Peter Abraham calls for Clare Campion-Smith to resign over playing field plans
A CITY council cabinet member has been called on to resign over her handling of the possible development of playing fields in Bristol.
Conservative group deputy leader Peter Abraham has launched a bitter attack on Liberal Democrat executive member for children and young people, Clare Campion-Smith, following a public outcry over a scheme tabled for Stoke Lodge playing fields in Stoke Bishop.
-
The architect's plans which have come to light detailing proposals for the Stoke Lodge playing fields in Stoke Bishop
He has called for Mrs Campion-Smith to step down over her handling of proposals for the playing fields, which have been accessed by the public and local schools for decades.
Last month a council briefing paper, prepared in April, revealed plans to fence off the area for use by Cotham School.
It stated there had been a £600,000 grant from sports funding quango Sport England to improve the football pitches on the site, made on the condition the council spent £1million fencing off the area.
This week architect's plans have come to light detailing far more dramatic proposals for the area.
The drawings, posted on the website of Biddulph Architects Ltd from Henleaze, include a new changing pavilion, coach park, athletics track, artificial pitch and flood lights, installed at a cost of £1.6million inside "secure perimeter fencing".
Sport England have since confirmed to the Post they have not made any grant in relation to the area and the council now says the money is available from sports charity the Football Foundation.
On July 7, Mrs Campion-Smith sent an email to a concerned resident saying: "I know what the aspirations are for community use of the fields. This is why we've held back on carrying out any plans which officers proposed for fencing the fields until there was a clearer picture and the community had been consulted.
"There would be no question of all-weather pitches – it is a conservation area."
It is this latter statement which has irked Mr Abraham, a former Lord Mayor who represents Stoke Bishop on the council.
He told the Post: "She should resign as I don't think she is up to the job. She wrote to me last week on this and said they didn't send anything to me as it was sent to the Neighbourhood Partnership. But we, as councillors, should have been informed."
Mr Abraham said the area's status as a conservation area would not be a bar to development. He added: "The public believe this is going to be a Mark II of the Coombe Dingle sport complex (run by Bristol University). There are all these rumours about and we need someone to come out and tell us what is really going on."
Mrs Campion-Smith, who took up her cabinet role in May, last night released a statement denying any "secret plan" for Stoke Lodge.
"The architect's plans referred to are from a very early investigation for Cotham School (in 2008) on their vision for the site and have no status for further development," she said.
"The council is at the very early stages of looking into the feasibility of carrying out improvement works. We plan to work on proposals for public consultation and no decision on the project has yet been made."
Cotham school has a lease of the land from the council, which is managed on their behalf by Bristol University.
A public consultation meeting organised by the new Neighbourhood Partnership is advertised for 6.30pm on August 25 at St Mary Magdalene Church, Mariners Drive. Some residents claim the unelected partnership is "undemocratic" and they have organised an earlier protest meeting at 7.30pm on July 28 at the church.
Conservative MP for Bristol North West Charlotte Leslie, who also opposes the plans, told the Post: "I am already holding the council to account over lack of transparency over plans to rebuild Elmlea School – and time and time again we see this on controversial issues: The council says 'don't worry, there are no plans' – only for residents to find that plans seem to be progressing in secret.
"I see no reason why Stoke Lodge should be fenced off. I will be campaigning against any such decision and will be asking questions at the highest levels."
4 Comments
by Cllr Clare Campion-Smith, Bristol
Wednesday, July 14 2010, 10:43PM
“Response on Stoke Lodge
We are currently consulting Neighbourhood Partnerships about open access to school playing fields. This is important as it will impact on possible investment in school playing fields, including the Cotham School playing field at Stoke Lodge.
I hope it will help readers if I clarify some facts
¿ Bristol City Council (BCC) owns the land. Cotham School use it as their playing field.
¿ The pitches are maintained by the University, who also arrange lettings to clubs.
¿ In 2008 the Council commissioned an architect¿s plan to improve the sports facilities at Stoke Lodge. That was under the previous Labour administration. It enabled a scheme to be costed but the scheme was never taken to cabinet. At no stage has the scheme been presented to the Liberal Democrat administration for consideration. There are currently no approved plans for improvements to Stoke Lodge playing fields.
¿ The Council has provisionally assigned £1m funding for improving pitches and the pavilion and informally spoken to the Football Foundation who have indicated there is the possibility of £600k to support improvements if they go ahead
It is important that communities across the city have the chance to consider how open space should be used and managed which is why the matter have been referred to the local Neighbourhood Forum for consultation. The population of the city is increasing and areas of land will need to be used for as many purposes as possible ¿ formal sport, informal sport, recreation and relaxation. There can be tensions between some of these activities so getting the balance right is key and the local community will be part of monitoring and keeping the balance correct. No one part of the community has the full picture of the opportunities and challenges this presents, which is why an open debate is essential before any decisions are taken.
Stoke Lodge is a lovely area that deserves careful consideration. I am disappointed that Cllr Peter Abraham and Charlotte Leslie MP are seeing it as a campaigning issue rather than the open problem-solving debate that the community could share in.”
by Bob de Bilde, Bristol
Wednesday, July 14 2010, 11:14AM
“I grew up in Heyford Avenue, below Purdown and I would be outraged if any part of it was fenced in for playing fields when there are better alternatives nearby.
Purdown is the nearest bit of wild and open land to the city centre and it should be left well alone.
Peter Abraham¿s hypocrisy and double standards is breathtaking. How can he complain about fencing in Stoke Lodge when he wants to do exactly that at Purdown? Does he have no shame?
Both areas should be left open and unfenced. Spending £1 million on fencing in playing fields is an obscene waste during a time of cutbacks and austerity. As a previous poster mentioned ¿ what¿s the fence made out of ¿ gold? Platinum?
All this rubbish about ¿improving football pitches¿ and suchlike is total crap. We¿re talking about schoolkids here ¿ not a Premier League football club. Kids just need a reasonably flat bit of land, regularly mowed, and a couple of goalposts. Spending £600k on ¿improving football pitches¿ is yet another scandalous waste.
If either of these two areas are fenced in, I will be down there in short order with my bolt-cutters ¿ and I urge other residents to do the same.”
by Faye, Horfield
Wednesday, July 14 2010, 10:10AM
“Love the fact that Peter Abraham is complaining about fields in his own area being fenced off when he was the person (when he was Chief Executive Member for Education) who recommended that playing fields with 4m high fences for the new Fairfield School be located on open space at Purdown against the wishes of local community who've used the land for decades, and inspite when better options existed just 1.2km away.
And before I'm acused of the nimbyism that he is displaying, here's a summary of why the other options are better. And it should also be pointed out that the Council also revealed that these new playing fields were needed for Redland Green school which was built....on playing fields. Depressing to think that even in the face of this evidence, the plans were pushed ahead by Mr Abrahams and the Council. If the outcome is different in your own back yard Mr Abrahams, then I want to know why.
Sports Education
Purdown gives Fairfield three small grass pitches - one that can only be used by kids up to Year 9 for football and one big enough only for training - and no grass facilities for cricket, athletics or hockey. Upgrading facilities at Muller Road would give junior and adult sized rugby and football grass pitches, grass cricket circles, 400 meters athletics track, floodlighting and onsite changing rooms. Pitches at Muller Road also have built in 'pitch shift' allowance. Pitches on Purdown do not, meaning they will degrade and cost more over time.
Bussing
Fairfield pupils have been bussed around for years, but for the new Fairfield, renovation work to existing pitches will meet 96.7% of timetabled sports ONSITE. Transport and pavillion maintenance costs for Dings and Bonnington walk mean both these options could be used for the extra 3.3% of lessons for 38 YEARS before you equalled the initial cost of developing Purdown. Big savings for the school and the tax payer.
If Purdown was used, pupils would still need to be bussed off site for just under 1% of lessons (13 double P.E. sessions a year).
Community
The pitches on Purdown are tiny. Only one is big enough for kids up to 18 - so much for community usage. Muller Road sits in the middle of one of the most inadequately provisioned areas in Bristol, sorely in need of real facilities usable by local kids.
Environment
The majority of this part of Purdown, the most accessible to inner city kids and families, would be lost to playing fields hidden behind fences that would be Five metres high in parts. This land would also be levelled to a depth of 2 metres at one end and built up by the same at the other. Mature hedgerows and trees will be lost and by the time their replacements have grown to be habitable, the bats, insects, badgers, foxes, deer and butterflies will have gone.”
by Wondering, Bristol
Wednesday, July 14 2010, 8:09AM
“Is this the Stoke Lodge playing field earmarked by the'Parents Voice' Group as being the site they want for their 'Free School'? According to their website they have the backing of Claire Campion-Smith and Barbara Janke, not to mention the promise of money from Mr Gove and Charlotte Leslie, to forge ahead with their plans. They even have Ms Janke working for them to supply new pupil figures for their quest. Me thinks this is one possibility for the development of the area and the reason why Ms Leslie is opposed to a sports development and why the council are being so underhand and secretive. Also, considering the recent uncertainty of the future of St Ursula's school, a school which, again according to Parents Voice they have been 'promised' by Mr Gove and Ms Leslie as being 'their' school in the future as well as another site, I feel that this is the real development plans for Stoke Lodge. An exclusive area only school set up to the detriment of all other state schools in the area.”