Last updated October 2026
Most of what follows is for Cambridge and Cambridgeshire schools planning playground markings, then for clubs and councils looking at courts and pitches. A layout is priced from your yard plan at survey; relining a games court was quoted to one council at £600 per sport in 2025, and a full new design costs more. Behind the markings, the county has fresh evidence on what courts and pitches are missing, which matters if your project goes further. Designs are on our playground markings page.
Is Cambridge short of artificial pitches?
Yes, and the gap is set to grow. The interim Greater Cambridge Playing Pitch Strategy (June 2026) counts six full-size-equivalent 3G pitches in the city, only four open to the community and only two actually hosting community football teams. It puts the current deficit at three full-size pitches, rising to eight by 2045. A school willing to open a pitch to clubs in the evenings is filling a recorded need. See artificial pitches.
Does a rugby club need a different 3G surface?
Yes. Contact rugby needs a World Rugby compliant surface, and the strategy notes that Cambridge University RUFC is one of only two sites in the city offering one. A club or school wanting rugby on its 3G should specify it from the start, because a football-only carpet cannot simply be upgraded.
What new courts and pitches are planned in Cambridge?
The strategy’s pipeline includes two 3G pitches at the Eddington Sports Hub, one at St John’s College and one at North Cambridge Academy. Eddington Avenue Recreation Ground is planned for two 9v9 3G pitches with lighting and three multi-use courts for tennis, netball and pickleball, and Darwin Green for three tennis courts. Tennis and netball sit in a separate outdoor courts strategy. If you manage a new-neighbourhood site, check what is already planned before adding courts.
Our school pitch was approved with a community use condition. Does that matter?
It does. The strategy notes that St Mary’s School Sports Ground should offer community use under a planning obligation but does not, and lists securing access to The Perse Upper School’s two 3G pitches as a priority. If a pitch or court was granted on condition of community use, resurfacing or replacing it does not remove that duty, and the council will expect it honoured. Tell us about any condition so the programme allows for bookings.
Does the Cambridge Green Belt affect a new court?
It may. The Cambridge Green Belt covered 26,090 hectares in the March 2025 statistics, so a field on the edge of the city or in a nearby village should be checked on the policies map first. National policy allows outdoor sport facilities there if they keep the land open, so fencing, floodlights and pavilions need the strongest case. Markings and resurfacing on an existing yard are not affected. See our planning guide.
What about Peterborough?
Peterborough runs its own unitary council and has its own football plan. The latest version, May 2025, counts three full-size 3G pitches in community use, at Hampton Gardens School, St John Fisher Catholic High School and The Grange, and calls for three more once the disused Bushfield pitch is brought back and Jack Hunt School’s pitch is lit, with at least four more possible by 2030. It points new pitches to central, south central and north Peterborough, and lists changing pavilion work at Werrington Leisure Centre, Bretton Park and Woodlands Sports Complex. A club near those has the clearest funding case.
How it works
- 01Send a plan and photosThe site, the surface and the date it must reopen.
- 02We check the groundLevels and where the water drains.
- 03Written quoteBuilt around your reopening date.
Sources
- Greater Cambridge playing pitch strategy (interim), June 2026
- Football Foundation, Peterborough Local Football Facility Plan, May 2025
- MHCLG, local authority Green Belt statistics 2024 to 2025, Oct 2025
- Wickham Parish Council, MUGA resurfacing and relining quotes, Feb 2025
- Sport England, Facility Cost Guidance Q4 2025, published Feb 2026
Which council deals with sites elsewhere in the county?
The district: Cambridge City, South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire or Fenland. Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire plan jointly as Greater Cambridge. We name the right authority on the quote.
Markings, MUGA or tennis court: where does the budget go furthest?
For a primary yard, markings first: they are the cheapest way to add structured play. A MUGA is the next step; Sport England benchmarks a fenced, lit 782 m2 court at £190,000 excluding VAT, though reusing an old hard court costs far less. For tennis, see our tennis courts page; for MUGAs, our MUGA page; and every band is on the costs page .
Who runs a Cambridgeshire job?
For a Cambridgeshire job we arrange a vetted local surfacing contractor, and we confirm who within 2 working days, or tell you if we can’t. Alex Winser stays your single contact from the first call to handover, and the written quote names who does the work before anything is booked.