The GMB union has
revealed the significant impact of 10 years of local authority budget cuts have
caused for grassroots and schools football in the UK.
Data released under
the Freedom of Information Act reveals that more than 700 council football
pitches have been lost since 2010.
The figures show
that there were 710 fewer local-authority owned or operated football pitches in
the financial year 2017/18 than there were in 2009/10 – before the
Conservatives’ austerity project began.
The worst-hit region
was the north-west, which lost 164 pitches during that period. Other heavily
affected regions included Yorkshire, which lost 76, London which lost 54 and
the West Midlands, which lost 84. Scotland lost 129 pitches and Wales 82.
Much of the land is
being sold to property developers. The sell-off is in addition to land disposed
of by schools. Earlier researchby the GMB revealed some 215 school pitches had been sold since 2010,
similar to the number sold under Labour. In 2009 Jeremy Hunt, then shadow
culture, media and sport secretary, criticised Labour for overseeing a period
when 200 pitches were lost.
“Losing these
council pitches shows what the government’s slash-and-burn approach to local
government means in reality,” said Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB
union, which obtained the figures before its annual congress next Sunday 9
June.
“Councils have had
their funding cut in half since 2010 – they’re struggling to fund the basics
and keep the show on the road.”
In addition to
raising money from the sale of the land, councils save cash by no longer having
to maintain the pitches. But as the sales continue there are concerns that they
are becoming a factor in Britain’s mounting obesity crisis.
“Council-owned
football pitches are a cherished local service and we have long made the case
for the importance of leisure facilities and outdoor spaces for people’s health
and wellbeing,” said councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, chair of the Local
Government Association’s culture, tourism and sport board.
“In the face of the
current childhood obesity epidemic, football pitches are a key resource. We
know pitches are enjoyed by children and young people across the country, and
sit at the heart of local communities.
“Since 2010,
councils have lost 60p out of every £1 they had from central government to
spend on services. At the same time, pressures are growing in children’s
services, adult social care, and efforts to tackle homelessness. This is
leaving increasingly less money for councils to fund other services, like
sports and leisure facilities.”
