25 signatures reached
To: The Planning Department, Newcastle City Council
Preserve green spaces in Newcastle upon Tyne
Reject the planning application by Atkinson Road Primary School for change of use of the public open space on Armstrong Road to educational playing field and to erect a 2.4m fence around the open space. We also want the council to take back ownership of the public space which was gifted to the school for their use.
Why is this important?
This public open space has been used by the local community for many years; to play on, to walk dogs on and to sit and enjoy the spectacular view across the valley to Gateshead. Many people living close by do not have the luxury of back gardens and rely on this space to generally enjoy a grassy open area. The open space has long been shared with Atkinson Road primary school who use it as a sports field for the children.
The school have been 'gifted' the land by the council after recent budget cut backs by the council have stopped the regular maintenance of the land and grass cutting in the summer months. The school has now applied for planning permission to erect a 2.4m fence with locked access gates which will stop local people from enjoying the space and will effectively obscure the view from the top of the hill across the valley. This means the land will only be used during school hours in term time -about 6 months of the year- leaving it unused for the rest of the time and inaccessable to the public all of the time.
