Southborough Sports Grounds Development Project

Southborough plans to create a full size 3G sports ground
within its existing playing fields

As a member of the Learning Partners Academy Trust, delivering this pitch is a key priority for the school, providing students with modern PE facilities and opening up access for the wider local sporting community after school, at weekends and during school holidays.

Our current fields regularly become waterlogged in winter, leading to cancelled PE lessons and sports fixtures. A 3G pitch will mean sport can go ahead whatever the weather.

The proposal would be delivered with the support of the Football Foundation, a key aim is to open up modern, accessible sports facilities for the whole community, including underrepresented groups such as women’s and girls’ football, and to support wellbeing through regular, reliable access to sport. It is not a commercial venture

Project Update: July 2026

Following the withdrawal of our previous planning application last spring (RBK ref 24/02369/FUL), we reviewed the feedback received and made substantial changes to the scheme. Thank you to everyone who came to our public consultation events on Saturday 21 March and Tuesday 24 March 2026. The consultation comments we received were supportive of the proposals. That feedback, together with input from Sport England, TfL, the Environment Agency and RBK officers, has shaped the revised scheme.

We have now formally submitted our revised planning application to the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK), and the public consultation is open.

Key changes in the revised scheme

Removal of built structures from within the river buffer zone to safeguard local ecology
Relocation of the non-turf cricket wicket and outfield further south, and reoriented to be safer to play on
Car parking reduced to 25 spaces (down from 68), positioned further from neighbouring boundaries, at the request of Transport for London and Kingston Council's traffic engineers
Cycle parking more than doubled, from 22 to 48 spaces, to encourage sustainable travel
Acoustic fencing and landscaped bunds introduced around the pitch, plus more sympathetic, lower-impact floodlighting
Additional soft landscaping, buffer planting and watercourse enhancements, delivering a Biodiversity Net Gain well above the statutory 10% requirement

Our March consultation events and online feedback form have now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part, the best way to have your say now is via the official RBK planning consultation below.

Have Your Say - RBK Public Consultation is Open

This is the Royal Borough of Kingston's official public consultation on our application. Planning applications are assessed in part on the feedback received from the local community, so we would encourage everyone with an interest in the project, students, parents, staff, local residents and sports clubs, to take this opportunity to share their views with RBK.

Application reference: 26/01183/FUL
Portal: publicaccess.kingston.gov.uk/online-applications
Please comment by: 6th August 2026

How to comment (takes about 5 minutes)

Click this link — or scan the QR code below — to go straight into the comment section of the planning application.
Check the application reference displayed matches 26/01183/FUL.
Enter your details e.g. title, name, address and contact details.
Add your stance and your comment in the box provided.
Submit your comment, you'll be sent a One-Time Password (OTP) by email, enter it on the final screen to complete your submission.

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Takes you straight to the RBK comment form for application 26/01183/FUL

Thank you for taking the time to support Southborough High School's sports facilities. If you have any questions about the proposals or the consultation process, please contact the school office.