*** LATEST *** At the Council Cabinet meeting of the 22nd December, the Cabinet voted to withdraw its previous decision to grant a lease for the PlayFootball development. Which means that the development, as originally planned, will not go ahead. The hard work of many members of the community over many months has paid off - well done and thanks!

This community website is to support the campaign by local residents to stop the development of 5-a-side and 7-a-side football pitches, and a pavilion/clubhouse building with a licensed bar, by the company PlayFootball in the grounds of Bitterne Park School, Copsewood Road, Southampton. The website provides up-to-date information on the campaign to local residents, and a record of what we did and what went on which might be useful to other community groups fighting a similar development.

Let us make it clear right at the beginning that this is not a campaign against the school (for it actually is a very good school!), or against sports facilities for school and after-school use. It is a campaign against a commercial development that, if it goes ahead, will line the pockets of shareholders living many many miles away, yet will have a huge impact on the quality of life for many local residents.

As of 20th October 2008, the number of objections stands as follows: more than 80 objections to the original planning application lodged with the Council’s Planning Department; more than 250 names on an earlier petition against granting planning permission (again lodged with the Planning Department); 120 people attending a public meeting about the proposal, where the opinions expressed were unanimously opposed to it; at least 70 letters/e-mails to the school Governing Body objecting to the proposal; and 680+ names on a petition to the Governing Body asking them not to approve any scheme that involves establishing a third party owned and operated bar on the school site (which incidentally counted for nothing - the Governing Body still gave the proposal their blessing).

An important point to remember is that PlayFootball want the lease for 25 years. That is 5 generations of children through the school - 5 lots of 5 years - an awful lot of children; and in that time the school will have no control over what happens on that part of the site. Most of the current staff will have long since left and the school will be left with the legacy.

Do you want a quick look at the sort of thing that may be built here, right on your doorstep, in the school grounds? Take a look at this video footage.

A summary of the information available on this website is given below. [More pages under development at the moment (12th October) - see the panel on the left for intended coverage.]

• Planning application. Easy-to-download copies of the documents associated with the planning application made by PlayFootball to Southampton City Council in June 2008.

• An explanation of the reasons for objecting.

• School governors - list of the school governors as at 8th September 2008, the governors' exact involvement in the PlayFootball proposal, and the responsibilities of a school governor.

• Results of a phone round many existing PlayFootball sites, asking about their opening hours and facilities for children, and pretending to want to book the function room for a stag party.

• Letters from the school concerning the PlayFootball proposal - and our responses to them.

• A review of the school's Information Evening held for protestors to the development.

• Attendance and alcohol sales - potential attendance figures for the facility and how this relates to the alcohol sales that PlayFootball are claiming.

• What the experts say. Information on various aspects of the proposal that has been provided by experts in various fields.

• Press / media coverage / videos
  • Cuttings of coverage in the Southern Daily Echo.
  • Recording and transcript of Radio Hampshire's interview with the school Headteacher, Susan Trigger.
  • Video footage of existing 5-a-side football sites.
• Links to other similar sites/documents. Links to websites of other similar campaign groups, and associated documents.

You can contact the campaign organisers through the e-mail address bitternepark@live.co.uk.