Herefordshire school sports pitch approved

Pupils at a Herefordshire high school will no longer need to travel away for sports, now that plans for a new pitch on a neighbouring field have been passed.

Fairfield High School, Peterchurch in the Golden Valley applied in spring to create a full-size rugby pitch on a reprofiled field the other side of the C1207 minor road from the school, and also an overflow parking area alongside the school.

The proposed pitch, a first for the school, would avoid pupils having to be “ferried to and from other schools for sporting events, matches and general physical education”, the school’s application said.

Being no nearer to nearby houses than the existing sports grounds, “there will not be any significant increase in noise and disturbance over and above what is already experienced”, it added.

A new wetland and pond to the north of the proposed pitch would serve as an attenuation basin for rainwater runoff.

Meanwhile the extra parking would allow parents to safely pull off the C1207 during drop-off and pickup, reducing traffic buildup around the front of the school, it said.

Councillors on the village’s parish council were “fully supportive” of the plan, but were “disappointed that the proposed overflow parking area does not address the acute traffic problems in the village”.

Planning officer Heather Carlisle concluded the proposal was in line with local and county planning policy.

At the recommendation of Sports England, conditions of the permission include that the school must provide evidence that the playing field “is prepared to an adequate standard”, provide a schedule for its maintenance for at least five years, and submit for approval a community use agreement covering pricing, hours of use and access by other groups.