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Save Charborough Road School playing field
Say no to school field sell off!
Hundreds of children walk, run, cycle or scoot up and down the hill to get to Charborough Road Primary every day.
For nearly a century, that route has remained relatively safe - until now.
But plans have been published by South Gloucestershire Council which would mean children travelling to school would have to negotiate a busy highway just yards from the school gate.
The council wants to build two apartment blocks and two and three storey houses on the school playing field with the entrance bordering the school - with likely thousands of vehicle movements each year.
Parents and residents alike fear road accidents will be inevitable whilst the school and the wider community lose a green lung in favour of a concrete, congested development that towers over the playground and existing streetscape.
Environmental loss = human cost
Children should have access to this precious green space despite this tiny 0.9 hectare site being labelled ‘urban infill’ and a ‘capital receipt.'
All the evidence shows that spending time in and even seeing nature improves physical health and mental well-being - not least by increasing beneficial microbes in our guts.
Yet planning docs repeatedly argue that children have access to an artificial multi-use games area, which is allegedly seen as having 'twice the value' of the existing real field.
Last summer, Filton consistently reached 30 degress and above. The science is clear - artificial man-made surfaces increase urban heating. Unlike grass and plants, they don't cool air temperatures by at least 10 degrees in high summer.
Children only get one chance to grow up and there is no Planet B - once this field is gone, it's lost forever.
Planning app v protected species?
A whole host of wildlife thrives on this green lung and what is effectively a green corridor that connects to other green spaces across Filton.
We are SO lucky to have this in the heart of the city. Just look at this guy's fluffy face!!
Yet ecologists commissioned by the developer insist that badgers don't live here. This footage would suggest otherwise.
If the development goes ahead, there will be a 39% loss in biodiversity.
Just where will the badgers call home if that happens?
Meanwhile we believe flooding concerns will increase as topsoil is removed, allowing water to run down hill into already saturated gardens.
Impact on local area
Close to 140 objections have been logged in response to this development. Why?
Because as a community we feel a complete lack of respect and consultation.
It also appears as if the council has used a legal loophole to get approval from the Department of Education to 'dispose' of the playing field.
The reality of this application is stark - it's a small site being squeezed for accommodation that will stand out like a sore thumb compared to neighbouring streets and substantially overlook the school.
By contrast, a site off Southmead Road has been earmarked with potential for 350 homes. That's in addition to the new town being built with potential for 25,000 homes on Filton Airfield - less than 1.5 miles away.
A recent public meeting put resident fears in the spotlight namely:
Safety concerns from disabled residents at Bevan Court who said inappropriate parking around school times had already prevented ambulances getting to them.
Concern about traffic volume and parking spaces. A conservative estimate could mean at least 124 car movements a day, not counting refuse trucks, delivery vans...
Danger to pedestrians and children with hearing or sight impairments due to there being no pavement within the development and a 'shared spaces' entrance.
Children from the development being at risk of collision due to there being no pavement on which to walk to school.
So how has the planning application got this far?
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