Last chance to save Packers?

bristol | the environment | announcement Tuesday July 11, 2006 00:33 by WES

Public meeting at the City Academy next week.

PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT PACKERS’ FIELD

MONDAY 17 JULY

@ THE CITY ACADEMY, 7pm

The fight to save Packers’ Field is approaching its endgame. The Academy have said that they are planning to start work on the field from the start of the school holidays (ie any time from July 22nd) This means that Packers will be out of use for at least over a year, if indeed local people are ever allowed to use it again.

Meanwhile, the Principal of the Academy, Ray Priest, has bowed to pressure to hold another public meeting, to discuss the Community Use Agreement. This is a legal requirement that the Academy have to enter in to that sets out exactly how much access the public can have to the field.

For those of you who don’t know. Packers’ Field is a seven acre space of green land that is sandwiched between the Whitehall, Eastville and Greenbank areas of Bristol. It has been used by local people for free receation and sport for decades. In 2002 the City Council leased the field to the City Academy, who plan to fence it off, build a running track, pitches and floodlights on it and restrict access to an area that is one of few remaining green spaces in the inner city. If the Academy get their way, it will be a huge loss to East Bristol.

This meeting may well be the last chance for people to make their voice heard and make sure that if the Academy do succeed in fencing the field off, it will remain free for local people and sports clubs to use as before.