Richard Stevens

It was up early to make sure I was down at St. Dominic’s School for a site visit by the Borough’s Development Control Committee at 8.30 a.m.

The school has applied for planning permission to build an extra classroom and no-one objects to that. However they have also applied to alter an ‘existing’ car park off the Margaret Street entrance and have announced that access for the pupils will then only be allowed through the gates in Newcastle Street. This has caused uproar from the parents who rightly argue that Newcastle Street is a busy road and that forcing children to use those gates poses an enormous safety risk. The parents want the Margaret Street entrance to be retained particularly in view of the fact  that Margaret Street has recently had tens of thousands of pounds spent on traffic calming measures and a pedestrian crossing under the ‘Safer Routes to School’ programme.

I have supported the parents in their campaign and was pleased to be able to speak at the subsequent meeting of the Committee. I supported the comments of my fellow Ward Councillor Joyce Farnham and spoke for five minutes highlighting the parent’s objections. It was very reassuring to hear one committee member after another speak about their concerns on safety grounds of the proposed access arrangements. Eventually it was unanimously agreed to defer a decision to allow the school to produce a report they had referred to and to invite further comment from the County Council Highways officer.

We haven’t won the war yet but we certainly won today’s battle.