Campaigners are celebrating after Bristol city councillors unanimously agreed that four walking routes across Stoke Lodge playing fields should be registered as public footpaths.
The public rights of way and greens committee made the decision at an extraordinary meeting on November 27.
A total of 99 public statements of support were submitted to the meeting, with just one against, from Cotham School, which leases the site from the council for games lessons, although it is not currently using it because of issues over public access and safeguarding.
A report by independent consultant Robin Carr said there had been 155 claims from people saying they had used the four paths as far back as 1946 and that this arguably met the criteria for establishing formal public rights of way.
But it also said there was evidence that the council was merely giving permission for people to walk on the fields, which meant the use would not be ‘as of right’.
The report said it could be argued that the fields being used by various schools over many years ‘implies’ that they are not accessible to the public.
However, the committee unanimously agreed there was “overwhelming” evidence that public rights of way existed, having been accrued between the 1940s and the 1980s.
Cotham School is going to the High Court this month to try to have the site’s status as a village green overturned.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service