SRA petition to protect Sport England’s statutory role

The Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA) has launched a petition to protect Sport England’s statutory role in the planning system.

The petition calls for the Government to ensure strong safeguards for playing fields, pitches and community sports facilities by maintaining Sport England’s status as a statutory consultee for planning applications involving playing fields.

In 2025, the Government formally launched a consultation on reforming the role of statutory consultees.

In line with previous statements, the Government is proposing the removal of Sport England as a statutory consultee for planning applications involving playing fields.

SRA Chief Executive, Lisa Wainwright MBE, said: “While we understand the Government’s ambition to build more houses and stimulate growth, we are deeply concerned that the proposals to remove Sport England as a statutory consultee set out in this consultation will remove vital safeguards which protect playing fields and pitches from development.

“We’ve seen this summer the importance of these spaces. Without places to play, who knows where our next generation of Lionesses or Red Roses will come from.”

•The petition can be signed here: [petition.parliament.uk/petitions/735586](https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/735586). It has nearly 25,000 signatures so far and needs 100,000 for a full debate in parliament.