Campaigners call 'foul' after start time change to key Peterborough City Council meeting to watch England World Cup clash
Campaigners in Peterborough who want goalposts for their children have called ‘foul’ after the start time of a key council meeting was changed to avoid a clash with an England World Cup match.
Residents of the campaign group Forgotten Fields say many of them will not now be able to get to the meeting of Peterborough City Council on July 1 after the start time was changed from 6pm to 3pm.
The Mayor of Peterborough Councillor Chris Harper said the change was to ensure councillors officers and the public could get away on time to watch England take on Cape Verde in their first knockout game in the tournament.
But the campaigners from Roman Fields, near Newborough Road, say they wanted to hear a response from the council to their demands for more community facilities and services but now many of them will not be able to get to the meeting because of other commitments.
Radek Juszczynski, founder of Forgotten Fields, which represents 2,000 people who are fighting for a range of community facilities, from shops to park benches and playing fields for youngsters to play football and ride their bikes, said: “Moving the meeting to 3pm excludes most working parents and parents on the school run.
"The Mayor is confident people want to get home for the game.
"We’re confident people want a bench for their elderly parents and a goalpost for their kids.”
Forgotten Fields has submitted questions to the council about why the area has had to do without public facilities that are common in other areas for more than a decade.
They say the area only has one playground, two bus stops and one mailbox.
Radek said: “The decision is disappointing, but revealing.
"The decision tells 351 parents in Roman Fields that their 10-year wait for a safe place for their kids to play is less urgent than a football match on TV.
"The council tells us to keep kids off the streets.
"Then it moves the one meeting where we can ask for an alternative... because of what’s on TV.
But he added: “We’ll still be there at 3pm.
"We hope the council will be too.”
A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “We understand the annoyance felt by this group about the change of time.
"However, given the interest in the World Cup match, if England are to play at this time, it was felt in the best interests of the majority to amend the time.”