Harborough council makes decision on school parking problem

Harborough District Council has made a decision regarding the problem of parking outside a primary school.

Earlier this month MP Neil O’Brien called on the council to help ease the problem of heavy traffic outside the school, which the headteacher called a ‘huge problem’ and feared “sooner or later an accident will happen”.

The Harborough MP suggested to the council that parents of children attending St Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Market Harborough use the council-owned Commons car park as a drop-off zone in the morning. This has been approved by Harborough District Council.

Parents of children at the school will be issued with permits for the car park which will give them access between 8.20am and 8.50am. The permits will be designed by the children and will be updated annually. The office for the MP said the start date has not been set yet, but they understand it will be soon.

Cllr Darren Woodiwiss, Harborough District Council’s cabinet lead for environmental and climate change, said: “We are pleased that on this occasion a practical solution has been found to address the issues that the school has said it experiences during morning drop-offs. We have spoken to the headteacher and have suggested that the children are involved in designing parking permits for parents to use the Commons car park. We will work with the school to issue permits as soon as it is ready.”

MP Neil O’Brien said: “On my recent visit to St Joseph’s, Mrs Dabbs told me about the difficulties they were experiencing during morning drop-offs. The school has no place to drop off children safely, which often leads to dangerous parking and children getting out of cars on the busy Coventry Road. However, there is a council-owned car park nearby, which is virtually empty at that time of the morning.

“I wrote to the council and as a result, I am delighted to say they will allow the Commons car park to be used as a safe drop-off zone for the children. The school will issue parents with permits which will be valid between 8.20am and 8.50am. The design of the permit will be decided by a competition of the children, with a new design chosen annually."