Last updated October 2026
Lancashire primary yards, games courts and multi-use areas each need their own markings layout, and any planning question goes to one of fourteen councils. We draw and price a layout from your site plan; for a sense of scale, one council was quoted £600 per sport to reline a games court in 2025. If the tarmac underneath is failing, fix that first. Designs and timings are on our playground markings page, and every national price band is on the costs page .
Which council will look at our plans?
For markings on an existing yard, usually none, but ask your district if you are unsure. For a new court, pitch or floodlights, the planning authority is your district council: Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire or Wyre. Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool are separate unitary councils. Chorley, Preston and South Ribble submitted a joint Central Lancashire Local Plan in June 2025, so a club there should read its sport and open space policies.
How much of Lancashire is Green Belt?
About 24% of the land in the twelve county districts, some 69,680 hectares in 2024 to 2025. West Lancashire has the most, with Green Belt covering 90% of the district, followed by Chorley at 14,550 hectares, and even Blackpool has a little. On a Green Belt field, national policy accepts outdoor sport facilities that keep the land open, so a flat court is easier to justify than a fenced, floodlit one. Our planning guide explains how to make the case.
Is there a shortage of pitches in Central Lancashire?
Yes, according to the Central Lancashire Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy of March 2026. It finds a clear shortfall of 3G pitches for football training, grass football shortfalls in Chorley, Preston and South Ribble (in Chorley about 18 match sessions a week now, rising to about 24.5 with future demand), and large senior cricket shortfalls in Preston and South Ribble. A club or school offering community access in those areas is answering a documented need, which helps any grant application. See artificial pitches.
Has the Football Foundation funded pitches here recently?
Yes. In June 2025 Rossendale Borough Council announced a grant of just under £1 million from the Football Foundation for a 3G pitch at the Adrenaline Centre. That is the scale of support a well-placed community project can attract in the county.
Can a district’s levy pay for sport?
It can. West Lancashire Borough Council is bidding for about £10.5 million of strategic Community Infrastructure Levy towards new leisure facilities, with a report due in December 2026. Separately, parish councils keep 15% of levy from development in their area, or 25% with a neighbourhood plan. A parish court project should check what is held locally.
Our school wants a MUGA rather than just lines. What does that cost?
Sport England benchmarks a fenced and floodlit macadam MUGA of 782 m2 at £190,000 excluding VAT, and smaller or unlit courts cost far less. A school with an old tarmac court can often reuse the base. Compare options on our MUGA page.
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
- Lancashire County Council, Green Belt land, 2024-25 data
- Central Lancashire Local Plan, latest news, read Oct 2026
- Central Lancashire playing pitch and outdoor sport strategy, Mar 2026
- Rossendale Borough Council, 3G pitch grant, June 2025
- West Lancashire Borough Council, leisure investment, July 2026
- LTA, court surfaces guidance, read Oct 2026
- Wickham Parish Council, MUGA resurfacing and relining quotes, Feb 2025
And tennis courts?
On the LTA’s guidance, a porous macadam tennis court needs repainting about every five years; a cracked or uneven surface needs resurfacing instead. Our tennis courts page sets out the costs.
We are an academy trust with schools in several districts. Can one quote cover them?
Yes. A trust with primaries in, say, Preston, Chorley and Burnley can have every yard surveyed in one round, with each school priced on its own line and a combined total. Because the planning authority changes from district to district, any school adding a fenced court or lights has its own council named on the quote. Where a site sits in Green Belt, as many in West Lancashire and Chorley do, we flag it so the trust can plan the paperwork before committing to that school’s scheme.
Who runs a Lancashire job?
We arrange a vetted local surfacing contractor for Lancashire jobs. 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.