We hate our neighbours’ huge annoying fence – we want it torn down now… it’s not their land to claim
A GROUP of residents are demanding that their neighbour's huge fence is torn down at the culmination of a decade-long row.
Those living around Cotham School in are calling on their local council to get rid of the barrier around its playing fields, which was put up in 2019.
The disagreement dates back to 2011 when the started using the land in Stoke Lodge, in the north-western part of the city, for its sporting activities.
Locals are claiming that, despite how it's used, the land is still public and so they should not be denied access to it by the fence, which the school said is required to keep pupils safe.
School bosses allow the public access when it is not in use by students, although walkers are not allowed.
However, critics say that the fence is putting people off and not allowing them to take proper advantage of the space.
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Helen Powell, who is campaigning for the site to be designated as a "public green", told : "It’s a beautiful green space in an area where all the other green spaces have been developed over the years.
"For many people in that area, that’s the only green space that they can walk to.
" You never know if the gates are going to be open or shut, so it looks closed the whole time.
"The opening times vary, to suit the school."
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She also claimed that relations with the community broke down when the school denied the public access to most of the area during the lockdowns.
Bristol City Council has appointed barrister Philip Petchey as an independent advisor on the case.
The legal argument seems to hinge on a number of signs put up by the now-defunct Avon County Council in the 1980s, warning against trespassing.
Campaigners say that these ceased to have any legal power in 1996 when the council was abolished, but Mr Petchey suggested in his report that this may not be the case.
The land has been owned by the council since after the Second World War but has been leased to the school since 2011.
A decision is expected on the case on Wednesday.
It comes after one homeowner filmed his "Karen" neighbour taking a chainsaw to his privacy fence amid a row.
Meanwhile, residents of an idyllic cobbled street say it has been ruined by an ugly 6ft fence that blocks out the light but claim the council refuses to do anything.
