Peterborough council leader says he still hopes smaller section of Werrington Fields can be fenced off for school use

A “compromise” on Werrington Fields is “exactly what the council has been fighting for”, its leader has said.

Cllr Mohammed Farooq (Peterborough First, Hargate and Hempsted) said Peterborough City Council (PCC) still hopes a smaller section of the fields can be fenced off for use by the Ken Stimpson Academy while leaving the rest to the public.

It had been preparing a planning application for a fence enclosing most of the fields, he said, but put that on hold earlier this week to allow Peterborough MP Paul Bristow and Labour parliamentary candidate Andrew Pakes “one final chance” to hold talks with the Department for Education (DfE) and reach a compromise.

The Secretary of State had refused PCC’s request for a change of use of the fields from school playing fields to public use, which it had hoped would mean it could fence off a smaller portion for them.

It took this to mean that all of the fields would have to be fenced off so that Ken Stimpson students can use them.

But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he’s been “told by the Department [of Education] that the council can provide for some of that land to be fenced and that the department would be comfortable with that, provided that the overall site remains educational land”.

His comments came after Mr Bristow raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions.

“I particularly want a compromise,” Cllr Farooq told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), adding that DfE’s decision was the only “stumbling block”.

Cllr John Fox (Peterborough First, Werrington) has also said a “compromise is needed”.

“We’ve never, ever been against the fence,” he told the LDRS. “What we are against is the decision that the higher authorities want to make of fencing the whole field off.”

Cllr Fox added that even the school doesn’t want the “phenomenally” sized fields entirely fenced off, but that it needs a private place for sports.

“For four years, students haven’t been able to go out and play football or rugby because there’s not a fenced off area,” he said. “We can’t wait. Safeguarding is a priority.”

The school has previously shared the fields with the public, but since 2019 PCC has tried to secure some of the fields for school use only during school time.

A Government spokesperson said: “Peterborough City Council’s application to take away playing field land from the school was rejected to ensure children at the school have access to the open space they deserve.

"We are clear that any decision to fence off parts, or none of, the playing fields is entirely a matter for then local authority.”