Campaigner told to pay £85,000 in green space battle

Stoke Lodge playing field in Bristol was the subject of a court fight earlier this year

A campaigner has been ordered to pay £85,000 in legal bills after losing a court battle over who gets to use a playing field.

Kathy Welham had been fighting for community access to a 23-acre green space used by Cotham School in Bristol.

In June, the High Court ruled that Stoke Lodge playing field – which is being leased to the school by Bristol City Council - did not have to be shared.

The council, which had been fighting the school alongside Ms Welham, has been ordered to pay legal bills of only £9,467. Both must pay by 28 July.

Ms Welham said her costs would be paid by herself and members of the community.

But she and the council are now braced for further costs as the combined payments cover 60% of the school's costs budget as set by the court.

Cotham School was granted a 125-year lease on the land in 2011 due to lack of space on its inner city site three miles away.

But the school became involved in a dispute with residents after it put up a 6ft-high (2m) fence around the field in 2019.

It said it was forced to fence the site for safeguarding purposes for PE lessons, and due to out-of-control dogs and dog fouling.

In 2023, Bristol City Council voted to give the site "town green" status, and told the school it must share the playing field with the community.

Last month, however, the move was revoked by a High Court judge.

Judge Paul Matthews also ruled Bristol City Council and Ms Welham were liable to pay Cotham School's court costs.

Ms Welham was denied permission to appeal.

Cotham School leased the site in 2011 and shared the land with locals until 2019

In a statement following the decision on legal bills, Cotham School said: "We welcome the recovery of public funds that were necessarily expended in protecting the school's playing field, which are required for our delivery of PE lessons."

Ms Welham said the Stoke Lodge community was in "pure shock" at the division of the legal bills.

In a statement, she said: "We are standing by our commitment and obligations, and I would like to emphasise that we hope that the money that is (unjustly, in my personal view) being required of me and my supporters, will be used to help mitigate any detriment to Cotham School pupils flowing from the effects of the school's repeated legal actions on its financial reserves.

"Finally, we as a community remain incandescently angry that our last accessible neighbourhood green space, that we love deeply, and which has been relied upon for many decades by the thousands of Bristol citizens who share it with Cotham School, is again in danger of not being protected as it should be.

"Our commitment to protect the land for future generations is undiminished."

'Chilling impact'

A spokesperson for We Love Stoke Lodge residents' group, which campaigned alongside Ms Welham, told the BBC they were worried the judgement could have negative consequences.

The spokesperson said: "Despite the fact that the council was the first defendant in the litigation and was robustly defending a decision that the council itself had made, the court has ordered significant costs against the community.

"We believe this allocation could have a chilling impact on other community groups seeking to defend important matters of principle."

The group said it would be seeking permission to appeal directly from the Court of Appeal, and said it has been given until mid-September to make an application.

Bristol City Council declined to comment but said it would be complying with the court order.