Carnegie UK Trust: FieldFinders Campaign

Overview

Between 1927 and 1935 the Carnegie UK Trust gave grants worth £200,000 – the equivalent of around £10 million today – to create nearly 900 playing fields across the UK. These grants were given to local councils and community groups and a key condition of the grants was that the newly created playing fields were to be protected in perpetuity.

However, the precise location of these playing fields was not always recorded. Now, the Carnegie UK Trust and Fields in Trust have launched a new campaign to find the missing playing fields and ensure that they remain protected for local communities to enjoy today and in the future.

Get in touch about your local Carnegie Field and you could help it win £5,000.

Individuals, landowners and voluntary organisations are all encouraged to submit information on a potential Carnegie Playing Field. All you need to do is fill out one of the forms mentioned above before 31 August 2015. Once you submit your information, Fields in Trust will verify the playing field as an original Carnegie Playing Field and also verify if the site is legally protected as a public outdoor recreational space in perpetuity. If the site is not protected then Fields in Trust can offer this protection and would be happy to work with the landowner to achieve it.

If your playing field is verified as a Carnegie Playing Field and the site is - or can be - legally protected as a public outdoor space, then Fields in Trust will get in touch with you for more information and to give you the opportunity to complete a short application form for one of the £5,000 improvement grants. Voluntary groups will be able to make a grant application for a verified Carnegie Field as long as they have a letter of support from the landowner.