Guidance

Recreation ground charities: guidance for trustees

Updated 8 August 2024

Applies to England and Wales

Common problems  that trustees of recreation ground charities may face

Common problems experienced by trustees of recreation ground charities can include:

• not having enough trustees
• not having enough funds to continue with the upkeep of the land

Having enough trustees on your board

Recreation ground charities can struggle with not having enough trustees. This could mean that:

• you do not have enough people to share your trustee responsibilities with
• your charity does not have the minimum number of trustees your governing document says it must have

If this applies to your charity, you can look at how you recruit trustees and whether you could try new ways of attracting people to the role. For example, by:

• advertising in local or specialist press or on local noticeboards
• using a service such as Reach Volunteering
• approaching local companies or local organisations like colleges to advertise your trustee vacancies

Read guidance about finding new trustees for more information. It also has advice about how to help new trustees settle into their role. This can help you keep trustees.

Maintaining a well-run board is another way of keeping trustees for their full term.

Raising the funds you need

Think about how you can reduce the risk of running out of funds. For example, by having more than one source of funding.

You could explore: 

• applying for grant funding from organisations such as trusts and foundations (particularly if you are fundraising for a specific capital project)
• launching a fundraising campaign amongst those who use the recreation ground, the local community or wider public
• renting out  part of your recreation ground to sports clubs or groups to use the ground at set times, if this is allowed by your governing document
• partnering with local organisations on a fundraising campaign or to volunteer with your charity (for example to maintain the recreation ground)
• if appropriate and allowed by your governing document, commercial activities such as converting existing premises into a café

Read guidance on fundraising especially if you plan to partner with other organisations or companies.

Read guidance if you are experiencing financial difficulties     .

What to do if you cannot find enough trustees or funding

If you have not been able to find enough trustees or raise enough funds, you can consider the following options.

• If the recreation ground is not designated land, transferring it to another charity which has purposes that are the same or similar   and which can afford the upkeep of the recreation ground. Read guidance about this.

• If the recreation ground is designated land, appointing another charity as trustee which can afford the upkeep of the recreation ground. The charity appointed as trustee will need to have purposes that are wide enough to allow it to do this. Read guidance about this.

Another option (where the land is designated) is to change the charitable purposes or the specific restrictions on how the land is used. This could, for example, allow commercial activities. You must have authority from the Charity Commission to change purposes or restrictions. Read our guidance to make sure you follow the rules.

Your decision must be in the charity’s best interests. Use our guidance to help you.

Disposals to a non-charity   

Disposing of local assets like recreation grounds can be of significant local interest. Make sure you follow – and can show you have followed – the legal rules that apply.

If you wish to dispose of part or all of your recreation ground land to a non-charity for less than best terms (including at nil value)  you must have Charity Commission authority before you enter into a contract for the transfer. 

In your application to the Commission, you will need to explain how the transfer is in the charity’s best interests and how you have explored all other options, as explained above.

Before applying for Commission authority, you should also have:

• asked the non-charity to enter into a Deed of Dedication with Fields in Trust (an agreement between Fields in Trust and the landowner that they will retain the land for use as a green space or recreation ground following the transfer), or
• considered whether and what form of restrictive covenant may be placed on the land’s title to require the land to be used for the same or similar purposes as it was held for by the charity
• if neither of these options are possible, considered whether it is appropriate to include contractual safeguards on the future use of the land

You should get legal advice to help you consider these options.

Apply for Commission authority.

Selling or leasing the recreation ground

A decision to dispose of all or part of the recreation ground must comply with your trustee duties. For example, your duty to further your charity’s purposes and act in its best interests. Use our decision-making guidance to help you make your decision.

When selling, leasing or in other ways disposing of charity land, you must:

• have the power to dispose
• consider that disposing of the land is in the charity’s best interests
• comply with the legal requirements on disposing of charity land
• obtain authority from the Charity Commission if it’s needed

Read our guidance about disposing of charity land.

Disposing of designated land

Check your charity’s governing document or any other documents that explain how the land must be used to understand if it is designated land.

Designated land is land that must be used for a particular purpose or purposes of your charity according to the document that explains how the land must be used. This will be the ‘governing document’.

The documents may also contain other restrictions about the land.

Most recreation ground charities hold designated land.

It  is important, when considering  disposing of designated land, to consult with beneficiaries and others who may be affected by the disposal. You should consider their views when making your decision. (In certain circumstances, you may have to give public notice of the disposal.)

If the land is not designated, your charity’s beneficiaries may still be interested in a plan to sell or lease it. You should consider their views when making your decision.

You will usually need Charity Commission authority to dispose of designated land.

Read our guidance about the disposal of designated land.

Allowing other organisations to use the recreation ground

It is common for sports clubs to ask recreation ground charities for permission to use part of the ground on a regular or permanent basis.

You must be satisfied that this will not interfere with the charity’s purpose of providing a recreation ground for the local inhabitants. If such use will prevent reasonable public access to all or part of the ground, it is likely that the arrangement will interfere with the purposes of the charity.  

Scenario 1

A local football club wishes to have the right to use the recreation ground one afternoon a week for matches.

If this does not interfere with public access for the rest of the time, this may be acceptable to the recreation ground charity.

The trustees should ensure that the football club’s use is subject to a formal agreement (such as a licence or hire agreement) and that the club pays the going rate.  

The trustees will need to take care that the arrangement does not become extended, resulting in the football club taking over the ground for more and more of the time so that the public is increasingly excluded from using it.

Scenario 2

The trustees may decide that the recreation ground is large enough so that, even if you allowed the football club (or another sports club) permanent use of part of it, there would still be sufficient space for the public to use. The part to be occupied by the club would be surplus to the requirements of the charity.

How the club was allowed to use part of the ground should be formalised, for example by way of a lease or licence. Get professional advice if you need it.

If you choose to lease the land, this is a disposal and you may have to give public notice to the disposal.   Read our guidance which explains the full requirements.

Scenario 3

If the whole ground was used only by the football club or a sports club and no other group or individuals wanted to make use of it, then the charity would not be achieving its purposes by the continued retention of the ground.     

The charity could decide to sell or lease the land as a whole so  that the proceeds could be used to further the charity’s purposes in some other way.

Read guidance about disposing of charity land.

Facilities such as a sports hall or cycle track on the charity’s playing field or recreation ground

You must be satisfied that implementation of proposals like a sports hall or cycle track  would not interfere with the charity’s purpose.  

You should also check the governing document and any other documents that explain how the land must be used to see if there are any restrictions that apply. For example, sometimes trustees are prohibited from erecting any buildings on the land, or on specific parts of the land, or from using it for any purpose other than as an open space.

If you can put up a building on the land, you will then need to consider who is allowed access to the building. A building or pavilion to be used by anyone using the ground in line with the charity’s purposes would be acceptable . However, if such a building was for the sole use of a sports club, then that may be too restrictive and interfere with the purposes of the charity.  

Requests for access by owners of land adjoining a recreation ground

You will not generally be able to grant a lease or licence to owners of adjoining land if the recreation ground is fully used, because any proposals along these lines will likely impinge on the use of the ground by the public. As with any other land transaction you must be satisfied that the proposals are in the best interests of the charity.

If you think there may be a reason to consider this,  you as trustees should think about:

• why the adjoining owners need access
• whether it would increase the value of their properties and the extent of that increase
• whether and to what extent the use of the recreation ground for recreational purposes would be affected
• whether the value of the recreation ground would be affected

Your decision must be in the charity’s best interest. Use our decision-making guidance to help you make your decision.

If a case could be made for granting access, understand the legal requirements if you are proposing to grant a lease, an easement or a wayleave. These are ‘disposals’ and you must comply with the legal requirements if you decide to dispose in any of these ways. Read our guidance about land disposals. You should get professional advice.

If you are granting a licence, this is not a disposal and the same legal requirements do not apply. However, you must still act in your charity’s best interests. You should enter into a formal agreement and take professional advice on the terms of the agreement, such as from a solicitor.

The disposal of Miners’ Welfare property

In cases involving current or former Miners’ Welfare property, there may be ‘claw back’ provisions where all or a percentage of the proceeds of sale are returned to the donor organisation if the land is sold at any time or on the dissolution of the charity. In these cases, you should take legal advice to ensure you fulfil your obligations as set out in the governing document.