Werrington Fields campaigners voice 'disappointment' at time taken to arrange key meeting

Campaigners battling to keep Werrington Fields open to the public have voiced their disappointment at the time taken to arrange a key meeting.

The Save Werrington Fields group says it had been hoped a crucial meeting to try and resolve the six-year-old dispute would have taken place this month.

But now it seems likely that the earliest the issue will be discussed again by Peterborough City Council will be the middle of next month.

Jenna Maryniak, of the Save Werrington Fields organising group, said: “It is disappointing that this is dragging on for longer than it needs.

“We had hoped it would have been discussed again in September.

"I’m not sure why it needs to take so much time.”

The dispute centres on council plans to allow the Ken Stimpson Academy to fence off an area of Werrington Fields equivalent to the size of eight football pitches, known as Area C, for use as school playing fields.

The secondary school says the need to safeguard pupils means the land must be fenced off. However, there would also be a community use agreement that would allow local sports groups to use the facilities when not needed by the school.

But the campaigners say the land has been accessible to the public for about 40 years and access is important to people’s feelings of wellbeing and should not be fenced off.

They say there should be a compromise agreement to use an area of land the size of four football pitches.

A decision by the council’s ruling cabinet on July 6 to allow the Academy to fence off Area C was challenged by councillors and a scrutiny committee meeting on August 2 decided the matter should be referred back to cabinet and then immediately on to a meeting of all councillors.

Jenna said: “We are ever hopeful this will be resolved. It seems to have gone quiet at the moment.

“We are planning a legal action to challenge the council if it decided to allow an area of Werrington Fields to be fenced off without first securing planning permission.”