Stand-off at Stoke Lodge

The sight of a digger arriving on the Stoke Lodge playing fields sparked a stand-off between contractors and a north Bristol community on Monday.

People turned out to protest the erection of a fence as things came to a head in a seven-year fight between Cotham School and local residents over access to the land, located just off Shirehampton Road.

Police were called to the scene as campaigners and contractors engaged in heated exchanges.

Police were at the site on Monday

It was in May 2018 that the High Court overturned a decision by councillors to grant the site protected Town & Village Green (TVG) status, saying it was unlawful.

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Read more: ‘Unlawful’ decision on Stoke Lodge playing field overturned

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As far as Cotham School – which has a 125-year-lease to use the grounds – was concerned, this settled the matter and meant it could finally go ahead with plans to erect a high fence around the playing fields.

The school says this measure is vital to ensure the safety of students and will enable them to return to the grounds they have not been able to use since 2014.

But residents of homes around Stoke Lodge have hit back, arguing that the fields have been used by the wider community for decades and that the installation of a fence would effectively cut them off from the heart of the community.

A petition calling on Bristol City Council to consider alternatives to fencing has attracted more than 3,700 signatures and is due to be debated by the full council in March.

Late last week, a second application to grant the grounds TVG status was also lodged.

With neither side showing any sign of backing down, the fight is being played out in acrimonious social media spats. MPs and councillors have waded into the debate that has also seen the school’s signs vandalised at the site and accusations of intimidation from both parties.

Last week during a Facebook Live Q&A, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees called for the school and community to meet and try to find a resolution.

But with the new TVG application now in process and contractors set to begin work on the site, the situation only looks set to escalate.

“There has been a lack of acceptance of what’s gone before,” Nathan Allen, facilities manager for Cotham School, told Bristol24/7.

“We got the result from the judicial review, so erected signs and said we would put a fence up and then the vandalism started.”

Nathan Allen and Cotham School business manager Allison Crossland

He says things came to a head in 2014, when problems of loose dogs interrupting PE lessons increased, and teachers were having to pick up dog poo on a regular basis before they could allow students on to the fields.

The school has been forced to fork out more than £100,000 in legal fees and has had to keep paying for maintenance of the fields over the years it has been unable to use them.

“The risk is real,” Nathan said. “We have a big risk to staff and students. Teachers should not have to go down there and remove dog faeces before a lesson can take place.

“We have had vehicles and motorbikes on the site. The fence is a control measure that we believe is the most cost effective and simple measure for the site.”

Stoke Lodge playing fields are located just off Shirehampton Road

The school says it can erect a fence around the perimeter of the council-owned playing fields under permitted development rights and Nathan confirms that the school has every intention of going ahead with plans to do so to enable students to return to the site.

He stressed that members of the public would still be able to use the fields and the gate would be unlocked when the school is not on site – although dogs would be banned within the fenced area.

Nathan added: “It’s not unusual for a school to have playing fields some distance from the school site. There is a really bad misconception that the only way a playing field is part of the school is if it’s connected to the school.”

The We Love Stoke Lodge campaign group argues that the site has also been used and enjoyed by the wider community for generations and has put forward a number of suggestions for continued shared use, without the need for a fence.

“A high fence poses a personal security nightmare for lone female joggers who use the site, for example,” said Helen Powell, a local resident and campaigner.

She argues that the narrow space left around the edge of the two-metre-high fence won’t be safe for the thousands in the community who rely on it and insists there are alternatives that would work for everyone.

“The school decided to leave the site in 2014 and we keep making suggestions for how you could improve safety without a fence,” said Helen.

“You could fill access points with really spiky hedges, you could have disabled access gates and signs saying dogs must be on a lead.

“We understand the safeguarding issue. We’d love to see it used for sport. People have such happy memories of that over the years. It’s been shared by both for decades.”

Emma Burgess and Helen Powell say the site should be developed as a shared space for all

Emma Burgess, who has lodged the latest TVG application, added: “It’s not private land, it’s public open space.

“This place could be so fantastic. There are local primary schools with a lack of open space. There are community groups.

“There are so many grants available to make it such a fantastic open shared space. There is so much support among the wider community, but at the moment, that’s going into fighting.”

We Love Stoke Lodge campaigners gathered at the site in 2018

The We Love Stoke Lodge group says the school and its supporters have refused to engage in meetings about the site.

But a counter campaign group called Justice for Cotham School argues that opponents to the fence are a cohort of wealthy residents concerned about house prices. It has launched a petition that so far has almost 950 signatures.

Penny Beeston, a Cotham School parent and Justice for Cotham School campaigner, said: “A small entitled group of a few dozen dog walkers are trying to impose their habits of free access to walk and toilet their dogs all across Stoke Lodge over the rights of access to safe, clean sports fields for thousands of current and future state school children and other sports clubs.

“We are fighting not just for our own children, but for the children across Bristol who don’t have a voice, not just currently at the school but the many generations to come after we’ve all long gone.

“These include children who have access to very little green space and certainly can’t afford sport clubs outside of school.”

But Emma argues the implication that We Love Stoke Lodge campaigners are driven by money is hugely upsetting to the community, which she says includes many living in social housing,

She says there is a “massive olive branch out there” to the school and its campaigners to come and talk through a solution.

Darren Jones talking to We Love Stoke Lodge campaigners

Darren Jones, the MP for Bristol North West, has hosted meetings in a bid to find a resolution to the ongoing dispute.

“My only position on this issue has always been that both parties need to talk and try and find a solution that works,” he told Bristol24/7.

“I chaired two meetings last year to try and mediate this outcome, but Cotham School took the decision to not further engage through an independent process.

“Cotham School is right to take steps to safeguard their pupils and they have a legal right to use the land as tenants. But residents have legitimate historic rights to use the space as a local amenity too.

“I continue to support my constituent’s right to be heard. I’m as disappointed as anyone about the amount of public and personal funds that have been spent on this issue.

“Unfortunately, if Cotham School continues with its plans without any willingness to compromise (or even talk) then this dispute will rumble on. I’m unable to stop that, but I will keep calling for both sides to meet.”

Thangam Debbonaire has voiced her support for Cotham School

Meanwhile, MP for Bristol West Thangam Debbonaire, has firmly thrown her support behind the school, located within her constituency.

She said: “Cotham School has been fighting for the last eight years to put a fence around their playing fields at Stoke Lodge. The inner-city school has limited grounds. To be able to play sports, the students need playing fields which are safe and seen to be safe.

“Unfortunately, some local residents have consistently opposed the school’s plans to put up a mesh fence.

“Playing fields are very important for Cotham’s pupils, many of them from deprived areas of the city with few green spaces.

“I believe objections to the fence are excessive and unreasonable. The school has always maintained that local residents will be able to continue to use the playing fields when they are not being used by the school. And everyone will still be able to use the perimeter area at any time.

“I wholeheartedly support Cotham School in building a fence, which upholds the school’s responsibility to protect students. This dispute has dragged on too long.”

Councillors remain divided on the matter, but are united in calling for both sides to reach a resolution.

Tom Brook, a Labour co-op councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down, said: “I’ve spoken to a number of parents who are concerned about the impact that this needless dispute is having on their children’s education.

“The school’s students need their playing fields to be safe from interruption, malicious or otherwise, and free of dog mess or other undesirable items that cause a health hazard.”

He expressed disappointment at the behaviour of some “local lobbyists during this saga, at the abuse and intimidation that has been directed against the school’s staff, and at the vandalism that has occurred”.

Cotham School’s signs have been replaced after vandalism

Conservative councillors Mark Weston (Henbury & Brentry), John Goulandris (Stoke Bishop) and Peter Abraham (Stoke Bishop) said in a joint statement: “From the outset, we wish to make clear that it is our desire for conciliation to take place here rather than further confrontation.

“It is our fervent hope that a mutually acceptable solution can reached which will enable the headteacher and school governors to feel comfortable about using these fields fully for their educational purpose, whilst retaining open public recreational access.”

A fence on the playing fields is due to be erected on Tuesday, with local campaigners pledging to do everything in their power to prevent it from being built.

Read more: Call for resignations in wake of High Court ruling over Stoke Lodge playing fields