The Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss an enforcement report relating to Stoke Lodge, and to exclude the press and public from a discussion of legal advice relating to the same matter. The meeting will also include a public forum, where members of the public can make statements, ask questions, or present petitions.

Stoke Lodge

The committee will be given advice on what action to take following the council being served a notice under section 130A of the Highways Act 1980¹. The notice requires the council to remove obstructions across alleged public rights of way at Stoke Lodge.

The report pack states that the Stoke Lodge playing fields is a 22-acre site leased to Cotham School since 2011. In 2011 and 2018, applications were made to register the site as a Town or Village Green (TVG), but these registrations were later removed following judicial challenges. In 2018, an application was made to add four public footpaths to the Definitive Map and Statement for the Bristol area. In November 2024, the committee authorised the Head of Legal Services to make and advertise a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO).² Cotham School objected to the DMMO in February 2025, and the objections have been referred to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS).

The report pack says that in 2019, Cotham School erected a 2m high fence around the perimeter of the site. Following vandalism, the school has commenced works to re-erect the perimeter fence. The report pack notes that there are still gaps in the fence near the rights of way.

The council received two notices under s130A of the Highways Act 1980 on 1 October 2025, covering claimed routes BCC/681 and BCC/682. The notices require the council to remove any obstructions to the public rights of way. The council must serve a notice on every person who appears to be responsible for the obstruction, stating what action it proposes to take. If the obstruction remains, the complainant can apply to the Magistrates Court for an order requiring the council to take steps to remove the obstruction.

The report pack says that specialist legal advice has been sought due to the complex history of the site and the dispute between Bristol City Council and Cotham School over the existence of the rights of way. This legal advice is detailed in the exempt appendix E to the Public reports pack.

Appendix D shows photos taken on 1 October 2025 at the access points to rights of way BCC/681 and BCC/682. The access at point H (BCC/681) shows an open gate with no signs that this gate has been recently locked. The gateway narrows the path, but this is not seen as a physical obstruction to access. The access at point E is physically blocked by a locked gate across the legal alignment, but a side access gate is open with a short diversion to BCC/682.

The report pack notes that any enforcement action may be met by a challenge from Cotham School, requiring further specialist legal resources. Not taking enforcement action may result in a challenge for failing to carry out the requirements of the s130A notice.

The report pack includes as appendix C the judgement in the case of Regina v Lancashire County Council [1980] 1 W.L.R. 1024, also known as the Guyer case. The case concerned the duty of a highway authority to assert and protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment of a highway. The judgement states that section 116 of the Highways Act 1959 imposes a duty on a highway authority to assert and protect the rights of the public in the case of a highway which is clearly in existence and for which they are responsible, but that the phrase assert and protect does not have the effect of requiring an authority to assert claims made by members of the public in which they have no faith.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The committee may exclude the press and public from the meeting while they discuss an item of business. This is because the item involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 5 of Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.