Cotham School was able to bring back some games lessons to Stoke Lodge last month – but the battle over the playing fields is nowhere near an end.
Pupils returned to the site, which the school leases from Bristol City Council, on Friday January 16, for the first time in several years. This was after the school had locked all the gates, saying it was suspending “all permissive public access” following alleged damage to the re-erected fence and threatening behaviour towards staff by local residents.
The We Love Stoke Lodge group, which has campaigned for continued public access to the 23-acre site, accused the school of “behaving in a hostile and aggressive manner”.
The two sides have been in conflict since the school, which does not have playing fields on its Cotham site, first installed a fence in the interests of safeguarding pupils. This had to be removed when the Stoke Lodge fields were declared a village green but was put back up last autumn after the High Court ruled against that decision.
The school brought in mobile security cameras and applied to the council for eight permanent cameras, but that request has been refused.
The war of words is likely to continue until at least October, when a public inquiry will look into a council decision to confirm four public rights of way across the playing fields.
The school said: “The safety of our students and staff and the security of our playing fields at Stoke Lodge are Cotham School’s top priorities. In response to disruption by adult individuals seeking to prevent our lawful use of the site, the school has been left with no choice but to lock the gates and suspend all permissive public access. This suspension will remain in place until the school can be confident that the public and campaign groups will respect the school’s use of the fields and maintain the security of the fencing.”
“Until now, Cotham School has always provided the public with access to the fields when not in use by the school, which is typically every afternoon and at weekends. Dogs have not been permitted on the fields.
“The public is reminded that the claimed Public Rights of Way over the Stoke Lodge playing fields have no legal standing at this time. These rights are only claimed and are not formally registered in law. The school will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our use of our site.”
In response, WLSL said: “We are disappointed, yet again, that Cotham School is behaving in such a hostile and aggressive manner.
“The whole episode demonstrates the problems that the school has failed to plan for, when erecting a fence all around the perimeter in full knowledge that four public rights of way lie within the fenced area.
“The school only uses the field for PE lessons of 45 minutes, once or twice a day. It could easily have resolved the whole situation by fencing a smaller area of the field.
“The school keeps repeating that the public rights of way have no current status, but that is not correct. The school’s failure to respect the law impacts young children, who cannot now walk a safe route to Stoke Bishop School across the field, elderly people who could manage a short cut across the field but cannot walk a longer route, and thousands of others including those with mobility and other issues.
“It shows an absolute lack of good faith.”