FENCING is being put back up around playing fields in Waunarlwydd to protect them from damage and dog mess, Swansea Council said.
The council said it supported the move by football club Waunarlwydd Galaxy AFC, which leases the land from the authority and maintains two pitches there.
The council said part of the fencing had been removed temporarily while it reviewed its legal position following complaints by residents about a lack of access to the land and questions about its legal status.
The football club said it had put forward a generous offer last November to an action group opposing the perimeter fencing which addressed their points about access in a bid to find a solution. The group, Waunarlwydd Playing Fields Action Group, replied, agreeing to some parts of the offer subject to conditions, but it raised concerns about a potential future pitch-side stand.
The authority said it bought the land in 1947 using a grant awarded under an Act of Parliament from 1937 which allowed it to be used for sports and recreation by organised clubs. An action group which has opposed the perimeter fencing – first installed more than two years ago – said it was seeking clarification of the evidence relating to this purchase.
A council spokesman said: “Following objections to fencing at the site by local residents, the council conducted a review of its decision to allow the field to be fenced-off.
“Now that process is concluded and the position put beyond doubt, the council has given permission to the club to reinstate the protective perimeter fence so that the playing fields can be protected from vandalism and abuse which has been a problem over the years.”
Waunarlwydd Galaxy AFC said the club has 24 teams and that the pitches were in use 30 hours a week in the summer.
A club spokesman said: “We are delighted to once again be able to protect Waunarlwydd Park Football Fields for our community ensuring the fields are maintained for their legal and rightful use.
“Waunarlwydd Park Football Fields has become a sanctuary for hundreds of children in our community and we now look forward to a future where thousands more can enjoy our local sports pitches.”
He also thanked people, schools, fellow sports clubs and businesses for their “unwavering support”.
The football club said it has hosted events such as concerts, family days and carnival-style tournaments, and that nearby primary school Ysgol Login Fach regularly used the fields.
A spokeswoman for Waunarlwydd Playing Fields Action Group said people were “devastated” that fencing was being put back up. She urged children not to try and climb it.
She said the action group, which has legal representation, was “looking for clarification on what evidence the council are basing their claim that they purchased the land under the 1937 Act”.
A Waunarlwydd resident, Crystal Gale, said she and others were “deeply affected” by the lack of access to the fields and the direct route it provided from people’s homes to Ysgol Login Fach.
Three months ago the council’s planning committee considered an application to register public footpaths across the playing field land, which would have ensured access to it. Committee members approved an officer recommendation to refuse the application on the grounds that footpath registration was “statutorily incompatible” with the use of the land. Adjacent Tarmac routes not across the playing fields were, however, recorded as public footpaths.
