Government’s £150m Pride in Place Investment is Welcome — now it must deliver for children’s play.

Play England welcomes the Government’s announcement of £150 million for 95 areas through the Pride in Place Impact Fund — £1.5m per place over two years to improve public spaces, including play and leisure facilities, as part of the wider £5 billion Pride in Place strategy for local renewal.

This is a clear sign that our leadership, advocacy and new 10-year strategy— It All Starts with Play! continues to inform and shape national policy.

Funding must be rooted in Play Sufficiency.

As the Government’s own strategy confirms, this funding is designed to improve “green areas, play and leisure facilities” so that communities can connect and thrive. But money alone will not be enough. To make a real difference for children, this investment must be planned, evidence-led, and rooted in the principle of Play Sufficiency.

Play Sufficiency is much broader than playgrounds — it encompasses all the spaces and places where children play, including formal and informal play areas, parks and open spaces, school grounds, streets, neighbourhoods, natural areas, active travel routes, supervised play settings (such as adventure playgrounds), and community recreation facilities.

A ready-made framework for delivery.

Our 10-year strategy — It All Starts with Play! provides the ready-made framework to guide sustainable delivery. We urge local authorities to:

• Conduct a Play Sufficiency Assessment and spatial mapping audit before committing funds, to identify gaps and ensure provision is adequate in quantity, quality, accessibility, inclusivity, and integration.

• Use robust evidence, including University of Sheffield research on stark inequalities in playground provision, to target resources where they are most needed.

• Secure projects through planning policy — ensure they are included in local plans and design codes and align with the National Planning Policy Framework. This gives improvements robust policy weight and ensures they endure as community infrastructure, not one-off upgrades.

• Apply Play England’s established principles of quality and inclusion so spaces are stimulating, child-led and welcoming to all children — including disabled children, girls and those in disadvantaged communities.

• Recognise the role of staffed provision and adventure playgrounds, where skilled play workers provide trusted, inclusive and resilient environments.

  
  

Taken together, these steps provide a clear pathway for delivery — from diagnosis, to targeting, to securing, to delivering, to sustaining.

A vital step towards Play Sufficiency legislation and a new National Play Strategy.

“This funding is welcome and shows that the government is listening. However, it will only succeed if it is evidence-led, planned in accordance with the principle of Play Sufficiency, and aligned with planning policy. Done right, it can begin to restore the critical play infrastructure children have lost. Play England stands ready to support every recipient authority — and to work with government nationally — to deliver. This must be the first step towards Play Sufficiency legislation and a new National Play Strategy for England.” —Eugene Minogue, Executive Director, Play England.