The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
“Defeatist” attitudes towards tackling anti-social parking by parents at a town school have led to calls for the number of pupils to be reduced.
Irresponsible parking has been an ongoing concern to residents living in the Woolram Wygate area of Spalding, close to Spalding Primary School, and they fear the situation will remain “intolerable” as plans progress to build a two-classroom extension.
The extension is intended to replace a double-classroom mobile building on the school site, but South Holland District Council ward member Coun Roger Gambba-Jones is calling for planning permission to be refused.
In a letter of objection to the plans he said: “Unfortunately the county council has stated previously that the anti-social behaviour displayed by these car driving parents is no worse around this school site that it is at many others, therefore no extra resources can be justified to address these problems.
“This defeatist attitude seems to indicate that the county council is not seeking any other ways of dealing with this negative impact on the residential amenity of residents in the longer term.
“As such, the only hope residents have of seeing this intolerable situation reduced is if the current pupil numbers are reduced.”
Spalding Primary School has grown massively in size since it first opened in 1982.
It took in three reception classes, totalling 90 children, last September.
The mobile classroom was lifted into place during the summer holidays to provide additional teaching space, angering residents who feared the parking problems would get worse as a result of the additional children attending the school.
The 2014 intake is expected to drop back to 60 as building work progresses on Spalding’s first primary academy school on the nearby Wygate Park, which will welcome its first reception class in September.
The new classrooms at Spalding Primary, which would also include toilet facilities, cloakrooms and storage area, are planned within the school boundary and if given the go-ahead will result in the removal of the double-classroom mobile.
A statement submitted as part of the planning application said: “The proposed development will enable Spalding Primary School to continue to provide and meet the future education needs for the catchment area of the school.
“It is clearly in the interests of Spalding Primary School and the pupils who need education, to improve this school where the required facilities and skills are already provided.”
