What Sport England's playing pitch strategy guidance asks of councils

Sport England's playing pitch strategy guidance is the national method English councils follow when they assess whether they have enough football, cricket, rugby and hockey pitches. Published in October 2013 with the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League and the England Hockey Board, it sets out ten steps grouped into five stages. It asks a council to agree a brief before any tender, to run the project through a steering group, to allow nine to twelve months to adoption, and, ideally, to review the strategy every year: one left without review for three years is treated as out of date.

The document replaced Towards a Level Playing Field, the 2003 toolkit. Its analytical core, auditing pitches and surveying clubs, is explained in this journal's piece on how the supply and demand analysis is built. What follows is the frame around that analysis: who commissions it, who leads it, how long it runs and what keeps it valid.

What does Sport England's playing pitch strategy guidance cover?

The guidance is written for local authorities that want to understand the need for playing pitches and improve provision, on both natural and artificial grass. Most strategies cover a single council area, but neighbouring authorities can pool resources where teams regularly cross the boundary. Football, cricket, hockey, rugby union and rugby league are the expected focus, yet councils are asked to consider any other pitch sport played locally, from lacrosse and rounders to Gaelic football, shinty and hurling, all named in the 2010 definition of a playing pitch. Each governing body adds an appendix with an example club survey and quality assessment form.

At the time of writing, in October 2026, Sport England's planning pages state that the documents are under review, that updated versions will go out to consultation once the government has published its new National Planning Policy Framework, and that councils should keep using the existing guidance meanwhile (Sport England, assessing needs and playing pitch strategy guidance).

The ten steps in five stages

Each stage ends with a checklist of questions that should all be answered "yes" before the work moves on.

The results can be presented as an assessment report for steps 2 to 6 and a strategy document for steps 7 to 10, but the guidance insists that the work must not stop once the assessment is presented.

Who leads a playing pitch strategy?

The guidance proposes two tiers: a steering group that leads, and a small project team that does the day-to-day work. The steering group comes out of an initial scoping meeting and should balance the parties behind the work with those who provide and use pitches: council officers from leisure, planning, education and estates; the governing bodies and Sport England where their resources allow; county sports partnerships and league secretaries; and any particularly large pitch providers or users. An elected member such as the portfolio holder, or a senior officer, is recommended, since the guidance considers a strategy difficult to deliver without high level political support.

The project team includes council officers even when a consultancy does most of the work, and its project manager also sits on the steering group. As an example, the guidance suggests five steering group meetings: towards the end of stages A, B, C and D, and one more during stage C, when the site-level work is checked and challenged.

When should a council go out to tender?

Only after Stage A has been completed in full, one of the firmest points in the guidance. Before any brief is drafted, the council should discuss the guidance with Sport England, engage the governing bodies and hold a scoping meeting. The steering group then agrees the drivers, the vision, the study area and the sports to include, and signs off a tailored brief and project plan. These either guide work done in house or go out to tenderers; Sport England's appendix includes an example brief structure.

The reasoning is practical. A council that knows what each partner can contribute can write it into the brief and buy less consultancy time: a governing body may hold recent quality assessments of some sites, and grounds maintenance staff, who see the pitches all year, may carry out non-technical ones. Where a consultancy is hired for steps 2 to 8, it should be appointed before Stage B begins, so that it can advise on the approach from the start.

How long does a playing pitch strategy take?

As a guide, nine to twelve months from the start of preparation to formal adoption, depending on the size of the study area, the number of sites and the resources committed. Steps 2 and 3, gathering supply and demand information, are expected to take longest, which is why the design of club surveys and site audits weighs so heavily on the timetable.

The sporting calendar shapes the plan. Information about a sport is best gathered while it is being played, so the guidance suggests starting in late summer with the summer sports before turning to the winter sports, or starting in late winter the other way round. A strategy can look as far ahead as the development plan, but should also build in a shorter horizon, of three or five years, to match sports development planning.

When does a playing pitch strategy go out of date?

Sport England and the governing bodies treat a strategy as out of date if no review and update has been carried out within three years of the steering group signing it off. Supply and demand will usually have changed by then, and without a review it becomes hard to argue that the evidence is still robust. Ideally, the guidance adds, the strategy would be reviewed every year from sign-off, which would also keep the original survey information from going more than two years without a check.

An annual review is not meant to be heavy. It records progress on the action plan, how the strategy has been applied, changes at the most important sites and clubs, and new issues. The steering group then chooses one of three outcomes: a short progress and update paper, a partial review of one sport, pitch type or sub-area, or a full review. Meetings with each governing body can be timed to its annual club affiliation process, so that changes in clubs are picked up.

What is an adopted strategy used for?

In planning policy, a strategy supplies the robust and up-to-date assessment of need that national policy asks for, a requirement this journal traces in the move from PPG17 to the NPPF. It informs decisions on applications affecting pitches, and helps Sport England, a statutory consultee on applications affecting playing field land, respond when consulted. It can also feed prioritised projects into the Community Infrastructure Levy and support funding bids.

Recommendations are usefully grouped under protect, enhance and provide. Protection includes stronger local policy, Local Green Space designation, secure tenure for clubs and deeds of dedication, where the guidance points to Fields in Trust. Enhancement covers drainage, lighting, changing rooms and maintenance. Provision means new pitches where they are needed alongside better use of existing ones. One caution is worth repeating: a pitch in poor condition or under-used should not be taken as proof that it is not needed.

The guidance at a glance

• Title: Playing Pitch Strategy Guidance: an approach to developing and delivering a playing pitch strategy.
• Published by: Sport England, with the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League and the England Hockey Board.
• Date: October 2013; the Football Association appendix is dated March 2014.
• Replaced: Towards a Level Playing Field: A Guide to the Production of Playing Pitch Strategies (2003).
• Status in October 2026: under review; Sport England asks councils to keep using it until updated versions are published.

Questions and answers

Is a playing pitch strategy a statutory document?

The guidance describes a recommended approach, not a legal duty. Its place in planning comes from national policy, which asks for planning policies based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for sport and recreation facilities.

Can a council prepare a playing pitch strategy without consultants?

Yes. The brief and project plan agreed by the steering group can guide work done in house, or go to tenderers if outside support is wanted.

What happens when a strategy is more than three years old?

Without a review and update within three years of sign-off, Sport England and the governing bodies regard it as out of date. The remedy is a partial or a full review.