Playces to launch at the National Play Conference
Playces, the new national digital platform designed to support evidence-led planning for play provision, will be formally launched at the National Play Conference on Friday 9 October 2026.
The launch will be led by Dr Michael Martin, Lecturer in Urban Design and Planning, and Dr Paul Brindley, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, both from the University of Sheffield.
Over the past 18 months, Michael and Paul have worked closely with Play England to build the national evidence base around inequalities in access to play space across England.
Their work has helped demonstrate the significant differences in children’s access to playgrounds and play opportunities depending on where they live, strengthening the case for better national data, more systematic planning and targeted investment.
From evidence to national policy
That evidence has played an important role in Play England’s wider work with Government and policymakers.
Earlier this year, Michael and Paul led Play England’s technical response to consultations on the National Planning Policy Framework and associated design and placemaking guidance, bringing together evidence on formal and informal play space with expertise in planning, urban design and spatial analysis.
Their work helped strengthen the case for play to be recognised within national planning policy, including the importance of both formal and informal play spaces in the design of communities.
The evidence developed by the University of Sheffield has also helped inform the methodology and targeting of the Government’s £18 million Playground Fund, which is supporting investment in play provision in areas of greatest need.
Launching Playces
At the heart of this work is Playces, developed through collaboration between the University of Sheffield, Play England and Passport365.
Playces is designed to provide a national spatial evidence platform for play, helping local authorities, planners, policymakers and others understand where play provision exists, where inequalities remain and where future investment may have the greatest impact.
The platform brings together national data on playground provision with wider spatial information to support a more systematic approach to planning for play and to strengthen the evidence base for play sufficiency.
At the National Play Conference, Michael and Paul will formally launch Playces and demonstrate how better evidence can help move England beyond isolated provision towards an approach in which children’s opportunities to play are understood, planned for, protected and improved across whole communities.
They will be joined at the Conference by Gemma Hyde, Projects & Policy Manager at the Town & Country Planning Association and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Together, these contributions will explore the relationship between national policy, planning, evidence and investment, and how those elements can work together to create more play-friendly communities.
The wider discussion will consider the role of planning policy, local authorities, national investment and spatial evidence in ensuring that play is treated not as an isolated amenity, but as essential infrastructure for childhood.
Further speakers and contributions will be announced the coming days.
Join us in Warwick
The National Play Conference takes place on Friday 9 October 2026 at the University of Warwick.
If you work in play, planning, local government, design, construction, education, health, policy, research or community development, this is an opportunity to be part of the national conversation about what comes next.
#ItAllStartsWithPlay #NationalPlayConference #CreatingTheConditionsForPlay