Decision on Sheffield school plan for new sports area deferred

Members of Sheffield City Council’s planning committee on Tuesday (July 9) agreed to defer their decision on a planning application made by Ecclesall Primary School.

The school plans to build a 45-metre by 30-metre enclosed multi-use games area (MUGA) in a corner of its grounds with an artificial pitch that will be solely for school use. A previous addition of a running track has now been dropped.

The scheme was opposed by 90 people who sent letters of objection. One objector who spoke in the meeting said that others were too scared to come forward.

Their concerns include loss of green space, site overdevelopment, lack of public engagement by the school, effect on privacy of houses on Edale Road, loss of biodiversity and potential drainage and flooding issues.

Councillors decided to defer the application to seek further information on the flooding and drainage issues.

Impact

Planning officer Chris Heeley said that the school wants to use the area for PE lessons and for clubs before and after school, with no community use intended. He said that, as the grounds are surrounded by houses, there would be no visual impact.

He said the school wants to build the MUGA because the area gets waterlogged and cannot be used in winter. He told the committee that school assemblies are disrupted because the hall has to be used for PE lessons.

Parent Tess Lupton said that she represented a large group of parents of pupils and residents. She told the committee: “Our objection is about the disturbance of a natural green space which is a natural area for children to play on.”

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Ms Lupton said that neither Sport England nor the Football Foundation back the plan.

She described how various expansions by the school had led to “loss after loss after loss of green space which is precious to children and people in the community. The school should be protecting that”.

Ms Lupton said she is concerned that an area used for all sorts of free play that children enjoy is being replaced by a fenced-off area.

Strangled

“Girls don’t feel safe in a MUGA space,” she said. “Planning officers have dismissed this because it is not a public space.

“The [current] MUGA is already problematic. My daughter was near-on strangled by a boy with a hula hoop, saying she isn’t allowed there, ‘get out of my space’.”

Another parent, Matt Dilley, said that 10,000 playing fields have been lost in recent decades.

He told the committee: “This is not an isolated case, this is a gradual erosion of playing fields. We have a duty to protect that space, particularly for our children.”

“A lot of parents have been too scared to voice their opinion because they are too scared of repercussions,” he said.

Mr Dilley said that the land slopes towards Edale Road and the proposal should be deferred for a proper drainage risk assessment. He also voiced concerns on biodiversity and the loss of soil from the site that will probably go to landfill.

Mr Heeley said that the school had submitted an assessment about drainage that had been assessed by council officers.

Complex

Coun Janet Ridler commented: “This seems to be a complex proposal and lots of different issues have been brought up. What concerns me here is in what’s acknowledged to be a climate emergency, we should be doing everything we possibly can to retain our natural green spaces.”

Coun Marieanne Elliot said that councillors had visited the school to view the site. “It was a real joy. We saw children playing out on the green space, skipping, dancing, doing cartwheels and handstands. ”

She said she was disappointed that a more natural, sustainable solution wasn’t considered.

Coun Elliot said that, although sports such as football are open to everyone, it is recognised that MUGAs can cause equality issues.

Coun Elliot said she was concerned that the drainage issues hadn’t been properly considered in advance as the area poses a clear flooding risk to neighbouring homes.