Protect Peel Hall park petition

TOWN Hall policy chiefs at Warrington have been asked to urge the borough council’s executive board to think again about giving extra protection to Peel Hall Park.
A petition has been received by the council requesting that the park be protected as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
The petitioners want the council’s Supporting the Local Economy Policy committee to recommend the executive board to consider the move.
A similar request was made to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny committee in March last year, but at that time the committee decided there would be no additional benefit to the council in safeguarding the council’s green spaces through the Queen Elizabeth Fields initiative.
A QEII field is an initiative by Fields in Trust – a national charity – dedicated to protected outdoor space for sport, play and recreation.
Councils across the country were invited to nominate open spaces for QEII Field status as a means of protecting them for future generations – but Warrington decided not to do so because green spaces in the borough were also adequately protected under the council’s own planning policies.
A report to policy chiefs says there has been no change with regard to the protection offered to Peel Hall Park since the matter was last considered.
If the site was submitted and approved by Fields in Trust, it would receive a plaque and a sapling to mark its status.
If a long-term contract with Fields in Trust was entered into, it could restrict the council from future development of Peel Hall Park, unless the development was for the enhancement of its current use.
“However the council is committed to protecting green open space and therefore this is not considered to be a major risk to the council,” the report adds.