School with 'no green space' requests park lease

Phillimore Park in Sheffield is one of 17 green spaces in the city owned by a charitable trust

A Sheffield primary school has asked to lease part of a city park to use as playing fields.

Phillimore Park Community Primary School, in Darnall, wants "exclusive" occupation of part of the adjoining Phillimore Park, according to a Sheffield Council report.

The document, which will be discussed by a council sub-committee on Monday, said the school had a "limited amount of outdoor space and no access to green space within school grounds".

The park is one of 17 open spaces in Sheffield owned by a charitable trust, of which the city council is the sole trustee.

The report said that the charity’s objectives determined the parkland must be used “for the purposes of public recreation" which, therefore, required "reasonable public access".

It added: "The proposal to lease part of the land to the school would grant a legal title and exclusive occupation to the school.

"Therefore, the proposal would prevent the public from accessing part of the park during school hours, reserving access only to the school and specific community groups and would not meet the park’s charitable objectives."

One option to get around the problem could be to exchange land proposed to be leased to the school with other green space in the area, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Any suitable replacement land would need to be of at least equivalent size and of the same or better quality.

The council had discussed the idea of granting a licence to the school to use the space, which would avoid all legal complications, the report added.

However, it was said the school was worried about loose dogs, dog fouling and unrestricted access for members of the public during school use.

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