Ministers’ plans would weaken the body that oversees how grassroots facilities are protected and delivered, despite promising investment in community sport
The UK government’s plan to cut Sport England’s statutory role would leave councils to make complex decisions with far less specialist input, says national consultancy Lichfields.
Sport England is currently one of the few bodies able to scrutinise proposals involving new facilities, the loss of existing provision, or changes to playing fields. Its input can lead to delays, redesigns, or refusals.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, Sport England’s input helped protect or improve over 1,000 playing fields, according to Think Active. However, the UK government could be about to change how the statutory consultation system works.
On 18 November 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a consultation document, naming the organisation for removal.
The eight‑week consultation closed on 13 January 2026 and received more than 1,600 responses from local authorities, planning specialists and sporting bodies, with ministers now reviewing the feedback ahead of a final decision.
There has been significant backlash to the proposal, with sports bodies launching the “Protect Where We Play” campaign and a parliamentary petition to stop the changes from taking effect.
Why remove Sport England?
The consultation proposes removing the organisation as a statutory consultee on planning applications, which would reduce its role to plan‑making, issuing guidance and providing selective input only where significant playing‑field losses are involved.
The government says the change would streamline the planning process. However, consultancy Lichfields warns it would also alter how decisions are made on new facilities and schemes involving the closure of existing facilities.
Owain Nedin, Planning Director at Lichfields, said the reforms “change how decisions around sport and leisure facilities are made”.
He added that without statutory input, “local Authorities will have to rely more heavily on the evidence submitted by the applicant… placing greater weight on the quality of that evidence.”
Sport and leisure decisions tend to be quite complex, with participation levels, demographic change, accessibility and the condition and distribution of facilities all taken into consideration.
Lichfield believes that without Sport England’s scrutiny, the burden of demonstrating need and community benefit would fall more heavily on applicants.
This could be particularly significant for proposals involving competing land uses or the loss of existing facilities, where evidence on replacement value and demand is important to planning decisions.
Changes to planning
If Sport England’s role is reduced, Lichfields says the planning system will require more evidence‑led assessments, with councils expected to justify decisions using data on participation, demographics and facility condition.
“For operators and investors, this places more emphasis on understanding local markets and being able to evidence how a facility will be used over time,” said Nedin.
“For local authorities, it means taking a more direct role in assessing competing demands for land and ensuring provision reflects local needs.”
The consultancy has worked with developers and local authorities on projects involving new provision and the redevelopment of existing sites. Its ‘Fit for Purpose’ approach uses demographic analysis, participation data and facility mapping to assess supply and demand within defined catchments.
Why is the timing interesting?
Days before the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced a £3m investment into five all-weather cricket domes. Matched by the England and Wales Cricket Board, this pipeline supports a surge of 2,000 new female teams launched since 2024
This infrastructure relies a lot on Sport England’s data mapping to target high-deprivation areas.
The government has linked major tournaments like UEFA EURO 2028 to grassroots legacy commitments, promising a £400m multi-sport facility fund, which makes the timing contradictory.
Ministers appear to be using major events to champion community sport while simultaneously weakening the oversight body that protects existing playing fields from development.
