Bitterne Park Primary School says it wants take out a lease on “a small parcel of land” behind school buildings and re-route the public footpath so children can enter the park directly, to overcome “safeguarding” concerns. Meanwhile the Friends of Riverside Park have voiced opposition to aspects of the plan. The issue attracted significant interest the last time it was raised, between 2007 and 09, and again brings to the fore very similar issues.
Oct update: FORP calls public meeting over park plan
Download Bitterne Park Primary School's letter in full (pdf 385k)
Download the school's draft plan - "awaiting specialist advice" (pdf 140k)
The use of the land behind Bitterne Park Primary School is back on the agenda, with the school saying it wants to enter into a 25-year lease with the local authority for the space, and to link it to the school, “re-routing the public highway” – which it says “represents a safeguarding issue” – in the process.
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A letter [pdf download] from head teacher Gerida Montague and chair of governors Howard Whitehead, delivered to some local homes in an envelope labelled “from the children at Bitterne Park Primary School”, stresses the school has no wish to own the land and that it would “not seek to develop it in any way”.
The idea that the land might one day be used for development was one of the key concerns raised in 2007.
'Lack of safe play and curriculum space'
The letter says the school is concerned about the “lack of safe play and curriculum space for our children” and that it has “safeguarding concerns re: public access, dogs onsite during school hours, dog soiling as well as syringes and other human contaminated hazards.”
“All these,” claims the letter, “prevent safe free access.”
The school goes on to say that “the majority of our 1460+ parents” are in support of the idea, and that many local groups would be able to use the area on a bookable basis free of charge outside of school hours.
“If we are unsuccessful, the school will never be able to have safe use of a green space,” says the letter.
The school has set up a “survey” where you can register your support for the idea (it doesn’t allow for anything other than support), although an This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is also offered to receive comments.
Right of way
Doug Perry, Chair of Friends of Riverside Park (FORP), who finished his own education at the schools in 1946, however argues that the footpath is a public right of way, and its closure would affect various groups, not least the elderly and disabled.
“We don’t mind them fencing off the park, but not the footpath,” he said.
Retirement flats off River View Road
“I’m not only interested in children, I’ve got to think of disabled people and elderly people. [They’re] putting half a mile for anyone who wants to walk around there. So they’ve got to walk down to the river, along the river, and back up the other side. I can’t even see that the people in River View would want a tarmac footpath at the bottom of their garden [thought to be part of a proposed solution] – they’ll have all the skateboarders going there.”
He added that he didn’t mind the playing field being dedicated to school use – as long as it was only during school hours.
"It’s a part of the green open spaces of Southampton"
“It should be open to everybody. It’s been there for over 100 years and it’s a part of the green open spaces of Southampton,” he said.
Could the bank behnd the school mean a footbridge could be easier to build?
Mr Perry said the group had put forward a couple of counter-proposals, one being a footbridge incorporating the existing raised bank of the school boundary; another possibility could be 'railway-style gates’ which close the path to the public only when the school wants to let children through.
Members of the FORP group are now campaigning to retain the River View Road to Manor Farm Road footpath, whose main stretch runs behind the school, as a public right of way, and gathering community comments to support this view.
Mr Perry said FORP is hoping to call a public meeting to discuss the idea – and the school in its letter also mentions it’s hoping to “organise a meeting to discuss the project”.