RESIDENTS of a Weston estate who fear a popular recreation field could be lost when a new state-of-the-art school is built have started a

RESIDENTS of a Weston estate who fear a popular recreation field could be lost when a new state-of-the-art school is built have started a petition to keep it.North Somerset Council wants to build a new school on the Bournville estate, and merge the infant and junior sites into one.People living in the area are behind the scheme but were outraged when it was revealed it could be built on a recreational field used by budding young footballers every day.They were under the impression the new buildings would be built on one of the current schools.The council held a meeting at the For All Healthy Living Centre in Lonsdale Avenue to discuss the proposals, including the plan to build on the field, which is near Selworthy Road and Grasmere Drive.A petition to keep the field as it is and have the school built elsewhere has been started by two Bournville residents, Pat Davis and Del Cole, who are both cleaners at the two schools.They hope planners will investigate other sites if they show how strongly people feel about the idea. But the authority insists the plans are at a very early stage and is committed to exploring other options.Mrs Davis, who has been a cleaner at the schools for 36 years, said: "We didn't realise they were talking about using the field, because nobody had really heard anything about it up until now."People have started asking us for information because no-one seems to know about it."It is all a bit vague at the moment, nothing was said about what they would do with the old schools once the new ones were built."A North Somerset Council spokesman said: "We are at the initial consultation stage and no decisions have been made as to the location, size and layout of the building."It has been suggested that one option maybe to locate the new amalgamated school on the old football field, therefore saving the considerable disruption to pupils and the added expense of housing the school in temporary accommodation. This, along with other options, will be considered as part of the consultation stage."* Pictured: Deleth Cole, Pat Davis,Thelma Cooper, Toni Bidwell and Sylvene Howells with their petition.