School pitch approved despite residents' concerns

The headteacher said the approval would mean at least two quality hours of PE for each child per week

Plans for a floodlit multi-use sports pitch at a Surrey primary school have been approved by the local council.

The application was for the creation of a multi-use games area (MUGA) on the site of the existing sports field at Worplesdon Primary School on the Fairlands estate in Guildford.

Local residents had raised concerns about the impact of the structure on the existing bat population and the impact of noise and light on their homes after school hours.

Guildford Borough Council's planning committee unanimously backed the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday evening.

Kareen O'Brien, headteacher, told BBC Radio Surrey: "I am absolutely thrilled, this has been in the making for 18 months now.

"It's going to ensure that we have two hours of high-quality PE per child per week minimum, it means they can run a mile a day, they can play across year groups and play with more equipment at playtimes as well as lots of extra-curricular activity too."

Speaking at the planning committee hearing, resident Matthew Giles said residents' "ongoing concern is that the school will continue to look for ways to expand hours of use" and implored the committee to "strenuously emphasise conditions of use" to protect neighbours and wildlife.

Proposed operating hours are 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday during school terms, 09:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays and no use on Sundays.

An architect's proposal for the appearance of the floodlit multi-use games area at Worplesdon Primary School

Committee members said they had "empathy" with residents concerned about noise and light issues and "understood their concerns" but felt these would be mitigated by the "stringent" conditions of use.

Fundraising is now set to begin for the project.