THURROCK Council has overturned a previous decision which forced parents to use a school playground for parking and drop off manoeuvres.

Following the construction of a two-storey extension to provide six additional classrooms at the Woodside Academy off Grangewood Avenue in Grays in 2013 the council received complaints that the school was failing to properly manage parking at drop off and collection times.

As a result, in 2015 the council imposed a condition to manage the volume of traffic at peak times within the school site, rather than on the highway, where vehicles caused congestion.

However, the school raised concerns about the safety of pupils with vehicles manouvering on the school playground and said it did not have staff to monitor the situation. This resulted in further complaints.

So in 2023 the school submitted an application to remove the condition after devising a new travel plan which was approved at a planning committee meeting last week (Thursday, 8 May).

A little short of two years later, the matter came before the planning committee, where school governor, Fiona Gardner said: "This arrangement has not proven to be a viable option and after careful review we've developed a new school travel plan and car park management plan that has been approved by Thurrock highways and planning.

"The previous condition, which permitted parental parking on the school playground led to several issues, including safety concerns, disruption to the normal functioning of the school day as well as proving very unpopular with parents.

"The playground area, initially designed for play and outdoor activities was not intended for vehicle use. This resulted in increased risk for staff and children at pick up time."

Ms Gardner added: "We've developed a new comprehensive school travel plan and car park management plan that addresses these challenges and promotes safer, more sustainable travel options.

"The new plan includes improved measures for managing parental parking off site, encourages walking and cycling and introduces a more effective traffic management system that prioritises pedestrian safety.

"The school have introduced a popular walking bus that now has approximately 50 pupils joining it daily and have increased the number of extracurricular clubs allowing flexible and staggered drop off and pick up times."

How the new classrooms will look.

At the same meeting Woodside also was sucessful in an application to create four new classroms at the site.

After winning support from committee members, the school will now replace existing demountable classrooms with a two-storey four classroom building with associated WCs, storage, circulation, and an office.