In discussion with James Podesta, Head of Development
Yesterday (10th March 2025) it was announced that future reforms to overhaul the planning system have been put into action from the government, with Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner stating, “we’ve put growth at the heart of our plans as a government”.
The government has stated that it will…
- Review the statutory consultee system to promote growth and unblock building
- Consult on limiting the scope of statutory consultees and removing a limited number of them, including Sport England, Theatres Trust and The Gardens Trust in planning decisions, while ensuring necessary community facilities and needs continue to be met
- Establish a new performance framework with greater ministerial oversight, and
- Look at reforms will reduce delays and uncertainty on planning proposals, demonstrating the government’s Plan for Change in action
Source: http://bit.ly/3FjOkWh
If the proposed consultation is upheld, it could have curtailing implications for Sport England as the body charged with protecting playing fields on a national platform.
Their modus operandi is ‘Protect, Enhance, Provide’ and it might be argued that removing or restricting their statutory powers will necessarily impact on their ability to protect existing playing fields. It is likely that where playing fields were significantly involved or impacted upon, they would still have to be consulted, just not as a statutory consultee. This may make it easier for planning officers to disregard the thoughts of Sport England or indeed consider their comments with less weight in the planning balance exercise should the consultation be upheld.
With Sport England being referred to specifically and, subject to consultation, could become a non-statutory consultee in future, this would mean local planning authorities would not be obliged to consult them. Statutory consultees are professional bodies that local planning authorities are required by law to consult prior to a decision being made on a planning application and these bodies currently hold the power to affect the result of the application.
Sport England responded to the news with, “The purpose of our statutory planning remit is to protect playing fields and community spaces for sport and physical activity. Britain’s childhood obesity crisis is rising and low physical activity levels cost our economy £7.4 billion a year, making it vital we protect the places that local communities can be active. We support growth and exercise our powers carefully and quickly, ensuring local neighbourhoods are designed to help people live healthy, happy, and active lives. We look forward to taking part in the Government’s consultation exercise and arguing the importance of protecting playing fields and places where local people can keep active.”
STRI Group promotes better environments through the work it undertakes and seeks to deliver improvements for local communities, public authorities, and private organisations that have positive impacts, and whilst removing unnecessary bureaucracy is always welcome, a careful balance is imperative if we want to protect the assets that exist and look to provide more and better facilities for future generations. New sports facilities or improved sports facilities are also projects that can and could promote the governments growth agenda and provide better environments and encourage greater participation, which should not be underestimated.
We’ll be watching this very closely as this develops, and for any guidance during the planning stages of your project, don’t hesitate to reach out and our expert team can assist.
T: 01274 565131
