Crowland primary school supported in calls for new parking restrictions
A joint call has been made for county highways leaders to deal with safety fears caused by inconsiderate parking outside Crowland's primary school.
Senior staff at South View Community Primary School, in Postland Road, are concerned about drivers parking in Church Lane, Cloot Drove, Hall Street, Kemp Street and Ambury Gardens.
During a virtual meeting of Crowland Parish Council on Monday, safety and security committee chairman Coun Graham Searle confirmed that a letter of support for the school about the "serious safety and congestion concern" had been sent to Lincolnshire County Council, alongside letters from the police and county councillor Nigel Pepper.
In his letter, Coun Searle said: "There is rising concern from parishioners, the school and councillors regarding the parking of vehicles at school start and finish times.
"When the school reopened as South View, a safety zone was introduced along the school frontage of Postland Road.
"However, this does not cover the Postland Road/Church Lane/Cloot Drove junction, nor the bend in Postland Road, close to the junction of Hall Street, Kemp Street and Ambury Gardens.
"The parking of vehicles in these areas create a situation where those driving along Church Lane and Cloot Drove are forced onto the incorrect side of the carriageway as they attempt to join Postland Road.
"Also, parking on the west side of Hall Street puts vehicles on the incorrect side of the carriageway and blind to oncoming traffic as they approach the bend in Postland Road.
"Safety is further compromised as Postland Road straightens out, due to this being a popular point of crossing for parents and children going to and from the school.
A request for parking restrictions in the area has been backed by Coun Pepper who said: "I trust that the Highways department will now take heed of the concerns and consider the matter.
"In the meantime, and in the interests of road safety, I would urge parents to walk their children to school where possible and should that not be possible, to park their vehicles further away from the school and walk a little further than usual."
. 'Holding action' idea for RBL Hall
Attempts to secure the immediate future of Crowland’s Royal British Legion Hall are being considered, but the town has been warned against having “false hopes”.
Offers to list the building, in Broadway, as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) have been made by ex-parish council chairman Coun David Ringham and the town’s county councillor Nigel Pepper.
During Monday’s meeting, Coun Pepper described the move as a “holding action”, giving any person or group a six-month period to raise enough funds to buy the hall before it is put on the open market.
Coun Pepper, also one of the town’s district councillors, said: “I understand that the parish council has a lot on and so if no one else came forward to register it as an ACV, I’d be willing to take it on, even as a holding action.”
Parish council chairman Coun David Kempton said: “I did get a note from Coun Ringham saying that he thinks the parish council should apply to register the RBL Hall as an ACV.
“This is a building that will be sadly missed but I don’t want anybody to go away with false hopes that the parish council is going to step in and potentially run the building.”
Meanwhile, chairs, tables, kitchenware and other items from the hall are being offered to community groups, in return for a donation to the RBL’s Poppy Appeal.
. Security barrier for Snowden Field fails to convince council
An idea to install a security barrier to stop vehicles being driven onto Snowden Field has been questioned as to whether it represents value for money.
Reports of fly-tipping on part of the playing field, off Thorney Road, led members of the council's farms and gardens committee to ask for to be put up next to an "implements shed" used by parish council staff.
But concerns about its impact on new housing planned for the site, once used by the council for allotment plots, resulted in a request for committee members to reconsider the idea.
Coun Graham Searle said: "We do have some issues with motorbikes on the field, but a barrier won't solve that problem and I fail to understand that benefit of putting one there at this time."
. No grant for St James Deeping Signal Box project
A £500 grant request to help rebuild St James Deeping Signal Box has been turned down as it falls outside the Crowland area.
The request came from the St James Deeping Signal Box Group, which successfully campaigned for Network Rail to dismantle - rather than demolish - the signal box in October 2014.
Coun Jan Woodroffe said: "It's probably a very good cause, it's something we'd all drive past and it would be very nice to see it rebuilt.
"But it's not in our parish and so I don't see it as appropriate to support it."
. New planters to go outside Parish Rooms
Crowland in Bloom volunteers are to be backed by a town business and the parish council in replacing two planters in Hall Street.
Up to £300 of council cash will go towards the new planters outside the Parish Rooms, with a further donation from Classic Printers, of South Street.
Coun Cathi Elphee said: "The planters will last for up to 25 years and make that part of the town look nice and smarter for next year."
