Council's decision to fence fields will be reviewed

Residents and campaigners gathered around the town hall to protest ahead of the cabinet meeting on 16 July

A council's decision to fence off parts of a school playing field used by residents will be reviewed.

Last week Peterborough City Council decided to limit public access to Werrington Fields to safeguard pupils at Ken Stimpson Academy, a move that some residents have described as a “greedy land grab”.

Councillors John Fox, Sarah Hillier and Christian Hogg made a call-in request to review the decision and Neil McArthur, the council's monitoring officer, has decided it is valid.

The decision will now be discussed at a joint meeting between the children and education scrutiny committee and the growth, resources and communities scrutiny committee on 2 August.

The decision to fence off the field in Werrington was made at the cabinet meeting on 16 July

A call-in is an element of the scrutiny function, which relates to the right of members to call-in for examination an executive decision that has been made but not yet implemented.

The debate around whether to fence off Werrington Fields has been ongoing for five years. In 2019 the council first proposed to section off part of the field following "incidents of anti-social and threatening behaviour”.

The scrutiny committee will consider the call-in request and the reasons for it. It may decide to take no further action, in which case the decision stands.

It can refer the decision back to authority's cabinet for reconsideration or, if it considers that the decision is outside the council’s budget and policy framework, it may refer the matter to the council.