THURROCK Council is set to crack down on nuisance parking outside the borough's schools.

Last year the council set up a group to look at the problem of parents parking inconsiderately outside schools in 2023.

The group has reported back after exploring ways to tackle problem in ways appropriate for individual schools.

The group undertook site visits to primary and secondary schools across the borough, to see the differences between schools with travel plans and schools which don't have travel plans and receive more complaints.

A "toolkit" of measures that can be taken by schools and the council to combat inappropriate parking has been published and will be discussed by Thurrock's place overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday.

The toolkit includes parking enforcement and a 'Park and Stride' programme to encourage pupils and parents to park five to ten minutes away, and walk the remainder of the journey.

Walking Bus schemes have proved successful. These follow a route with children joining as the group proceeds through a residential area towards the school.

The report said: "The purpose of this toolkit is not to demonise trips being made to school by car, some of the are often valid and the use of the car to the school site may be the correct mode of travel for some children and pupils, but encouraging other modes for trips, both active travel walking and cycling and sustainable modes of transport, can bring significant benefits to parents, pupils and the wider community.

"Obvious benefits include reduced congestion outside schools, leading to improved air quality and reduced levels of harmful emissions and particulates, which disproportionately impact the young and developing lungs of children at the school, as well as the onsite staff and residents who live in the vicinity of the school site, but also improves the safety for all road users."

The report adds: "Increased levels of non-car trips also improve physical activity levels of pupils, as they walk or cycle to school or to- and from- transport stops.

"However, other benefits which are less obvious include improved communication skills for children, improved alertness, and ability to learn in the classroom, and improved road crossing skills and awareness of danger as they hone their skills on a daily basis at a young age."