Fields in Trust: Difference between revisions

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| founder =[[King George VVI]]

| location = London/Cardiff/Dundee

'''Fields in Trust''', is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Charitable organization|charity]]<ref>The National Playing Fields Association is a registered charity (No. 306070) incorporated under Royal Charter (Company

No. RC000370)</ref> set up in 1925 as the '''National Playing Fields Association''' (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the [[Duke of York]], later [[George V of the United KingdomVI|King George VVI]], who was the first president, which protects parks and green spaces and promotes the cause of accessible spaces for play, sports and recreation in British cities and towns.

The charity was set up in 1925 as the '''National Playing Fields Association''' (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and was founded by the [[Duke of York]], later [[George V of the United KingdomVI|King George VVI]], who was the first president. This royal link continues todaycontinued with [[Elizabeth II|Queen ofElizabeth the United Kingdom|The QueenII]] as Patron sincefrom 1952 until her death in 2022 and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]], as President from 1947 until he stepped down in 2013 to be succeeded by his grandson [[TheWilliam, DukePrince of CambridgeWales]].

Fields in Trust is a charity incorporated by Royal Charter in 1932. The organisation was awarded the [[Olympic Cup]] in 1931 by the [[International Olympic Committee]] in recognition of theirits work providing Playing Fields in Great Britain.

The Charity’s affairs are conducted through its Council, which meets quarterly to set the policy of the Association and to oversee its work. It is also linked to many other bodies, and membershipthe members of the organisation includesinclude local authorities, individuals, playing field associations, schools, and sports clubs. In 1972, Fields in Trust (then the NFPA) supported the Bishop of Stepney, [[Trevor Huddleston]], in denouncing the lack of play provision which had led to the deaths by drowning of 2two boys who lived in his diocese. This gave the impetus to the ''Fair Play for Children'' campaign.

Fields in Trust set standards for playground provision in the UK through the ''The 6Six Acre Standard'', which is widely recognised as a planning tool for local authorities<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2001-02/585 |title=Early day motion 585 UK Parliamentary Session 2001-02 |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=July 17, 2017}}</ref> as a basis, when stipulating play area provision for new housing development, and in local play policies. Fields in Trust is one of the agencies represented on the UK Government School Playing Fields Advisory Panel convened by the [[Department for Education]] to scrutinise the disposal or change of use of playing fields and school land.<ref>{{cite web|title=Playing fields and school land: selling or change of use|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice|website=Gov.UK|publisher=HM Government UK|accessdateaccess-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

Fields in Trust supervises the property over which the Association acts as Guardian Trustee and ensures that it retains its charitable purpose. The Fields in Trust charity has a role in the protection of over 2,700800 parks, playing fields and nature reserves across the United Kingdom. In total, the Fields in Trust's land portfolio represents an interest over {{convert|30000|acre|ha}}. In the 1920s and 1930s many of the sites were funded by the [[Carnegie United Kingdom Trust]] on the basis that the land would be kept as public playing fields in perpetuity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Investment in Playing Fields|url=http://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/news/historic-investment-in-playing-fields/|website=Carnegie UK Trust|publisher=Carnegie UK Trust|accessdateaccess-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> In all of its work, Fields in Trust is assisted by affiliated national and county associations and other partners.

In its publication ''The Six Acre Standard<ref>{{cite web|title=Guidance for Outdoor Sport and Play|url=http://www.fieldsintrust.org/guidance|website=Fields in Trust|publisher=Fields in Trust|accessdateaccess-date=6 December 2016}}</ref>'', the FiT outlines a more detailed breakdown including a hierarchy of child play space.

Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, (known as the "Queen Elizabeth Fields Challenge" in Scotland), was a programme run by Fields in Trust aiming to protect outdoor recreational spaces across the UK to create a "grassroots legacy" in celebration of the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|2012 Diamond Jubilee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalfoundation.com/our-work/queen-elizabeth-ii-fields-challenge/|title=Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge|publisher=The Royal Foundation|accessdateaccess-date=24 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729104839/http://www.royalfoundation.com/our-work/queen-elizabeth-ii-fields-challenge/|archive-date=29 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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[[Category:Playgrounds|*]]