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Seaford children at risk from extra traffic
Protesting residents in Wilkinson Way, Seaford
A CHILD could be killed if plans to increase pupil numbers at a Seaford school get the go-ahead.
That’s the view of one resident in Wilkinson Way after proposals were put forward to create two mobile classrooms at Seaford Primary.
Other frustrated homeowners in the street and nearby Foster Close and Chapel Close have said the county council plans will see further traffic in an already busy, no-through road.
Residents stuck in their drives because of children getting dropped off at school and people parking on pavements and zig zag lines have all been par for the course along with occasions when emergency services have had problems accessing the road. - all of which will be considered by the council’s planning committee.
Wilkinson Way resident David Hitchin said, “The inevitable increase in traffic would greatly increase the risk to human health. There have already been several incidents due to traffic congestion; it is only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs, resulting in a serious injury or death.”
People living near the school say there was hardly any consultation and a 70-strong petition has been drawn up. County councillor Carolyn Lambert, who lives in Chapel Close, said most accepted there may be a need for further classrooms but were annoyed at the ‘lack of consultation’.
She said, “My concerns are two-fold. The first is management of the planning process and lack of consultation with residents directly affected by this proposal.
“We knew when we bought our houses there was a school on the site and we understand if there’s an increase in numbers it needs to be addressed. The county council has not considered holistically the importance of those plans on the community.”
Resident Valerie Moffett said she thought Wilkinson Way should be no access except for residents while Richard Robbins thought a ‘no stopping’ restriction during certain times would help eliminate blind crossing/traffic problems.
A spokesman for ESCC Children’s Services said, “We have a duty to make sure there are places available for children at a local school. There are predicted to be more children needing school places over the next few years than the number available at Seaford Primary School, therefore we are looking at using temporary accommodation to meet this demand. This is a recognised way of providing additional places in a flexible way. If the numbers of children needing places remain at this level, we will consider providing permanent accommodation at one or more schools in Seaford.”
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Weather for Eastbourne
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Light showers
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Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
ace08
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 07:51 PManyone no which other schools are being considerd,hope its not chyngton school beacuse the parking at school time around that school is crazy. if they can get a car on it they will park on it ie pavements ,grass verge, bus stops, right on road junctions. and all you get from the council highways .is it only last for a few minutes a day ,but it only takes a second for a child to be injured or even killed . all roads in and around seaford schools should have a limit of 20mph at all times with big fines for anyone caught parking a vehicle in and around the school in a dangerous manor.
roneoron
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 04:49 PMDon't like the look of The Wilkinson Way Gang. 'Elf & Safety'll be on their case for frightening the children!
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