News / Stoke Lodge
Judge rules Stoke Lodge ‘should never have been registered as town green’
A senior judge has ruled that Stoke Lodge playing fields “should never have been registered as a town or village green”.
In a 110-page judgment published on Tuesday, however, High Court judge Paul Matthews, said that he is “under no illusion that the dispute between the parties will stop here”.
The playing fields in Stoke Bishop are owned by Bristol City Council and leased to Cotham School.
is needed now More than ever
The granting of town green status to Stoke Lodge in 2023 led to the removal of fences around the perimeter of the site but Cotham appealed against the judgement, leading to the unusual situation of the city council potentially taking two roles in the court proceedings, both as commons registration authority and as landowner.
A statement from Cotham School expressed their “absolute delight” in judge Matthews’ judgement while local residents group We Love Stoke Lodge said they were “incredibly disappointed”.
Stoke Lodge – photo: Cotham School
For the last few years, Cotham School has used Golden Hill playing fields in Henleaze as the site for their PE lessons, as school bosses say they could not ensure students’ safety at Stoke Lodge without its fence.
A school spokesperson said: “Cotham School is absolutely delighted that His Honour Judge Matthews has handed down his judgement, which confirms that our school playing fields are not and should not be a Town and Village Green.
“The judge has handed down a 110-page judgement which has found fully in Cotham School’s favour.
“We’re absolutely thrilled that justice has prevailed!
“The rights and opportunities of our 1,700 students will finally be restored. We couldn’t be more excited to be able to positively plan to get back onto our playing fields as soon as possible.
“This decision affirms our commitment and tireless endeavours to resolve this highly challenging issue in pursuit of delivering a high-quality educational experience within a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for all our students.
“It supports the approach we have taken and we remain dedicated to meeting all statutory obligations, including the provision of Physical Education, in a way that best serves the needs of our students.
“Cotham School will now review how the site will be remobilised and will provide further updates on our plans in due course.”
Campaigners were fighting to protect Stoke Lodge’s village green status – photo: Martin Booth
A We Love Stoke Lodge spokesperson said: “We are incredibly disappointed with the decision that has been handed down today.
“We feel that aspects of the judgment could be highly problematic for schools across the country whose playing fields are, by their nature, open to public access.
“Green space is a finite and highly valued shared resource and many thousands of school children enjoy learning to exercise on public land today, both within and outside school time.
“We also note that the judge himself has said that ‘I do not doubt that, given the strength of feeling on both sides in this case, the dispute will go further’.
“The judgment is lengthy and we are considering it in detail, including our grounds for appeal.”
Stoke Lodge campaigners walk along one of the footpaths on the site – photo: We Love Stoke Lodge
Main photo: Cotham School
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