Story perspectives
Government strips Sport England role as school fields vanish.
7/18/2026
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Story summary
- The government will strip Sport England’s planning role to speed construction.
- England schools have lost 189 playing fields in ten years, with 22 disposals in 2024, highest since 2017.
- Charity StreetGames warns that losing fields and 45,000 PE hours since 2012, 4,000 in 2024-25, could curb football talent.
- Campaigns in Totnes and Waltham Forest call sales a disaster while government reports 19 sales since July 2024 versus 166 since 2017.
