OLYMPIC champions including Sir Matthew Pinsent, Sir Mo Farah and Alex Yee are among sports stars sharing concerns about the impact of proposed planning reforms on playing fields in England.

Former England footballer Jill Scott, president of the charity Fields in Trust, is spearheading the campaign amid concerns that playing fields and sports facilities will lose statutory protections if Sport England is no longer consulted before plans go ahead.

Fields in Trust works to protect parks and playing fields from development.

It said almost half of people in Britain live more than a 10-minute walk from a playing field.

Fellow Olympic champions Ed Clancy and Tessa Sanderson, Rugby World Cup winner Jason Leonard and the chief executives of several sporting bodies are among the signatories of an open letter.

The letter said playing fields are “irreplaceable” and weakening the protection “risks accelerating the loss of the very spaces that make grassroots sport and physical activity possible.”

It said: “This is about social justice. The people who need green space the most often have the least access. Without these protections, the health and well-being of communities will suffer.”