According to our latest Green Space Index research, a worrying 45% of people in Britain do not have good access to playing fields, despite their importance in supporting our health and wellbeing.
Each year, we publish the latest results from our Green Space Index (GSI), our flagship data tool that tracks the availability and accessibility of parks, playgrounds, playing fields and green spaces across Great Britain.
Published today, the new findings highlight a startling lack of accessibility to sport and recreation grounds, with almost half (45%) of people in Great Britain living more than a ten-minute walk from their nearest playing field.
We know access to local green spaces like playing fields is vital to reducing childhood obesity, improving mental wellbeing, supporting economic productivity and creating opportunities for young people, so the findings are highly concerning.
Good quality, accessible playing fields are also crucial for encouraging social cohesion – for example by giving children and young people a place to exercise together and practise sport – making them invaluable to communities across Britain.
Recent research by Public First, commissioned by Sky Sports, shows that girls who play after-school sport in the UK are 50% more likely to secure top jobs later in life, yet 340,000 more girls are excluded from playing sport than boys due to cost and lack of local access.
Growing up, my local playing field in Sunderland was everything to me. It’s where I first fell in love with football and dreamed of playing for England. The success of the Lionesses and Red Roses shows what’s possible when young people, no matter where they are born, have access to sport, but right now thousands of these vital spaces are under threat. We must protect them now, so the next generation have the same opportunities to play, dream and succeed.Jill Scott MBE, former England footballer and President of Fields in Trust
While accessible green space provision varies significantly between regions, the GSI findings highlight a worrying trend. When mapped against the Government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), the data show that the more deprived an area is, the more likely it is to have lost a site, pitch, or parkland in recent years, either through closure or redevelopment.
The most deprived areas have seen the highest number of closures when it comes to recreational sites, with a similar pattern emerging for grass pitches. These sites are essential to community health, social cohesion and environmental resilience, so their loss only deepens inequality further.
Tackling this inequality must be prioritised in green infrastructure and planning policies moving forward.
According to the GSI data, only 6% of public parks and green spaces in Great Britain are currently protected.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, 226 green spaces have been lost to urbanisation, now transformed from enriching green spaces into so-called “grey spaces”.
Many people do not realise that their local park could be under threat. At present, only 15% of people have access to permanently protected green spaces, meaning 85% of the population could be at risk of losing their local parks and playing fields in years to come.
Fields in Trust is the only UK charity providing long-term legal protections to safeguard parks and green spaces – once an area is protected through our deed of dedication, it is protected forever, not only benefitting today’s communities, but future generations too.
Our new GSI findings come as the Government considers dropping Sport England from its statutory role in planning decisions under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Sport England’s input has helped protect or improve facilities in 94% of planning applications involving playing fields – an essential safeguard that has protected community sports from development pressures. If the change goes ahead, Fields in Trust would be the UK’s sole body offering independent protection for playing fields, parks and green spaces.
Any new legislation should reinforce the need for independent deeds of dedication, rather than diminish it. Even with Sport England’s involvement, it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss of spaces, underlining why legally binding, independent protection remains vital to safeguard the places where communities play and connect.
These figures reveal a stark reality: millions of people across the UK cannot easily access the playing fields and sports facilities that are fundamental to healthy, active communities. We support the Government's growth agenda and the need to build more homes, but this cannot come at the expense of the green spaces that deliver enormous benefits to our physical and mental health, tackle childhood obesity, boost economic productivity, and create opportunities for communities to thrive.Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust
As Fields in Trust celebrates 100 years of protecting these vital spaces, its mission has never been more urgent. These places must be protected and we remain committed to safeguarding them forever for future generations who deserve the same access to outdoor sport and play that previous generations have enjoyed.
This year’s findings further compound concerns about easy access to playing areas. Last year’s Green Space Index revealed that one in three children under the age of nine live more than a ten-minute walk from their nearest playground, leaving nearly a third of the youngest generation without easy access to outdoor play.
You can read more about the GSI and explore the 2025 findings here.