More public football pitches in Barnet – despite UK decline

There were 116 council-owned or managed football pitches in Barnet in 2009-10 – by 2023 this has risen to 126 reports Adam Care, Data Reporter

The number of council-owned football pitches in Barnet has increased over the past 14 years, new figures show.

It comes as a new study reveals there are more than 800 fewer public lands in the UK.

The GMB trade union, which published the figures as England and Scotland kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany, warned that the cuts in councils could “crush grassroots football”.

Figures obtained through a freedom of information request show that in 2009-10 there were 116 council-owned or managed football grounds in Barnet.

By 2023, this has increased to 126, an increase of 10.

The figures show that among the 176 councils that responded to the request, there were 869 fewer council-owned or managed football grounds last year than in 2009-10.

The worst affected part of Great Britain was Scotland, which lost 258 land in that period.

The other areas that lost the most land were all in the north of England and Wales.

In London, there were 660 pitches in 2022-23, an increase of 31 in 14 years.

Not all councils across the country responded to the union’s request, so exact figures may vary.

Speaking at the GMB’s annual conference in Bournemouth ahead of the start of the European Championship, union secretary Rachel Harrison said: “Before a ball is kicked, the next generation of footballers have already lost.

“The loss of nearly 1,000 council football pitches could crush grassroots football in the UK and is yet another deeply depressing legacy of the Tories’ austerity mission.”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said accessible sports facilities were important for public health but financial pressures were forcing councils to make unpopular choices.

“Councils face a £6.2bn shortfall over the next two years just to maintain services at current levels. This means that difficult decisions have to be made when given the choice of funding statutory services such as social care or non-statutory services such as sport,” they said.

“Councils are aware that residents expect a wide range of services when they pay their taxes, yet they are increasingly faced with the almost impossible task of trying to stretch limited budgets to cover the full range of services they have provided them in the past.”

He called on whoever forms the next government to invest in services that help prevent disease, such as football pitches, leisure centers and cultural venues.

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