28/11/2025
Protecting Lancashire's Pitches
An open letter from Lancashire FA's CEO Simon Gerrard
Dear all,
I am writing to ask every club and league in Lancashire to support an important petition that affects the whole game – from mini‑soccer to adult football, refereeing, coaching, walking football, disability pathways and everything in between.
The Government is considering removing Sport England as a statutory consultee for planning applications that involve playing fields.
This might sound technical, but the impact is very real.
It would weaken the safeguards that protect pitches and facilities in every part of the country – including ours.
In Lancashire, we feel this more than most.
We are a wet county with a long season and already limited facilities.
You know the reality: waterlogged pitches, repeated postponements, oversubscribed 3G sites, and teams struggling to find safe, suitable places to train and play.
There is no “spare capacity” in the system.
When a pitch is lost or a facility is poorly replaced, it affects fixtures, training, referees, coaches, volunteers and players at every level.
When Sport England has a formal role in the planning process, it gives sport a strong, expert voice.
It helps ensure that decisions about development properly consider participation, safety and long‑term community value – not just short‑term financial return.
Removing that role makes it easier for playing fields to be lost, or for poor‑quality replacements to be accepted, without fully understanding the impact on the local game.
This is bigger than football alone.
Playing fields are where our communities come together: children taking their first steps in the game, young people with a safe place to be, adults staying active, match officials learning their trade, volunteers giving their time, and families and friends on the touchline in all weathers.
They are part of Lancashire’s story and identity.
Once these spaces are gone, they are rarely replaced.
The petition sets out the national picture clearly. Playing fields support nearly 4 million people to be active, including around 1 million children, and deliver wellbeing benefits valued at close to ÂŁ2bn a year.
Removing Sport England’s statutory status risks losing the expertise that keeps these facilities viable, and makes it harder for local authorities to make informed planning decisions.
How can you help as a club or league?
I am asking each club and league to:
Sign the petition as individuals – committee members, coaches, referees, players, parents, carers and volunteers.
Share it widely – with your players, parents, carers, volunteers, match officials and staff via email, WhatsApp groups, social media and your club/league websites.
Encourage your wider networks – schools, colleges, community partners and local supporters – to add their names too.
Every signature shows that Lancashire’s football community is united on this issue.
A strong response from across our county will help demonstrate just how important protected, high‑quality playing fields are to the future of the game and to the health and wellbeing of our communities.
Thank you for taking the time to act and for sharing this as widely as you can with families, friends and players.
Your support will help protect the places where people in Lancashire play, learn, officiate, coach and stay active.
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.
