Peterborough campaign group says Werrington Fields saga a case of ‘David and Goliath’

A campaign group says it is prepared to go to a judicial review if needed amid a long-running dispute between a secondary school and local residents over some shared playing fields in Peterborough.

Peterborough city councillors recently agreed to lease a section of Werrington Fields to the Ken Stimpson Academy, albeit a smaller section than the academy trust said it would accept, which has left the authority open to a possible legal challenge from the trust.

However, a campaign group of local residents has stated that they are also prepared to fight the battle in the courts if necessary.

A statement from the Save Werrington Fields group reads: “The latest decision is a positive step forward, but it’s been a case of David and Goliath. It’s only through the whole community coming together that we have been able to make such a stand for democracy and fairness.”

The Four C’s Academy Trust, which runs the school, said it would accept fencing off 77 per cent of the fields, which would see a strip of land around the fencing left for the public.

However, the amendment voted through by councillors on March 13 reduced this to 63.5 per cent, with the fence to be built in line with the school building.

The Save Werrington Fields group hopes to have a seat at the table in negotiations going forward.

Its statement added: “The next step is negotiation with the academy. We hope they will work with and not against the community and support a swift resolution to this matter.

“We are calling for community representation at these meetings, to ensure there is transparency and legal compliance in the resolution that is reached.

“There has been a case in the High Court this year over the fencing of community playing fields for school use, a battle that has raged over 15 years and cost hundreds of thousands. We do not wish to see this happen in Werrington, but we are prepared to go to judicial review if required.”

It is now up to the Four C’s Academy Trust to decide if it is willing to accept the compromise put forward by councillors.

While the trust has yet to issue a comment since the meeting, it is expected that the offer will be rejected.

Peterborough City Council has agreed to contribute no more than half the costs of installing a fence on the fields, which is likely to cost the authority around £40,000.

Following the council meeting on March 13, Labour council leader Dennis Jones, who voted against the amendment, said: “We now have to wait and see what [the trust’s] decision is. Whether they’ll accept it, or as we’ve heard before they won’t, but I can’t in all conscience potentially condemn another generation of Ken Stimpson pupils to not having any educational outside facility.”

The local campaign group argues that the school has plenty of outdoor facilities already, in addition to the fields, including tennis courts, basketball courts and astroturf pitches.

Ken Stimpson Academy has been approached for comment.