A number of leading sports stars and governing bodies have expressed fears that playing fields across England could be built and gone if proposed planning reforms come into force.
Former Lioness Jill Scott and Olympic champions Sir Mo Farah and Alex Yee are among those who signed an open letter saying they are “deeply concerned” about the potential removal of legal protections for the facilities.
Other signatories included the heads of the Football Association (FA), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the Rugby Union (RFU) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The government is considering stripping funding agency Sport England of its right to be consulted before building a playing field.
It is part of a plan by ministers to speed up planning decisions as it seeks to build 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029.
But with a consultation underway, the signatories said: “Fields of play are irreplaceable, and Sport England’s statutory consultative role is an important line of defence.”
“Weakening this protection risks accelerating the loss of the spaces that make grassroots sport and physical activity possible, at a time when participation is growing and demand has never been higher.”
Sport England declined to comment but this month said it protected more than a thousand playing fields across the country last year. Tasked with increasing physical activity, it has had to be consulted on planning decisions for the past 30 years after approximately 10,000 playing fields were lost in the 1980s and early 90s.
The letter has been written by Fields in Trust, a charity that works with local authorities and communities to protect parks and playing fields from development.
Its chairman, former midfielder Scott, said: “Bringing so many people together for this letter has been incredibly personal for me. Too many communities are at risk of losing these same spaces. I urge the government to listen carefully. We are not asking for the impossible. We are asking you to protect what already exists, for the generations that will come after us.”
The signatories, who also include Eilish McColgan, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Tessa Sanderson and the directors of UK Athletics, British Cycling and Parkrun, call on ministers “to ensure that any planning reform retains a meaningful mechanism to protect playing fields and sports facilities for future generations”.
“This is about social justice. The people who need green space the most often have the least access. Without these protections, the health and well-being of communities will suffer.”
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “Strong protections are already in place for the playing fields we propose to maintain and we are investing £400m in grassroots sport.”
BBC Sport has been told that no decision will be made until the results of the consultation are fully considered. The government proposes to remove the Gardens Trust and Theaters Trust as legal consultants, as well as Sport England, which is expected to reduce more than 3,000 consultations a year.
This month the government said a sharp rise in housebuilding will be needed to meet its promise to build 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029.
Builders have warned the government will miss its target, after the number of new housing starts fell from 207,000 to 139,000 after the Labor Party took office, the lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, Women in Sport said: “Now is not the time to put our playing fields and courts at risk.
“Any loss of this space now would come at a critical time, excluding more women and girls from sport and hampering the growth of one of the UK’s biggest success stories.”
It is one of several sporting bodies whose members have been urged to support a petition titled ‘Do not remove Sport England as a statutory consultant for planning applications’.
It has been signed by almost 16,000 people.