Boundary fence to improve Stannington school safety

The new fence would be similar to the one pictured which already surrounds part of the school

A school in Sheffield want to build a new boundary fence to improve safety for pupils.

Nook Lane Junior School, in Stannington, has applied to erect a 7ft 8in (2.4m) high green mesh fence around the school perimeter.

Its planning application states the fence would reduce the risk of dog fouling, fly-tipping and pupils being at risk from unauthorised visitors.

There have been 15 objections to the application.

A statement to the council by the school's contractor MAC Construction Consultants said the application would increase "safeguarding provision" which had in recent years been breached for "dog walking, fly-tipping and recreational activities".

It said during the pandemic several parts of the established school boundary had been damaged to allow illegal access, which had led to increased "security concerns and maintenance issues".

'Teaching disruption'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the statement said the school has logged more than 30 issues related to the poor state of the boundary fence since the pandemic.

It said this resulted in "disruption to teaching and learning" and to school events.

"As the teachers are unable to manage and monitor an unsecure site, leading to this area being closed off to pupils whilst this issue is addressed."

A report to the Sheffield City Council's planning committee said one letter has been received in support of the plan and 15 raised objections.

Those include concerns over the loss of view, overbearing and prominence of the fencing, loss of privacy and boundary maintenance issues, plus concerns over access to a culvert during any flooding.

The report said he fence would not "over-dominate the street scene" or the outlook of neighbouring homes and that similar fencing is already in place around part of the school.

The application will be considered on 11 January.