Decision to fence off fields for school overturned

Werrington Fields has historically been shared by local people and the nearby secondary school

A decision to allow around a third of an open green space used by local people and a school to be fenced off has been scrapped.

Peterborough City Council has agreed that another debate should be held to help determine how much of the area known as Werrington Fields should be fenced off for use by the Ken Stimpson Academy.

Its decision-making cabinet heard from local people, representatives from the school and its own legal advisors before agreeing to put the issue in front of all councillors.

The cabinet also agreed that further negotiations would take place with the Four Cs Academy, which runs the school, and the Department for Education over how much of the land should be fenced off.

It had originally agreed that all of Area C on the council’s map of the fields could be fenced off for use by the school for sports.

The cabinet said this decision should be advertised locally regardless of it being rescinded so that any formal objections lodged against it could be considered in future.

Peterborough City Council originally said Area C could be fenced off

The cabinet’s decision, announced by council leader Dennis Jones, will be welcome news for the Werrington councillors who spoke at the authority’s cabinet meeting in support of a "compromise".

Ward councillor Sarah Hillier questioned why the school wanted eight football pitches worth of land to be fenced off, when previously it had appeared content with either two or four.

She also said the school’s assertion it must safeguard its pupils did not explain why the whole of Area C should be fenced off.

Seven Werrington residents, some of them members of the Save Werrington Fields campaign group, spoke at the cabinet meeting.

They said local people should be involved in negotiations over the field, not just the academy trust and the Department for Education.

Many also said the decision to fence part of the fields should go through the council’s planning processes.

'Risk' nothing will be resolved

Mary Cragg said referring the matter to full council would "only reinforce the inadequacy of the current situation and risks not resolving anything".

The matter has been debated by all councillors before without a long-term solution being reached.

Mike Sandeman, CEO of Four Cs, said the academy had never supported the possibility of fencing off a smaller parcel of land.

"Taking land off young people is not a compromise that Four Cs is willing to consider at this stage," he said. "It never was and never will be."

The school became an academy last year, while the row over the fields began in 2019 when fencing was first proposed.

Ken Stimpson Academy head teacher Damien Whales said staff and parents were unanimous in their support for fencing.

He said fencing a smaller parcel of land was a "non-starter" and that he "really cannot see any unfairness" in the proposal as the local community would still have access to other parts of the fields.

The full council will meet in November to discuss the matter.