March 21, 2019 3.14 pm This story is over 68 months old

Brakes applied to school car park plans

The road has been described as “dangerous” and “chaos”
An example of the parking along Tom Lane during school drop-off and pick-up periods.

A 50-space car park which would aim to relieve some of the “dangerous traffic chaos” caused by parents parking outside a village school is set to be refused.

The plans by Irelands’ Farms Limited, would see the community facility accessed from Drove Lane, in North Rauceby.

They also want to build a residential development, unconfirmed plans for which show five large houses, off Tom Lane.

The development has had supportive comments from 31 people, including the head teacher of Rauceby Church of England Primary School David Wallace, who said: “The construction of the community car-park will go a long way to alleviating the traffic congestion that we see outside our school, particularly at drop-off and pick-up times.

“With parents parking and the road being used as a cut through by much traffic, including HGVs, the road outside our school can become a very congested, dangerous place for all members of our school family.”

Plans for the car park submitted to North Kesteven District Council.

Parent Andrew Mack said: “I regularly see the chaos that the lack of proper parking causes on what is, essentially, a small country lane which was never designed to support the weight of traffic that uses it on a twice-daily basis.

“If the situation is not remedied soon, then it is a matter of when, rather than if, there is a serious accident, possibly including fatal injury to a small child with all the associated pain and recrimination that would bring.”

North Rauceby Parish Council also support the application, though have asked for restrictions on the hours the car park is used.

How the development could look in full.

Officers at North Kesteven District Council however, say the benefits of the plans “would not outweigh the harm caused”.

They agree with the three nearby objectors who say the nearby roads are inadequate and who claim the distance to the car park would mean it would have little impact on parents unless parking restrictions are imposed on Tom Lane.

They add the development would “intrude on the rural setting” of the village and would be in “open countryside”.

Rauceby Primary School itself has an application for a pre-school building and car park still to be determined.

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