Panel to visit 'horrendous' school parking

Councillors want to see parking near a school before allowing a 300-pupil expansion to progress.

Warwickshire County Council has allocated £31m of funding for permanent extensions to buildings at Avon Valley School & Performing Arts College in Rugby.

It was proposed to introduce a travel plan with three car parks to be actively promoted as alternative pick-up and drop-off points to side streets.

Regulatory committee member Adrian Warwick said he had "lost count of the number of leaflets that have gone out about where people can park, how they can walk... It has not worked". All except one member of the committee voted for a site visit.

Proposals made public in June last year were met with a backlash from residents who said their streets and accesses were swamped daily at pick-up and drop-off times.

The 300-pupil increase would be "gradual, taking account of the housing sites to the north of Rugby that are projected to continue to build out over the next 10 years", a report from county planning officer Andrew Close noted.

A "significant impact" was expected on the Newbold Road roundabout, but a mitigation scheme was being planned with the effect on the rest of the roads "expected to be minor".

It was proposed to bring in the travel plan with the Avon Mill Recreation Ground, Newbold Quarry Nature Reserve and Elliott's Field car parks to be actively promoted.

The majority of existing pupils "arrive by foot or bicycle" at the 1,100-capacity school, the report also said.

Conservative councillor Warwick referenced past efforts to tackle what he called "horrendous" problems on streets.

He said he had "lost count of the number of times I have had a highways team here to reinstate grass areas due to inconsiderate parking" during the winter.

"I suggest we do take the suggestion made [by Reform UK councillor Stan Carvell] about a site visit, that we park in the car park 800 metres away and that we walk to the school from there at peak time to see the parking.

"That way, members can decide themselves whether parents will reasonably do this 10 times per week."

Councillors who backed the expansion project in December remained unconvinced about plans to change travel behaviour, agreeing with issues highlighted by Rugby Labour borough councillor Tony Freeman.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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