Head hits out at danger of yellow lines
AHEADTEACHER claims new double yellow lines are causing chaos outside her school, putting “vulnerable” children in danger.
The yellow lines appeared outside White Ash School, on Thwaites Road, Oswaldtwistle, last weekend.
The school, which has 87 staff for 109 children with additional needs, has 16 minibuses which transport pupils arriving every morning and evening, plus parents who drop off their own children.
The minibuses currently have to queue to park on the school car park, which can fit six at a time.
One side of Thwaites Road has parking bays for staff, and the other has a place where parents could previously park before the yellow lines were put in place. School bosses say the measures have been taken following complaints about the volume of cars parked there, while Blue Badge users can still stop for up to three hours.
Headteacher Sarah Holt, who has been at the school for 25 years, said they have daily meetings with parents, paediatricians and social workers that can last up to two hours.
She said: “We have vulnerable children in our care and some of them have challenging behaviours - they will run - they have no sense of danger.
“There is nowhere to park and it’s causing chaos. One parent this morning had to park across the road. She has a disabled badge, but many parents don’t, and there is no crossing. She then had to put her child in a wheelchair, then take him across the road. Residents aren’t very happy either because our staff are parking where they can.”
Ms Holt anticipates the problems will worsen when a new housing development is completed on the side of the road with double yellow lines.
A county council spokesman said: “People’s safety is our main concern and we introduced these waiting restrictions following complaints about the number of cars that were parking outside the narrow part of White Ash Lane close to the school.
“We ran a consultation giving people the opportunity to share their views before this decision was made. Blue Badge users will be able to park on the double yellow lines for up to three hours.”