playing fields would be considered during the IDP, Playing Pitch Strategy and Local Plan process, to ensure sufficient provision is provided to the local community.
Is there any Playing fields data already available?
Yes
What Playing fields data is currently available?
- OS Open Greenspace (publisher: Ordnance Survey; coverage: National; licence: OpenData - Open Government Licence; fields: id;function;distinctiveName1;distinctiveName2;distinctiveName3;distinctiveName4;geometry)
Do we think the data should come from a single source?
Yes, the data already exists nationally and openly. As per some research summarised in this blog, we will use the national data in the interim, but long term would like to collect this data from LPAs.
Will a data standard be required?
No
Research
What other planning considerations does it interact with?
- Local plans - Playing fields are referenced a number of times in local plans, so we think that this consideration feeds into the process of creating a local plan.
- Infrastructure Development Plan - to ensure sufficient provision is provided.
What are the planning needs for this data?
When plan-making, LPAs are required to demonstrate that they are planning for sufficient open space to meet local need. Therefore, they will generally identify the baseline provision of open space, and conduct an Open Space Strategy, or similar, to assess the quality of this existing provision.
Playing fields fall into the overarching category of 'open space.'