Fields in Trust

Remembering Don Earley

Posted in Guest articles on 2nd June 2026

Don Earley, former Deputy Director of the National Playing Fields Association – the founding name of Fields in Trust – sadly passed away in March 2026.

Don’s career at the charity began in the 1980s and spanned many roles until his retirement in 2015. Throughout that time his commitment to protecting the future of playing fields was unwavering.

Don was a pioneer in the space. He recognised early on that granting charitable status to sports clubs would help to achieve the NPFA’s mission to protect spaces and prevent the common practice of sports clubs selling playing fields for development and sharing the proceeds amongst their members. Don and Elsa Davies, Director of the NPFA at the time drew together a small group of influential charity lawyers at Allen and Overy in 2002 to develop this idea further. Shortly afterwards DCMS and Sport England convened a group of sporting bodies to discuss a beneficial tax status for sport clubs which became known as CASC (Community Amateur Sports Clubs) status. This was a great step forward but it still didn’t protect the actual playing fields. Eventually after ongoing campaigning led by the NPFA, charitable status was made available for community sports clubs and incorporated into the Charities Act 2006.

During his time at the charity Don led the evolution of the Six Acre Standard which set out the quantum of recreational space needed by communities. Working with developers, planners and others, Don oversaw the introduction of the Children’s Playing Space Standard which expanded the advice within the Six Acre Standard. The Fields in Trust Standards – as they are known today – have continued to evolve and are still used by 75% of local planning authorities and referenced in Government guidance.

Don remained completely committed to the charity’s mission to protect the future of parks, playing fields and green spaces for everyone, especially children through his time at the organisation. He led many visits to protected spaces across the country giving the charity’s Chair of Trustees Christopher Laing and others the benefit of his and colleague Rocky Sharrock’s extensive knowledge of these spaces and the communities they supported.

Alongside his many significant achievements, colleagues past and present recall Don with fondness. His knowledge and understanding of the charity’s work inspired great affection and he was renowned for being able to chat away on myriad subjects at the end of the day – and for the cheery whistling which was always a sign of his presence in the office.

Outside of work, Don was an avid sports fan and enjoyed playing bridge with the Leamington Bridge Club. Unfortunately, due to ill health, his retirement was not the fruitful and rewarding time it should have been. He is survived by his son, Daniel and his daughter, Alice and is sadly missed by his family, colleagues and very many friends. He created a great legacy for sport enthusiasts across the country that will benefit people now and in the future.

NOTES

The details of Don’s working life have been written by Elsa Davies, a former Director of the NPFA who worked closely with Don Earley from 1991 to 2004 and Alison-Moore-Gwyn, who was both NPFA Chair and its Chief Executive Officer. It is their personal recollection of working with an outstanding colleague and friend.

Pagination