“Green spaces are good, do good and need to be protected for good. They are not pleasant nice-to-haves to be taken for granted - they are the green hearts of our communities.”

(Fields in Trust)
Get Involved

Who we are

We are a group of Oundle residents who are determined to do our best to keep Fletton Field as a valuable green space for the local community to enjoy. We are continuing the efforts of The Oundle Recreation and Green Spaces Group, a community group set up in 2016 to protect the town’s playing fields and accessible green spaces from development but which now exists in name only.

Fletton Field

Fletton Field is one of Oundle’s hidden gems. Located just off the Glapthorn Road. The field is tucked away behind the Abbot House Care Home and two residential houses. It is accessed by a narrow footpath at the side of the houses on Glapthorn Road, and in the north west corner by a track from the car park behind Fletton House.
The Fletton Field land was sold to the Guardians of the Poor by John Smith’s Brewery in 1899 and was originally used as allotments for the workhouse. Subsequently, Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) acquired title to the land under the Local Government Act 1929 and the field was used by Oundle Primary School until the school was relocated in 2016. NCC has submitted two outline planning applications for development, both of which have been rejected.
VISION FOR FLETTON FIELD

Video creation by Wickes Media

Our Plan
We believe that Fletton Field should be kept as a multi-purpose, accessible green space for local residents to enjoy and benefit from; and not sold for development. Surveys of local residents have shown that people would like the Field to provide the following:

  • Picnic and memorial bench seating
  • All-weather paths suitable for wheelchair access
  • Fire pit, with log seating for supervised campfire fun
  • Wildflower meadow area, bug hotels, to promote and sustain biodiversity
  • A sensory area, where anyone may enjoy the touch and fragrance of the planting
  • Raised beds, for groups interested in accessible gardening
  • A gate for Abbott House, residents should not have to take the long way round
  • Fruit trees, fruit for local consumption and to support the green canopy
  • Cycle racks, to support low carbon transport

Appropriate signage, secure tool storage, rainwater harvesting equipment and public waste bins will also be installed as soon as possible to ensure the field is a clean and safe space for all to enjoy. This is a summary of or vision that can be downloaded here

We are currently creating a detailed business plan to be shared with Oundle residents, our local councillors and North Northamptonshire Council in the coming months. The Fletton Field Vision below will be updated shortly to reflect our revised layout and business plan in early December 2021.

To bring these ideas to life, take a look at websites of The Green Patch🔗 and The Geddington Brickyard Garden🔗 – don’t you think this would be popular in Oundle?

This draft plan gives an idea of how these ideas could become reality. Additional suggestions would be welcomed.

FLETTON FIELD PLAN

Version 3 – March 2022

North Northants Council have requested that we create a business plan for Fletton Field showing how we intend to develop it, who would manage the development, and what benefits it will bring to the general public and community groups. The plan is available to download below and we are open to public feedback and comment. If you wish to comment please email : flettonfield@gmail.com

~ click to download ~

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

from the local Community

As we have developed and shared our plan we have received many letters of support and offers of help from local community groups – take a look at the letters and pledges here.

~ click to download ~

Why save Fletton Field?

Parks and green spaces are proven to help people stay physically and mentally well; places where we can all move, breathe, run and play. They are an important tool to drive social cohesion, combat loneliness and build community spirit. The immense value of accessible green space within towns for our physical and mental wellbeing was recognised by Northamptonshire County Council in its Health & Wellbeing Strategy🔗.

Fletton Field is one of only two freely accessible areas of green space within Oundle Town. The site is not needed to meet the town’s commitments for new housing, it is registered as an ‘Asset of Community Value’ and is recognised as Local Green Space in local development plans.

Its central location, being close to: Fletton House (the Community Hub), the doctor’s surgery, sheltered housing, care home and library, makes it an ideal space for exercise, activities and informal outside events for people of all ages and abilities.

Oundle has considerably less freely accessible green space than other comparable towns in Northamptonshire – ten times less per person than Raunds and five times less than Burton Latimer. Most of the green space within the town’s boundaries is privately owned, public access is becoming increasingly limited and even some of this has been allocated for housing development. Losing Fletton Field to development would reduce Oundle’s publicly accessible green space by 42%.

We feel strongly that Fletton Field belongs to Oundle. North Northamptonshire Council will replace Northamptonshire County Council and East Northants District Council from 1 April 2021 and now is the time to reassert the town’s claim to the land.

How you can help save Fletton Field

Become a FRIEND OF FLETTON FIELD
Sign The Petition
Join Facebook Group
Email Comments
👍 Sign up as a FRIEND OF FLETTON FIELD –  click or tap to open our sign up form.

WHY BECOME A FRIEND? A formal business proposal for Fletton Field is being prepared to be submitted for consideration by North Northamptonshire Council early in 2022. A key part of the proposal is to form a not for profit community group: the Fletton Field Association, with a constitution and a management committee. Anyone who supports the campaign is invited to become a ‘Friend of Fletton Field’.

👍 Sign the Petition – We’d like a show of hands of who would like Fletton Field to be kept as a green space for Oundle to enjoy.

👍 Download the Vision Document and let us know your thoughts! Would you like to propose an addition?

👍 Go for a walk around the field – enjoy the nature that already exists there and consider what it could offer the town.

👍 Talk to Oundle Town and North Northamptonshire Councillors about Fletton Field – tell them you want to see the vision become a reality.

👍 Join us on facebook – @SaveFlettonField or email us with comments and/or to join or receive updates from our regular meetings.

Other ways you can help?

We welcome any and all help from across the Community; in any way you feel you can – from volunteers to help in getting the word out, talking to local organisations and business, sharing our campaign on social media. Or maybe you are an experienced trustees keen to join the Charity board that will be established to hold the land in Trust.

To join our team please email us at flettonfield@gmail.com

“ It is beyond any dispute that the town needs more amenity greenspaces. Fletton Field is of critical importance to the town, in terms of its size, location and feel. Across the UK many local communities, just like Oundle, have successfully raised funds to save their greenspaces. There is no reason why Oundle can’t also secure this last remaining area of freely accessible greenspace for all of its residents.”
Christina Cork, Chair of Oundle Recreation and Greenspaces Group

the year Fletton Field established as public space

times less accessible green space in Oundle than comparable towns

%

reduction in Oundle's accessible greenspace if Fletton Field is lost

We’d like your support if you would like Fletton Field to be kept as a green space for Oundle to enjoy.

become a Friend of Fletton Field