Council playing field and open space policies on small sites

Open space requirements catch small sites more often than developers expect. A scheme of 15 houses on the edge of a village can trigger a Sport England consultation, an open space contribution and a play space calculation, and the three are assessed against different evidence bases by different officers.

The trigger that surprises people is playing field land. If any part of the site has been used as a playing field in the last five years, or is allocated as one in the development plan, the council must consult Sport England, whatever the size of the scheme.

When Sport England becomes a statutory consultee

The Development Management Procedure Order 2015 makes Sport England a statutory consultee for development affecting playing fields. In broad terms that covers land used as a playing field at any time in the five years before the application and which remains undeveloped, and land allocated for use as a playing field in a development plan.

Two points make the difference on a small site.

The five-year lookback catches disused pitches. A field that was a club ground until three seasons ago, now grazed or fallow, is still within scope, and the applicant is often unaware of the history. Check the council's open space assessment and old aerial imagery before assuming.

And "affecting" is broader than "building on". Development adjacent to a playing field that would prejudice its use, or that takes an ancillary area such as a car park or changing rooms, engages the consultation.

Sport England's published playing fields policy sets out the limited exceptions in which it will not object, covering matters such as replacement provision of at least equivalent quantity and quality in a suitable location, and development affecting only land incapable of forming part of a playing pitch. Read the policy and address the relevant exception explicitly, by number, in the planning statement. An application that ignores it gets a holding objection, and a holding objection from a statutory consultee stops the decision.

Council open space standards and quantity thresholds

Separately from playing fields, most local plans carry an open space policy with a quantity standard, usually expressed as hectares per 1,000 population and split by typology: parks, natural green space, amenity green space, provision for children and young people, allotments and outdoor sports.

The standard comes from the authority's own open space assessment, prepared under the approach in Planning Practice Guidance. That document is public, it identifies surpluses and deficits by ward or analysis area, and it is the evidence the officer will apply.

Read it before designing. Where the assessment shows a surplus of amenity green space and a deficit of equipped play in your area, a contribution towards play in an existing park is a much easier conversation than a small on-site green.

Thresholds vary. Some authorities apply open space requirements to any net gain of dwellings, some from five units, some from ten. There is no national threshold, so check the adopted policy rather than assuming a minor scheme escapes.

An Open Space Assessment is the document that sets out the calculation, the typology split and the proposed provision against the adopted standard.

On-site provision versus a commuted contribution

The choice is not always the applicant's, and the tests that govern it are strict.

A planning obligation must be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms, directly related to the development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind. Those are the statutory tests in the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, and they apply to every open space contribution.

On a small site, on-site provision often produces the worst outcome: a triangle of grass too small to play on, with a management company charge attached to every house. Say that plainly in the negotiation and propose the contribution instead, with the specific project named.

Where the authority charges the Community Infrastructure Levy, check what the levy is already funding. Open space provision funded through the levy cannot also be sought through a section 106 obligation for the same item, and the interaction between the two is worth understanding before agreeing heads of terms. Our note on which CIL notice to send and when covers the procedural side.

Play space requirements and age group breakdowns

Play space is calculated from child yield, not from unit count directly.

The method is consistent across most authorities. Apply a child yield factor to the housing mix, by bedroom count and tenure, to estimate the number of children the scheme will house. Break that number into age groups. Then apply the authority's area standard per child to each group.

Age groups are typically under fives, five to eleven, and twelve and over, with different expectations for each. Doorstep play for the youngest group is expected within a very short distance of the home. Local play for the middle group sits further away. Provision for older children and teenagers is expected at neighbourhood scale, and on a small site it is almost always met by contribution rather than on site.

In London, the London Plan sets its own play space standard per child and boroughs apply it directly, so London schemes should work from that policy rather than a national summary.

Two design points that get missed. Play space has to be overlooked by homes for natural surveillance, and it has to be away from parking and vehicle routes. And equipment is not the same as play space. A well-designed landscape with level changes, planting and informal features counts, and usually costs less to maintain than a fenced compound of catalogue equipment.

A Play Space Assessment sets out the yield calculation, the age group split and the proposed provision.

Maintenance, adoption and management companies

Whoever maintains the space needs to be named before the section 106 is signed.

Council adoption is the cleanest outcome for residents and usually requires a commuted maintenance sum covering a defined period, often 10 to 20 years, at a rate the authority publishes or calculates. Not every authority adopts.

A management company is the common alternative. It works where the arrangement is properly funded and the estate charge is disclosed to purchasers, and it fails where the company is a shell with no sinking fund.

Either way, the section 106 should specify the specification, the trigger for completion, the standard of maintenance and what happens if it lapses.

Evidence to submit with a small site application

An illustrative pack for a 15 unit scheme in a district with a policy threshold of ten.

1. A statement of whether any part of the site has been a playing field in the last five years, with evidence, and the Sport England policy exception relied on if it has.
2. The open space calculation against the adopted standard, by typology, using the housing mix proposed.
3. A child yield calculation and the resulting play space requirement by age group.
4. A proposal for on-site provision or a contribution, with the specific project named where a contribution is proposed.
5. A maintenance and management proposal with the responsible body named and the funding mechanism set out.
6. Draft heads of terms addressing each obligation against the three statutory tests.

Item six saves the most time. Offering heads of terms that already address necessity, direct relationship and proportionality moves the section 106 negotiation forward by weeks.

PlanScope drafts open space and play space documents structured to UK planning policy, with a "to be confirmed" flag wherever local standards and yield factors need checking against the adopted plan. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Browse the report types and start a draft.

PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.