Paignton field being fenced off for school

Public will have limited access

Roselands County Primary School in Paignton will be getting a new playing field despite concerns about the land being removed from public use.

Torbay Council’s planning committee has agreed to grant the school its request to change the use of 5,000 square metres of a council-owned field in Clennon Valley to make way for a new playing fields for pupils. 

The field will be enclosed by a two-metre-high green weldmesh fence and a three-metre-wide double gate for vehicle access. The council did, however, add a condition that the field would open to the public outside school hours.

The school at the end of Lynmouth Avenue was built in 1979 and has expanded in recent years. Now Roselands says it needs the land to provide room for nearly 350 pupils, aged four to 11, who go there.

Stuart Biddles, CEO of Riviera Education Trust, which is responsible for Roselands Primary School, Oldways Primary School and Shiphay Learning Academy, told the planning committee that Roselands was oversubscribed and badly needs the extra space.

He explained that, following a request from the council, the school had expanded beyond its admission numbers and that the need for more classrooms meant the school had to eat into the space that was already too small.

Mr Biddles said the school wanted to create more after-school sports clubs, arguing: “These develop confidence, social skills - including leadership and social responsibility - and help our children to grow into community-minded citizens of the future.

“We want to make our community a better place and we need to support our our children to be healthy, both physically and mentally, especially in the covid climate when our children have been unable to exercise and meet their friends and play and talk together.

“Our children need your help.”

He also said that the expanded field would help the school play its part in addressing high obesity rates among primary school children in Torbay.

Some neighbours are unhappy with Roselands' land grab (courtesy; Google Maps)

However, Paignton neighbourhood forum criticised the plans. In a pre-recorded video, a representative said the school’s need for the space had not been proven and that it already had enough with its existing field. They instead encouraged the school to exercise its right to use the land without closing it to the public. 

Richard Sutton, a senior development surveyor at Torbay Development Agency (TDA), told councillors that exercise space at the school was smaller than government requirements. He said the school would be criticised on safety grounds by the Department of Education and Ofsted if it wasn’t fenced.

Councillors were torn about the decision. Councillor Jack Dart (Liberal Democrats, Ellacombe) said: “The fencing is hideous and it's around every bloody field,” but admitted it was necessary. He argued that it was “regrettable” that green space would be lost to the public but said it was important to make sure Roselands schoolchildren had enough room to play in. Councillor Dave Thomas (Conservative, Preston) described the decision as “a real dilemma.”

More certain was Councillor Karen Kennedy (Independent Group, Churston with Galmpton), who is against taking away access to the field from local residents. She said: “What I worry about most is what this teaches the kids for the future…what we should be teaching kids is how we live with the environment rather than fencing them in.” 

In comments submitted to a council report, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) warned that measures are needed to mitigate the impact on wildlife and birds of making the field a play area. These conditions were added to the planning permission granted by the council.   

Another condition ensures the school cannot tarmac over the grass without the permission of the council, which would be unlikely to approve such a measure.

In the end, permission was granted with seven votes in favour and an abstention from Cllr Kennedy.