Head of Cockburn School in South Leeds makes plea over new sport facilities

Leeds City Council is striving to get planning permission to build the facilities on part of the former South Leeds Golf Course in Beeston, for the benefit of neighbouring Cockburn High School.

But a local plans panel has deferred making a decision on the plans for a second time.

Under the scheme, the pitches would be used primarily for PE lessons. The school currently has a 35 per cent deficit in its sporting facilities, because it’s taken on more pupils in recent years.

In theory, the pitches would also be available for community use outside of school hours, but in practice they’d be unusable for much of the winter because there would be no floodlights built, initially.

The former golf course was gifted to Middleton Park estate in 2019, and the scheme has received 51 objections from the public, predominantly on environmental grounds and concerns around the artificial nature of the pitches.

But speaking at a planning meeting on Thursday, Cockburn’s executive headteacher David Gurney said the new facilities would be vital.

The school was graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in February, having been rated inadequate 16 years ago.

Mr Gurney said: “The children who attend our school are the future of the local community.

“Why are we denying the opportunity when we can have outstanding facilities? If we went to Harrow or Eton private schools they’ve got 3G pitches, 4G pitches and tennis courts.

“We deliver outstanding education for the young people of south Leeds. We should be celebrating that. That’s an achievement.

“To do that goes against the grain. It’s unheard of for inner city high school to deliver outstanding education.

“I’m not going to sit back and compromise the education of young people and settle for second best. Why should I?”

A total of 140 letters of support, including some from the school’s own pupils, have backed the application.

However, among the scheme’s most controversial aspects is the proposed axing of 38 mature trees to make way for the development.

Although 130 new ones would be planted to compensate, objectors insist the natural environment would still be harmed.

The site itself is on greenbelt land, meaning development can only take if “special circumstances” are deemed to be met.

Alan Shaw, chair of the Trustees of Middleton Park, told the meeting: “3G pitches are devoid of life.

“The site is currently full of life, with species of butterflies, insects and birds all identified.

“How can changing a thriving tree-lined meadow for a plastic fenced-off pitch be adding biodiversity to the site?

“We feel this development is not needed. It’s not suitable for the greenbelt.

“It will create a barren wasteland for wildlife. It’s not wanted by the community.”

Councillors on the plans panel remained split over the application.

While some expressed enthusiasm for the scheme and the benefits it would deliver for the school, others said they were uneasy with aspects of the development.

Liberal Democrat councillor Colin Campbell said: “I’d be happier with this if I had some confidence that there would be a significant community benefit from doing this, and I don’t believe there is.

“I feel there needs to be a clearer management plan around how the community use the pitch. Whether you like floodlights or not, when it gets to 4pm in December it’s unusable because you can’t see anything.”

Another issue raised at the meeting involved concerns around the potential health risks of 3G pitches, which some campaigners have linked to cancer cases.

The Football Association and Sport England insist the surfaces are safe, however.

In a repeat from July, councillors again deferred the application to allow for more information to be brought forward and for further talks to take place between the parties involved.

The application is likely to be scrutinised again and put forward for a decision on September 29.