Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Peterborough council doesn't have to fence off entirety of Werrington Fields

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has weighed in on the debate over Werrington Fields, saying that a smaller portion can be fenced off rather than the entirety.

Mr Sunak said he’s “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”.

Last month, Peterborough City Council (PCC) said it intended to fence off all of the fields for use by Ken Stimpson Academy after it was refused permission by the Secretary of State for Education to change the use of some of them to public land.

The council said it had hoped this would mean it could fence off a smaller portion of the fields for use by the school, while leaving the rest for residents’ use.

After the refusal, PCC said it would submit a planning application to fence off all of the fields, but with an attached community use agreement that would mean residents could still access them outside school hours.

It has, however, since said it will hold off on this planning application while talks are held with the government over a compromise.

Peterborough’s Conservative MP Paul Bristow raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions, asking Mr Sunak if he would “make it clear, right here, right now” that the decision over whether to fence off the fields is “entirely a matter for the local authority” and not mandated by the government.

Mr Sunak agreed with this assertion and commended Mr Bristow for his campaign to “save” the fields.

Debate over Werrington Fields has waged on since 2019, when PCC first proposed fencing off the fields over safeguarding concerns for pupils at Ken Stimpson Academy.

Before that, the fields were shared by locals and the school.