Fields fence Councillors’ plea for compromise in years-long row

A HIGH school can put a controversial fence back up on playing fields without applying for planning permission.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

But councillors have made an exasperated plea for both sides of the fence row to try to get along, and called for Bristol City Council to appoint impartial mediators.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of council tax payer money have been spent on external legal fees in the years-long row over whether there should be a fence around Stoke Lodge playing fields. The fields were used by Cotham School but also by the local community who live nearby.

Earlier this year a High Court judge ruled that the school should be allowed to put a fence back up. Then campaigners urged the council to issue an ‘Article Four Direction, which would mean the school needed to apply for planning permission for a replacement fence.

But councillors on the economy and skills policy committee said this would be too expensive and take too much time, on Monday, September 22. Their decision removes a potential obstacle to Cotham School putting the fence back up - to the disappointment of local campaigners.