East Sussex parents demand road with no motor vehicles to improve child safety outside school

Protestors gathered outside Southover Primary School with a banner demanding the long promised School Street in Potters Lane.

The School Street would mean no access for motor traffic on this short narrow pavement-less road during school drop off and pick up times, allowing children to walk or cycle on this stretch of road safely.

Parents are now planning a petition to take their frustrations to County Hall with the support of local county councillor Wendy Maples.

Councillor Wendy Maples said: “It’s great that parents and local residents want to help enforce and extend the successful low cost scheme trialled two years ago. The cash strapped County Council should be welcoming this.

"Instead they say this is too much of a risk. But they won’t tell us what that risk is. So I will be going to County Hall with the parents to get answers and get this scheme in place.”

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) first promised a School Street more than two years ago in 2020.

In 2021, they conducted a successful trial closing the road to vehicles during drop off and pick up times. Local residents claim they offered to help enforce this scheme so that it could be extended, but this was refused by the ESCC who ended the trial scheme.

In July 2022, the ESCC circulated what parents called a more “complex and expensive proposal” for the street involving signs, planters and coloured tarmac.

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Eight months later, residents had heard nothing more despite requests to the ESCC.

Local parent Rebecca Scott said: “We support the scheme that was trialled. It helped make the walk, scoot or cycle to school feel safe and fun and should have been continued.

“East Sussex County Council seem to be happy to spend money on workshops but seem incapable of progressing anything practical. The simplest, least controversial and cheapest solution is to put up the signs so that everyone knows it is illegal to drive down this road at school times”

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “A School Streets trial project was undertaken with six schools across the county in May 2021. Following an evaluation of the trial three schools were prioritised for the development of permanent School Street schemes, with Southover CofE Primary being one of the three schools prioritised.

“In May 2022, ESCC undertook further work with the three schools and the wider communities, including local councillors, Cycle Lewes and Lewes Living Streets, to co-design a concept design for the scheme which would mean that Potters Lane would be closed to traffic, except for local access, at school drop off and pick up times.

"The concept design work has been utilised to secure recent funding from Active Travel England’s Capability Fund to enable detailed design work to be undertaken during 2023/2024.

"A consultant is currently being commissioned to undertake the design and engagement work with the school, local members and importantly the local community. It is currently proposed that this detailed design work will commence from May 2023.”