New Essex primary school approved but fears grow over school run …

Concerns have been raised about school run related congestion around a planned new primary school in Basildon. The new 420 place Basildon primary school will be located at The Dry Street housing development in Nethermayne, and was granted permission by Essex County Council’s planning committee today (May 26).

But the committee heard a lack of allocated parking for parents was not something the council could insist on because it was “not policy compliant”. Instead a school travel plan will encourage most parents to walk. The school and integrated nursery– anticipated to be ready from September 2024 – is part of a planning deal associated with 725 new homes being developed at the site.

Essex County Council say the new school will ensure children in Basildon get their preferred school place. It will also negate the need for families to travel out of area for school. When at full capacity the school and nursery is predicted to generate some 290 vehicle journeys in the morning school rush hour and 186 movements in the afternoon school rush hour.

But the transport statement suggests that “implementation of a dedicated travel plan alongside the additional proposed cycle and scooter parking the proposed school development [should] generate a significantly lower level of vehicular trips” than that.

Currently there is no local primary school or nursery within the Nethermayne development and as such existing occupiers of properties with children have no option but to travel to access education. It means cars are already being used to ferry children and a new school would result in “redistribution of trips rather than new trips”. Over time it is suggested that the development would actually “significantly reduce the length of trips associated with accessing education” in this area and also the reliance on cars.

Planing committee member Councillor Luke Mackenzie said there needed to be provision to allow parents to drop off and pick up children. “This is definitely something that is needed but I feel that we are not learning the mistakes of the past with this application because parents need to drop off their children. It’s all very well saying it’s in walking distance or take public transport but in reality that doesn’t happen.

“Every single primary school I can think of in Basildon has severe parking problems.” Principal planning officer Tom McCarthy told the committee that initial masterplanning established that the “majority of the pupil roll should be accessing the school by foot”.

He said: “Sustainable travel is the direction of travel in terms of policy. Drop off and picks off points is something which policy is not advocating at the moment which is why it is not coming forward in the proposal. I do hope the travel plan can be quite comprehensive – the school will start with a one form entry in reception and then after that a two form entry, so there should be a good grounding to allow the school travel plan to get some initiatives in place and set that early mentality.”

References

^{^} Basildon and Rayleigh MP Mark Francois says ULEZ will “hit the poorest hardest” (www.essexlive.news)