FOI release

School playing fields

Published 14 May 2012

• Date requested: 23 April 2012
• Publish date: 14 May 2012
• Updated: 8 August 2012

1. Request

How many state schools have applied to sell off playing fields (land that can be used for grass sports pitches by the pupils) since the coalition government came to power in 2010 and how many of those have been approved?

Supplementary questions:

• How much money has been raised through these sales?
  Please provide a list of the sales which names the schools
• If a full list is unavailable, please give a reason why and provide instead a breakdown of how many were primary and how many were secondary and also a regional breakdown.

2. Release

Local authorities (LAs) do not apply to sell playing fields, they seek consent from the Secretary of State to dispose. A disposal can also include a lease of the playing fields to a third party organisation with the fields still used by the school. The Education Funding Agency do not request information from LAs about whether sites that have been approved for disposal are actually sold. We, therefore, do not hold information about the number of sales, the value of sales, or to whom the sales have been made.

The number of applications received since May 2010 is 22.
Approval has been given for 19 applications and 3 are under consideration.

2.1 Approved

School	LA
Beaver Green School	Kent LA
Heywood School	Rochdale LA
High View School	Plymouth LA
Estover Primary School	Plymouth LA
Estover Comm College	Plymouth LA
Woodhouse School	Staffordshire LA
Saltersgill Special School	Stockton-on-Tees LA
Dingleside School	Worcestershire LA
The Winchcombe School	West Berkshire LA
Kingsbury School	Brent LA
Lord Lawson of Beamish School	Gateshead LA
Dunningford School	Havering LA
Clarborough School	Nottinghamshire LA
Highfield School	Tyneside LA
Low Bentham School	North Yorkshire LA
Langcliffe School	North Yorkshire LA
Pear Tree School	Staffordshire LA
Nursery Fields School	Staffordshire LA
Ingleton Middle School	North Yorkshire LA

2.2 Under consideration

School	LA
St Peter’s School	Hampshire LA
Gorsthills School	Cheshire West and Chester LA
Michael Drayton School	Hampshire

2.3 Pre-2010

12 cases applied in 2008, with 11 being granted consent (1 withdrawn).

School	LA
Longsight School	Bolton LA
St Andrews School	Bolton LA
Manor High School	Sandwell LA
Shepherds Spring School	Hampshire LA
Meadowlands Junior School	Hampshire LA
Aston of Hever School	Kent LA
North Leamington School and Arts College	Warwickshire LA
Arnold Hill School	Nottinghamshire LA
Manor High School	Sandwell LA
The Crypt School	Gloucestershire LA
Kingsdon Manor School	Bristol City LA
Kingsfield School	Cambridgeshire LA

16 cases applied in 2009, with 10 being granted consent (3 withdrawn and 3 rejected).

School	LA
Moat House School	Essex LA
Northampton College	Northampton LA
Severnbanks School	Gloucestershire LA
St Gregory’s School	Liverpool LA
Park Lane School	Reading LA
Twigworth School	Gloucestershire LA
Waddon School	Croydon LA
The Hewett School	Norfolk LA
Vernon School	Cheshire East LA
Massey Hall School	Lancashire LA

4 cases applied Jan to Apr 2010, with 1 being granted consent (3 withdrawn).

School	LA
St Katharine’s School	Somerset LA

Since this response was sent to the requester on 14 May 2012 consent has been given in respect of:

• St Peter’s School, Hampshire LA.
• Gorsthills School, Cheshire West and Chester LA.

Still under consideration is an application in respect of:

• Michael Drayton School, Hampshire LA.