London's
playing fields
in numbers

Why we exist

• There are around 1,500 playing fields in London, owned by local authorities, schools, charities and commercial companies.
• London is home to 16% of the UK population but only has 8% of its playing fields.
• London’s public green space has a gross asset value of more than £91 billion, providing services valued at £5 billion a year.
• London saves £950 million per year in health costs due to the impact of living and working close to public green space.
• In the UK, 17% of deaths are caused by inactivity. It is estimated that physical inactivity costs the economy £7.4 billion in premature deaths, healthcare and sickness absence.
• For each £1 spent by local authorities and their partners on public green space, Londoners enjoy at least £27 in value in terms of economic health benefits
• London has lost 20% of its grass football pitches since 1990.
• 41% of London’s natural turf cricket pitches have been lost since 1990.

Our impact

During 2024*:

• 734 cricket matches were played on our pitches, around 37 games a week.
• 3,632 football matches were played on our grounds, 130 matches a week.
• 441 local people are members of our Green Hearts project which gets people walking, jogging or running around our fields to keep active and improve well-being.
• 32 cricket clubs played on our grounds.
• 775 football teams regularly use our facilities.
• More than 200,000 Londoners used our pitches, which are available to hire.
• 179 adults and 51 young people attended Coping Through Football, a grassroots project which improves the well-being of adults and young people experiencing mental health problems.
• 700 youth football teams played 1,700 small sided matches in the SELKent league at London Marathon Playing Field Greenwich each Sunday during the football season.

*1st October 2023-30th September 2024.

For every £1 we invest in producing good quality pitches, we only recoup 46p in hiring income.

PLEASE DONATE TODAY to make sure our work can keep having an incredible impact on people’s lives.