BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – THURSDAY 7 JULY 2005

REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

USE OF GREEN ROAD CAR PARK BY OLD TOWN FIRST SCHOOL

1.Matter for Consideration

1.1To consider a request from Schools Advice and Support Services (SASS) to permit Old Town First School staff and visitor parking in Green Road car park.

2.Recommendations

2.1It is recommended that the proposals set out in item 4.7 be approved

3.Background

3.1Old Town First School and Nursery is located in Green Road in Poole Town Centre. The school currently caters for 120 pupils aged 4 - 7 and a nursery accommodating up to a further 52 part-time places for 3 - 4 year olds.

3.2The roads surrounding the school are covered by the Old Town Residents parking scheme. The scheme was modified a year ago and now comprises of the following:

  • Residents permit parking – 24 hours per day, 7 days per week
  • 2 hours visitor parking 8am – 6pm

3.3While a relatively large number of pupils travel by foot, bus or cycle, there are also

a considerable number who are driven. In this respect an arrangement

exists whereby the under utilised permit holders car park opposite the school on the corner of Emerson Road can be used by parents dropping off and most usefully waiting to pick their children up in the afternoon.

3.4This car park, shown as Appendix A, has 25 spaces and is used exclusively by car park permit holders at a cost of £60 per annum. On the basis of varying usage, 30 permits are issued for these 25 spaces, although even at this level the car park is typically under utilised.

4.Proposals

4.1Estimates of the number of children expected to come forward as a result of developments in the area, primarily associated with the regeneration, shows the need for additional school spaces to be provided in the Town Centre area. In order to cater for this it is proposed to increase the overall capacity of the school from 120 to 240, with the number of nursery places remaining at 52. The timescale for this school extension is:

  • A planning application currently being considered, with a determination date in July
  • start date in August 2005
  • works are complete in readiness for the September 2006 intake. Pupil numbers will increase from the current position as residential developments are completed.

4.2Currently staff who drive to work and visitors park on part of the school playground. However, with the scale of the new development this space will need to be utilised by buildings and a need for an increased play area. There will therefore be the need to accommodate this parking elsewhere. A small number of disabled spaces can be accommodated on the site.

4.3With local on-street parking restricted to residents only and Town Centre public car parks too distant, SASS have requested that the Green Road car park be considered for daytime use by the school, for both staff and visitor parking.

4.4The main issues associated with this proposal are:

(a)Resident car park permit holders, who have enjoyed the provision of dedicated parking bays for a number of years and have paid an enhanced rate for this, will no longer be able to park during the daytime period.

(b)The facility whereby parents are able to park in this area to wait for children at the school will be lost. Currently 100 permits per year are issued to the school for allocation to the parents who use this car park.

4.5Apart from at school times the car park is little used during the daytime on weekdays, while at evenings and over the weekends it has slightly greater use. In this respect in terms of utilisation of assets owned by the Authority, weekday daytime use by the school would seem the ideal solution.

4.6The current situation in respect of a Council owned car park providing dedicated off-street bays for nearby privately owned properties is unique in Poole. All other residents in the Old Town have to use the normal residents permits for parking on-street in any space that they find available. Moreover this on-street parking scheme was modified last year such that overnight parking is now exclusively for residents, with the result that there is now generally sufficient parking on street to meet the current demand.

4.7While recognising the request from SASS for this car park to be used by the school, the needs of local residents who have enjoyed this car park also clearly have to be considered. Unfortunately due the tight timescale for considering the Planning application it has not been possible to pre-consult these existing permit holders. However in this respect it is suggested that the following arrangements will best provide a compromise solution:

(i)17 of the 25 spaces be made available to the school, on weekdays during term time only, for the period 8am – 4pm.

(ii)Existing permit holders be contacted and offered the following options:

  • Retain the current permit conditions for unrestricted parking in the car park – this will be offered up to a maximum of 8 people, allocated according to need being proven to the satisfaction of officers and Ward Members. These permits will, as at present, be confined to use within the car park only. The cost will be £60 per annum.
  • Offer a modified permit which will allow residents parking in the car park outside of the school times specified in (i) above. These permits will also be able to be used on street in the same way as the general on-street Old Town parking scheme. The cost will be £45 per annum.
  • The existing permits be rescinded and permits offered for the on street Old Town parking scheme, at the standard cost of £30.

4.8The school development will be required to pay for the ongoing use of this car park at a cost based on the difference between the current permit income and that received from the new arrangements. In addition all set up costs associated with the changeover such as reimbursements, re-issue of permits, and marking out of designated areas will be funded from the school scheme.

4.9Allocation of part of the car park between the hours of 8am – 4pm is considered as a compromise between the varying demands of the school and residents. Furthermore SASS have indicated that some staff are likely to start work even before 8am or continue after 4pm. In this respect it is proposed to allow limited school staff parking beyond these hours but only where there is sufficient space available and it does not adversely affect residents’ use. This situation will be monitored and if it proves to be an issue, the position will have to revert to strict enforcement of these stated hours.

4.10Enforcement will be undertaken by Parking Attendants as part of their normal Town Centre duties. Failure to display the appropriate permits will result in parking tickets being issued.

5.0Other Issues

5.1The consideration of this report is in respect of operational issues around management of the parking in Green Road car park only.

The wider transportation issues such as:

  • the appropriate level of staff parking that should be made available for a development within a Town Centre area,
  • the effect on parent drop-off and pick up arrangements when this car park is no longer available to parents
  • general Work and School Travel Plan arrangements

will be considered as part of the Planning process.

5.2The land on which this car park is owned by the Council ( Housing ). Linking this car park to the school in terms of staff and visitor parking provision effectively limits the potential for future development of the land should the opportunity arise. This has been taken into account as part of the overall scheme for the Old Town First School development.

JAMES T BRIGHT

Head of Transportation Services

Name and Telephone Number of Officer contact:

Steve Tite (01202) 262020

Appendix A – Green Road car park

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