A council has come under fire for charging a school £7.90 per hour to use a nearby field the school has previously used to do PE for 50 years. Rickmansworth Park JMI School in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire says it has used the field for school activities since 1977 without issues as it does not have its own playing field.
But it now faces having to foot a bill every time it uses the field, a move parents have described as “disgusting and unfair.” Three Rivers District Council said the park “remains open and willing to help the school, however it cannot subsidise its sporting activities”.
The council said in 2022 it introduced an alternative grassland management initiative for the benefit of biodiversity, “while balancing the need for public access to green spaces”. A parent whose two kids attend the school described the move and who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “We’ve been using field ever since the school has been there.
“The parents always go up there anyway to check there’s no litter – we even offered to go and cut the grass, it’s not like we’re taking over the whole field. There’s plenty of room for other things, we’ve had no issues for 50 years now suddenly they decide there is.”
Chris Girling, whose kids also attend the school, said: “At present, I feel the school have been backed into a corner by the council. They are essentially pressuring the school to sign up to a hire agreement much like a profit-making business.”
The council said in 2023 it agreed to cut the grass shorter in the park for the school’s sports day and painted lines on the grass for the school but reaffirmed “Rickmansworth Park is a public park, not a school playing field.” “The council is however content to permit the school to use the land providing the usual hire of grounds rules are followed,” it said.
Three Rivers District Council released a 500-word statement, saying: “As a responsible landowner, the council has a formal hire of grounds policy that is used where individuals, groups, organisations (including charities, schools and others), as well as private businesses wish to have dedicated access to and use of its publicly funded and maintained grounds.
“It is under this policy that the specific arrangements requested by the school, being different from the normal day-to-day management of the site by the council, have been agreed. It is therefore surprising that, having willingly entered into this agreement, the school has chosen to publicly, unfairly and, with misinformation, attack the council.”
Parents have since set up a fundraiser to help pay for the costs while a petition has also been launched.
