The Priory School planning aplication has now been reinstated and is due to be discussed by SCC committee on Thursday 6th February.
The new Transport Plan, if you can bear to read it, runs to 194 pages. The final conclusions it draws are copied below:
"Conclusion
9.6 To conclude, the proposed expansion of The Priory C of E School, using the ‘realistic’ and worsecase’
approach will not result in a residual severe impact upon the highway network. The revision
to the school’s admissions policy should encourage local families to apply helping to reduce the
need to travel by unsustainable means and improving on the already comparatively low pupil car
access to the school, and consequently reducing the impact on the proposed expansion. Even
under the ‘worse-case’ approach, where pupils are likely to travel from further afield and thus
depend on the private car, the impact on local highway network would not be severe.
9.7 As mitigation, it has been identified that an extension of school peak hour parking restrictions
(weekdays 0800-0930 and 1500-1630) on Longfield Road and Hampstead Lane will help with the
free flow of vehicles and to the coach drop-off facility on Longfield Road. The impact of this
mitigation measure is that:
9.8 Residents would need to park in their driveways and or garages during the school peak hour
restrictions only. At all other times, including at weekends, they will be able to park on street.
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9.9 Parents and carers of pupils from Powell Corderoy School and Priory School will be displaced to
other locations for dropping off and collecting. The Milton Heath Car Park has capacity for
additional drop-off and pick up to occur and is very convenient for Powell Corderoy pupils. There
is scope for further drop-of and pick up to occur on West Bank (East) and Nower Road. Apart
from the Milton Heath car park these are the preferred roads because additional parking here will
not affect the coach route thorough to Longfield Road Coach Park and, it’s a convenient walk for
pupils of both schools along the Struggle and the footpath along the southern boundary of Priory
School.
9.10 Under Section 79 of the 1980 Highway Act, SCC may undertake some improvements to visibility
on the corner of Hampstead lane and the southern end of West Bank.
9.11 In addition the school should seek to encourage car sharing and as far as reasonably practical
and consider employing local people to encourage more sustainable travel habits."
It is clear from the response MVDC sent to SCC regarding this application on 6th December that they are not happy with the situation. Not only have the school totally ignored previous planning restraints regarding pick up, parking and drop off but increased the number of required parking spaces by potentially 20 vehicles without providing any on site facilities for this,
A copy of the fuul response from MVDC to SCC can be found here.