Charges for the city’s sports clubs for use of council-owned pitches and buildings will be reviewed under a new move by Salford City Council.
The changes could mean higher rents for some clubs, while others might get their rent waived altogether if they can show a strong community benefit.
Clubs could also be offered longer leases, making it easier for them to apply for outside grants to improve their grounds. No club has yet been told its rent will change.
The plans are part of a new Community Asset Transfer Policy, which went before Salford’s Cabinet last week, alongside a wider strategy covering the council’s full property portfolio, worth around £627 million. The policy has not yet been approved.
A 2024 review looked at 44 sporting arrangements across the city. Many were let at peppercorn, or nominal, rent. The review found inconsistent charging, clubs in financial difficulty and, in some cases, the council paying for upkeep on buildings that brought in almost no income.
The report does not name individual clubs but separate council land notices show the kind of arrangement it is looking at.
In 2024 the council began granting a 25-year lease over Stott Lane playing fields and pavilion to Salford Storm, a volunteer-run junior football club with around 400 players across 30 teams.
Around the same time it granted a similar 25-year lease over Lower Broughton playing fields to the Salford Schools Football Association.
It is not confirmed whether either lease was among the 44 concessions covered by the 2024 review, and neither club’s rent has been made public.
The pressure on grassroots facilities is not new. In March 2026, Salford City Council awarded £1m to build an all-weather pitch at Wharton Lane / Harriet Street playing fields for North Walkden FC, a junior club with more than 400 players that had struggled with poor pitch quality and high hire costs.
Under the new policy, maintenance responsibility could shift more towards the council in some cases, rather than clubs that cannot afford repairs. The council also plans to compare its rents with other Greater Manchester boroughs.
The council says requests for community use of its buildings already outstrip what it has available. Groups it cannot help directly will be referred to Salford’s Council for Voluntary Service.
If approved, the policy would be reviewed every six months, with a public register of agreements kept for the first time.
