Campaigners upset after council fences off fields

Protesters have expressed their "disappointed" with a council's decision to fence off land used by residents so that school pupils can take part in outdoor sports.

Peterborough City Council made the decision to limit access to Werrington Fields to safeguard pupils at Ken Stimpson Academy.

Campaigners disagreed with the council's decision to pay for the fencing and called for a compromise of a smaller area to be fenced off for school use, with the remainder left open to the public.

The council approved the proposal to fence off an area equivalent to about eight football pitches and said the school had agreed to pay for half of the fencing costs.

Nyree Ambarchian, one of the campaigners who opposed the fencing, spoke at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

She said the decision was not simple, the amount of space needed was not simple, and the cost of the fencing to the taxpayer would still be "massive" despite the school's contribution.

"This decision today has a 125-year legacy, it needs real care. It seeks to appropriate community open space and hand it to a private entity," she said.

"This will leave a scar on Peterborough, negatively impacting a vast majority of locals and decimating the character of a much-loved, beautiful spot in the city."

Paul Bristow, the former Conservative MP for Peterborough, also challenged the council in the meeting. He said: "[The field] is a much-loved shared space used by the school and public. I'm here today because I know how much people care abut these fields.

"The council has argued that its hands are tied... the council is free to act entirely as it chooses.

"The school has a tenancy of will, an informal arrangement that can be hanged or terminated at any point."

Sally Weald, a Werrington Neighbourhood Council representative, added that she had been involved in the fields discussion since the initial proposal was submitted to fence off two-and-a-half football pitches.

"I can't support recommendation for eight pitches," she said. "The school deemed two-and-a-half was efficient before it became an academy."

John Gregg, the executive director of children’s services for Peterborough City Council, said the council had to consider the proposal from two perspectives, one as landowner, but "more importantly as the local education authority".

He advised cabinet members planning permission was not required and will not be sought for the erection of the fence and a community use agreement would allow the community to use the area outside of school hours.

After cabinet approved the proposal, shouts of opposition from the campaigners could be heard.

"We are very disappointed about how the meeting progressed and we don't believe the cabinet has given enough consideration to the decision," Ms Weald said.

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