Protestors: fence battle isn't over
RESIDENTS have vowed to fight on in their battle to stop a school blocking access to playing fields.
Widewell Primary School in Southway was told last week that it did not need planning permission for a controversial fence which it has put up around its 4.7hectares of playing fields.
Residents appeared to have lost their a long-running battle to have the fence removed after councillors on the planning committee decided that the fence was no longer a planning issue, but Southway campaigner Brian Jones said afterwards: "It doesn't end here."
In 2002 Plymouth city councillors voted unanimously to declare fields next to Widewell Primary School surplus to educational needs.
Through an oversight that has yet to be explained by the council, the decision was never enacted and the fields remained a part of the school. They were fenced off in June 2008 when Widewell Primary became a trust school.
Last August the school was ordered by members of the city council to tear down the fence, but instead movedit back eight metres and asked the council's planning department to confirm that the new position meant planning permission was no longer required.
A fence more than a metre high would require planning permission if it was 'adjacent to a highway.'
Any fence over two metres tall requires planning permission.
Planning officers said they believed the Widewell fence no longer needed planning permission in its new position. At eight metres from the pavement on Lulworth Drive, they said, it was no longer considered 'adjacent' to the highway.
After a long argument about the meaning of the word 'adjacent', the planning committee has now decided the school can ask for a lawful development certificate, rather than seeking planning permission.
Kevin Park, for the school, told councillors it had a duty to protect its 230 pupils. "Without the fence the fields would be out of bounds to our pupils," he said.
The school had received more than 300 letters of support and the objectors were 'a small minority', he insisted.
Mr Park denied there was any public right of way over the field. Mr Jones agreed later there was no official right of way but said there had been uninterrupted use for more than 40 years, and residents were asking for it to be put on the map.
"We've heard that the case has been brought up the priority list, and we hope it will be heard soon," he said. "We're disappointed that the school isn't interested in coming to some compromise solution to allow them to protect children and to allow some community use."
47 Comments
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by Brainyblonde, Plymouth
Tuesday, February 23 2010, 10:11AM
“Where is your journalistic integrity Herald?? Sadly lacking by the looks of things!!
For the last 18 months you have just printed the stories fed to you by the WRA and certain councillors without checking the veracity if anything they have said (ie; right of way across the school field; field in public ownership etc etc I could go on,but you know the lies that you have printed.......); all of which have now been proved to be false.
Then to compound this, you have now started to remove completely reasonable comments about people - purley because they may have a different handshake to the rest of us! How can you justify doing this, when for a very long time you permitted derogatory and downright slanderous comments about the Headteacher and Governors of Widewell School to be published as comments to your articles?
Double standards? It certainly looks like it!
About time you remembered that a newspaper has a duty to inform - when I want stories, I'll go the library or Waterstones.”
by Standards, Press Complaint Commission
Monday, February 22 2010, 8:44AM
“Herald, you are being watched. Behave yourselves and uphold the standards we expect of a British newspaper. You are acting like the puppet of a tin pot dictatorship..”
by Widewell Resident, widewell
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:33PM
“Freedom of speech?Not on here.”
by Editor of the Empire, The Death Star
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:22PM
“Yet again a non-abusive comment removed!
The Herald is a very sinister organisation. Or powers that be are manipulating the press. Equally sinister.
I think a complaint to the Press Complaints Committee is in order to investigate the gagging of indivudual comments that don't agree with the Herald's viewpoint. As the only newspaper in Plymouth this is doubly concerning.
Do we really live in a society controlled to such an extent.
Luckily I copy and keep all my commnts for just such a situation.
Got the message Herald?”
by Hannibal, at the Gate of Rome
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:18PM
“Yet again a non-abusive comment removed!
The Herald is a very sinister organisation. Or powers that be are manipulating the press. Equally sinister.
I think a complaint to the Press Complaints Committee is in order to investigate the gagging of indivudual comments that don't agree with the Herald's viewpoint. As the only newspaper in Plymouth this is doubly concerning.
Do we really live in a society controlled to such an extent.
Luckily I copy and keep all my commnts for just such a situation.”
by Spartacus, Roman Empire
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:17PM
“You really ought to grow up Herald and stop letting people pull your strings”
by B Roberts, widewell
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:13PM
“Yet again a non-abusive comment removed!
The Herald is a very sinister organisation. Or powers that be are manipulating the press. Equally sinister.
I think a complaint to the Press Complaints Committee is in order to investigate the gagging of indivudual comments that don't agree with the Herald's viewpoint. As the only newspaper in Plymouth this is doubly concerning.
Do we really live in a society controlled to such an extent.
Luckily I copy and keep all my commnts for just such a situation.”
by New Widewell Order, widewell
Sunday, February 21 2010, 8:12PM
“Yet again a non-abusive comment removed!
The Herald is a very sinister organisation. Or powers that be are manipulating the press. Equally sinister.
I think a complaint to the Press Complaints Committee is in order to investigate the gagging of indivudual comments that don't agree with the Herald's viewpoint. As the only newspaper in Plymouth this is doubly concerning.
Do we really live in a society controlled to such an extent.
Luckily I copy and keep all my commnts for just such a situation.”
by jaycee 350, plymouth
Saturday, February 20 2010, 11:23AM
“I too find it a bit odd that all the comments on the "sorry saga" letter have been removed?
This whole episode is now done and dusted,it's the schools land.It seems that the Herald don't want anybody to disagree with the Widewell Rant Association or any councillor. Shame on you!!”
by Spartacus, Widewell
Friday, February 19 2010, 9:16PM
“Why on earth have all the comments responding to B Roberts' letter been removed and the site locked? Could it be the councillor wrote in and can't take criticism?
Depends how you shake hands.
If you can't take it, don't shout aloud.
There was nothing derrogatory or even slightly rude. It's just all been blocked. Fredom of speech? Yeah, right!”