Welcome

Neither the thoughts of making Stoke Lodge into an orphanage nor proposals to build a school on the land ever came to anything and today the house is an adult education centre. In 2009 a major development was proposed to include changing facilities, pitch improvements and fencing off the land. A large number of the local community raised concerns resulting in a public inquiry.

In September 2010 the council's Executive Member gave assurances that the proposal to fence Stoke Lodge had categorically been dropped and that the parkland would remain with open access for all "as of right.”

In March 2011 Save Stoke Lodge Parkland (a separate group) applied for Town or Village Green Status for the parkland. In August 2011 the council let the land for 125 years to Cotham School for a peppercorn rent. The school's rights under the lease are subject to “all existing rights and use of the Property including use by the community”. The school was aware that the land was subject to a TVG application and that the Council had recently promised that the land would never be fenced. Cotham School agreed to this special clause to protect community use.

Over a few weeks in summer 2018, Cotham School held a series of meetings with BCC planning officers resulting in a U-turn in BCC's decades-long view that the historic parkland was the 'curtilage' of Stoke Lodge. As a result, officers enabled the school to put up its fence with no planning application.

A series of three short podcasts (from before the fence went up) and three videos (based on information disclosed later on about the decision-making process) explains how this happened.

We Love Stoke Lodge is a community group seeking to maintain this important, historic and highly-valued open green space for the benefit of all, and this website aims to explain some of what we’ve been doing and are still doing to achieve this. Our objective is to enable a stronger platform for partnership working between the school, the Council and the community so that we may return to a position of peaceful coexistence on this land, as enjoyed for many generations and for the benefit of future generations.

Stoke Lodge is a grade two listed house set within 26 acres of land

which was in notable private ownership until 1947

when it was bought by what is now Bristol City Council.

For more information see our TVG page announcing the result