Work is under way on a new all-weather football pitch and changing rooms, costing £1.6 million, at St Bede's Catholic College in Lawrence Weston.

They are being developed alongside the £13.5m remodelling of the popular and successful school that takes students from a wide area.

The artificial grass pitch, said to be a "third generation" surface and the closest to real grass yet, will be available to local football teams as well as the school once it is finished next year.

It is being partly funded by a £758,229 grant by the Football Foundation, the UK's largest sports charity, and £55,000 from FIFA as part of its Inner-city Programme.

St Bede's principal Catherine Hughes said: "We have worked hard to secure this huge investment and are grateful to the Football Foundation for this grant.

"Once completed, our pupils and the Lawrence Weston community will have access to excellent sporting facilities. Recreational sport is of such importance for all; we can now look towards the future with great optimism."

Builders Skanska have also just begun work on the revamp of the school buildings that will result in a new teaching block alongside a new sports hall, tennis and netball courts.

St Bede's is the only secondary school within Bristol City Council's borders rated outstanding by the watchdog Ofsted. It has specialisms in science and sport and the remodelling will give it the facilities to match its reputation.

It also prides itself on having good relationships with its neighbours.

But some locals are angry that they were not told construction was starting, or that it would mean the fields being fenced off.

They say gates to the fields were removed at the beginning of the Easter holidays, when there was no one at the school, and the fields are the only green space in Lawrence Weston and have been used by the community for decades. Karen Mobbs, who lives in Aylmington Walk, close to St Bede's, believes the fields are common land.

"The fields have been used by Lawrence Weston people for at least 58 years. The fields might be council owned but they are common land because of precedent of usage," she said. "What has incensed the local community is that they are being denied access to the only green space in the area."

Mrs Mobbs, 58, said there had been no communication with residents before the gates were removed. She has now sought help from Kingsweston Labour councillor Judith Price, Lib Dem campaigner Simon Rayner and Bristol North West Labour MP Doug Naysmith.

Neighbours say that at a public meeting in May last year they were told that access to the fields would not be shut off during building work. But the school said such an assurance had not been given.