Clapham common enclosed area reserved! Post Reply

[JulieA]

Hi all,
Earlier this week I was in the enclosed area in Clapham Common next to the bandstand until 10:30am when I was asked to leave as the area has been reserved by a school (Wix).
We settled nearby and of course within 30min my 16mo girl came to me with a dried dog "gift" in her hand I was so happy...

This is the only area in the whole park where young children can be let to run free with no fear of dog poo or getting to close to the swings/play area. I am not lucky enough to have a garden and with this weather I am sure I am not the only one counting on being able to use the park I pay taxes to maintain all year long!

Does anyone know if this will go on for the whole summer? There was no notice anywhere so are we now supposed to take the risk of being denied access when we plan a morning or afternoon in the park?
Are the school staff allowed to make us leave?? they had no paperwork or anything, we just had to take their word for it...

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

That is an interesting one.

Were to asked to move or was it suggested?

I have no idea as to your rights but it does seem a little rich.

It is a common after all

[Annabel (admin)]

I think the Common is run by Lambeth.

I'll tweet this at them for a response.

Thanks for using NVN

[JulieA]

I was told we had to move and that they would be there for the entire day. They were polite and friendly though.

[Annabel (admin)]

Hi
From Lambeth...

Lambeth Council ‏@lambeth_council 10m ago

@NappyValleyNet Hi, Schools are able to book that area for sports days. Term finishes in a couple of weeks, apologies for any inconvenience

[kiwimummy]

Please remember at some point your child will be old enough to be taking part in school activities, and you'd certainly want them to be in a contained area where they can be well supervised by the school staff. Lots of schools do use the common - not just Wix, but Parkgate and a few others as well. Many schools locally don't have adequate outside space to host sporting events.

I sometimes wish the Zumba classes would stop taking over the bandstand area, but we have to share!

[JulieA]

Thank you Annabel.


@kiwimummy: I don't mind school or nurseries using this area, as long as they don't kick everybody else out! My children have to be contained as well lol

Anyway, good to know it won't last the whole summer

[rooting4tooting]

this is a problm to do with the sitiing of schools. Our school uses Tooting Common athletics track. There is also Fishponds rec, and another rec attached to Tooting common on the other side. Battersea park, also has an athletics track which our school has used in conjuntion with others. Those are the correct places for schools to hold sports days if they haven't got their own grounds.
It does annoy me to see large tracts of common land and tennis courts being used by schools and nurseries.

[JulieA]

One detail that just came back to mind: it didn't look like a sports class, more like a small event with parents and children of all ages, prams etc.

[Flickster]

Hello, I was a parent at the event that you are discussing. It was sports day for the nursery classes at Wix. The buggies you saw belonged to the parents who came out to support their children. It is a once a year event as the older children have their sports day on the main common. For future reference there is also a large dog free area near the tennis courts just in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

[whirlwind]

Hi

I had exactly the same problem on a different day last week. I turned up for a picnic and was denied access. I took their word for it but then I rang the council to complain. I don't mind sharing, but I don't see why the nursery/school can't have, say, half of that area and everyone else can have the other half. Why is it that I had to have my children outside and dogs coming to investigate our picnic?! Anyway, I got a call back from Lambeth to say that area can't be booked and indeed hadn't been booked for the day. That seems to contradict the earlier post so I don't know who is right, but in future it may be worth ringing the council and double checking before backing down!

[Haggis Burns]

Hi,
I used to be a Head teacher at one of the nurseries that use the dog free zone for Sports Day. There was a rigorous application process through the council and all plans and timings had to be approved. We also had a three figure fee to pay which hopefully went to the general upkeep of the park for other users. A typical nursery book was only for two hours.