The Protecting Playing Fields Fund has seen £13m invested in 234 spaces in England
PROTECTING PLAYING FIELDS HELEN GRIFFITHS
L
ast summer was a fantastic re- minder of how major sporting events can unite the nation and
how important it is that sport contin- ues to build communities and provide opportunities at local level. That aim is only achievable if there are facilities available to support it and if those facili- ties are fit for purpose. This is why the Protecting Playing Fields strand of Sport England’s Places, People, Play funding is such a vital piece of the legacy puzzle. The vulnerability of community playing
fields to the pressures of both com- mercial and residential development is longstanding and well documented – it’s one of the reasons Fields in Trust was founded as the National Playing Fields Association more than 80 years ago. Un- fortunately this vulnerability has been exacerbated in recent times by extensive cuts to Local Authority budgets resulting
Issue 2 2013 © cybertrek 2013
in, among other things, a reduced abil- ity to invest in maintaining or improving playing field facilities. One of the most effective ways to pro-
tect the long term future of any playing field is to ensure it’s well used, but that level of use can only be achieved by the provision of good quality facilities. The Protecting Playing Fields Fund
has seen £13m invested in 234 spaces in England, bringing significant benefit at grassroots level. Fields in Trust’s partner- ship with Sport England promoted the importance of protecting playing fields in perpetuity as part of a legacy programme – The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge. The flexibility of the Protecting Play-
ing Fields Fund has meant that sites protected by Fields in Trust have been able to undertake improvement projects to increase participation levels – from upgrading cricket squares at Abotts
Bromley Cricket Club in Stafford- shire to increasing capacity at Wed- more Football Club in Somerset – by buying a new ground and adding more pitches. These are real community-led projects which are making a positive im- pact at grassroots level. When Round 5 closes in August 2013
and the awards are made, a total of £15m – a 50 per cent increase on the original £10m allocated – will have been granted. We’d like to see this specific commitment to protecting playing fields by Sport England continue, with ad- ditional funding beyond 2013 and an ongoing partnership with Fields in Trust to advocate the importance of protect- ing these spaces in perpetuity.
Helen Griffiths,CEO, Fields in Trust Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 7
PIC: ©
.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM /ANDREAS GRADIN
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