Tree danger means pupils miss playtime

A school in Staffordshire could be forced to scrap outdoor playtime if it rains – because environment bosses want to protect a tree in the grounds.

Hazel Slade Primary School has applied for permission to cut down a sycamore in the grounds over health and safety fears. They claim pupils are put at risk when leaves fall, making the surface of the play area slippery.

But Cannock Chase Council has now been recommended by its officers to put down a Tree Preservation Order, meaning it cannot be touched.

Headteacher Simon Norton said: "The tree sheds a considerable amount of leaves on the play area creating a health and safety danger.

"When the leaves get wet, they become very slippery and we can't let the pupils play there."

It means the children can't use play equipment, installed at a cost of £42,000, which the school insists is an important part of their learning.

Mr Norton said seedlings which sprouted in the sand pit were also a risk to youngsters.

"We are suffering from the fact that we tried to follow the correct procedure, rather than just chopping it down," he said.

Members of Cannock Chase Council's planning committee have been told by officers that the tree was worthy of retention and should be protected.

A report to the committee, which is due to meet next Wednesday, states: "The area is surrounded by trees and is next to a hedgerow and leaves from these will also affect the play area.

"The tree should have been identified as a site constraint during the design process for the play area and then factored into the design.

"The development of fixed play equipment on this scale would normally have been the subject of a planning application and if one had been submitted, advice would have been given to adjust the play area location.

"A planning officer at the county council has confirmed that no application was submitted.

"Seed and leaf fall is a natural hazard.

"Covering the sand pit would be essential on health grounds anyway to prevent contamination from animal waste."