Last chance to save Bristol meadow

Dog walkers and ramblers have one last chance to prevent Bristol City Council turning a field into school sports pitches.

Opponents of Fairfield High School's £2 million plan to build three pitches on nearby South Purdown gave evidence at a public inquiry yesterday.

If the council wins, work is expected to start next year.

The council says the fenced-in pitches, which would be available for the public to hire, are urgently needed to provide enough sports space for the school's 1,120 pupils.

But people who live near the meadow say it is scenic, well-used by dog walkers and ramblers and needs to be protected.

The inquiry, held at the school, centred on a plan to reroute a 200m public footpath to make way for the pitches, which already have planning permission.

The council wants the path diverted around the largest of the three proposed pitches.

Leslie Blohm QC, representing the council, said it would not be appropriate to have dog walkers and pedestrians cutting through it.

"The new path would have convenient access and, in connection with aspect and view, would not be disadvantageous to the local population," he said.

Catherine Filmer, of the council's children and young people's services department, said a school for 1,120 pupils needed at least 50,000sq m of open space, according to Government guidelines.

"Clearly dog mess would be an problem if there was access to the pitches and also there could be damage caused by motorbikes," she said.

The school, in Allfoxton Road, is about 12,000sq m short of this and moved from its old site in Montpelier on the basis that it would have better access to playing fields.

Fairfield High has artificial pitches at Boiling Wells but rugby and competition football cannot be played on them.

Sue Flint, spokeswoman for Friends of South Purdown, said the school only had 969 pupils and did not need as many pitches, and that the new route would take ramblers longer to reach Sir John's Lane from Muller Road.

Fellow opponent Michael York Smith said the meadow's benefits to the community had not been properly considered.

The inquiry is the latest hold-up for the project, put forward in 2003. Last year a bid by residents to win town green status for the meadow to stave off any development failed.

And 2,000 petitioners backed the campaign to preserve the field in 2005. The Friends of South Purdown believe the school should use the Muller Road recreation ground bordering Filton Avenue instead.

The inquiry's findings will be released by the end of the year.