The council say they locked the site due to the possibility of an attacker hiding behind a bush or tree, but residents aren't pleased about the decision.
Bartholomew Hall reports.
Bartholomew Hall reports.
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00:00Heading out for some fresh air used to be a walk in the park but now for residents in Whitstable
00:05it's not as easy after these padlocks were put in place by Kent County Council to the
00:09entrances of one of the town's most popular green spaces. It comes after Church Street
00:14playing fields was earmarked by the local authority as the location of a new special
00:18educational needs school back in 2023, receiving a backlash from those who want to keep using the
00:24space for leisure. However in an email Kent County Council says its surveyors locked the
00:29site due to the possibility of an attacker hiding behind a bush or tree and that members
00:34of the public were using the site as a shortcut rather than the surrounding footways. Mum of two
00:39Victoria Annable says the site is a vital part of the community especially for her children.
00:45It's great you know I live on a couple of roads away they come here they're you know late primary
00:50age and they come here on their own and I feel that they are safe and there's no worries. I think
00:55there was a sense of who's done this because if it was the council there should be a sign and a
01:00reason as to why they've done it but there wasn't. There's also entrances at the back that are still
01:05open and anyway if you were for example trapped in this field you couldn't escape anyway so it's
01:11essentially more dangerous by padlocking these gates. Well over here on the north side of the
01:16playing fields there are three gated entrances getting you into the grassy area. Two of them
01:21have been padlocked shut this one however well it's completely open allowing anybody to get in
01:27or out and I'm standing here now there's no sign that any padlocks have been tampered with
01:32or removed so it's unclear why this one doesn't have a padlock on it. Despite any of that the
01:37field today is full of dog walkers and people simply enjoying the nature. I use this field
01:48I'd say four or five times a week. I can't tell you how much I've missed it if it goes.
01:54Do you feel unsafe when you come here that's the question? No not at all very safe very very
01:59safe. There's lights all around. I feel totally safe here. It wouldn't even cross my mind to
02:05be honest. Many of the residents here including Victoria are part of the Friends of the Church
02:10Street Fields Facebook group which has been campaigning to preserve the space for years.
02:15The group says it will continue to campaign as it hopes a compromise can be found where
02:19a version of the space can be kept open for years to come. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.