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Tom re-elected as Lib Dems make gains
Graham reports back from Friends of Scholes Park meeting
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Gatley Primary School submits plans for 5 new classrooms
by Lib Dem team on 10 February, 2020
Gatley Primary School has submitted planning application 75720 for five new classrooms. It looks like there will be more detailed documents uploaded to the council’s planning website in the next few weeks.
“I have long supported the principle of expanding Gatley Primary School,” said Cllr Iain Roberts. “We are very lucky to have two great schools in Gatley: Lum Head and Gatley Primary. It is unfair that people living in a school’s catchment area should not be able to send their children to their local school, should they wish to do so. Every year I receive calls from families living near to Gatley Primary School, in the catchment area, and wanting their children to go to the school who cannot get in. Every year I support appeals from parents trying to get their children into their local school, but the school simply doesn’t have enough places to meet the demand.”
“There are several issues still to be resolved in this planning application including the challenges of dealing with traffic and parking. Gatley Primary will need to show they have answers to those questions if these plans are to be approved. I look forward to seeing more details about these proposals.” Iain added.
13 Comments
If this goes ahead, how about some on-site parking for the parents to drop-off/collect?
Phil – the car park in Scholes field can used as it is open in the morning and afternoon so parents can use it to drop their kids off and walk up the path
But they won’t.
I am concerned about the current traffic around Hawthorn Road, with increasing the size of the school this will increase the traffic in mornings and afternoons. Also parking is already a problem, increasing issues with neighbouring houses to the school.
There are other schools in the area, why dont people apply there?
Hi Joe – I agree that the school needs to have answers to the parking/traffic issues. However, I think parent choice for schools is important. Some people want a local school they can walk to, some prefer a smaller school or a bigger school etc.
Hi Iain, Perhaps the school could address the current traffic issues now before even considering expanding the school. Burnside Road is like a badly planned car park at school times. Having been subjected to the humps in the road and the 20mph limit to safeguard the children we see almost all of the people taking children to school and picking them up choose to dump their cars along the pavements on both sides of Burnside Road as well as the other surrounding roads. This results in pavements being blocked and poor visibility of oncoming traffic.
5 classrooms with an average of approx 20 children in each gives 100 new pupils and if half of them come by car it adds another 50 cars to the present chaotic situation each day.
Some parents are using the Scholes car park but there are limited spaces there.
So Mr Roberts, what answer do you have to the parking /traffic issues
Hi Sue – yes, agreed: the school will need to have plans to avoid the expansion making traffic and parking any worse in that area.
I totally agree with comments already made and would like to add that the fact that Gatley Primary has already taken in an extra reception class has resulted in a significant drop in numbers at Lum Head, leading to them not being able to run 2 classes, and ending up with 1 class and a mixed class.
Gatley Primary will be nearly the size of a secondary school by the time that 3rd class reaches the end, too big for a Primary.
I have also heard that children are now coming to Gatley Primary from out of the area in an effort to fill the places.
Another solution is called for.
Why is it that lots of children are allowed to go to Lumn Head, Gatley Primary and Kingsway from Manchester. Should be Stockport residents only. That would help and seeing all these children are worried about the future well lets see them walk there then like i did. Instead of using the car ? Grasmere Road full of double parked cars now for Lumn head.
Many parents drop off their kids on the way to work, most having to be in work at 9, it’s understandable that they would drop them off in the car.
John most parents are to lazy, whats wrong with walking your kids to school a bit earlier, walking back home and then going to work. My mum used to walk me to lum head school from styal road, all the way down firs road, under the railway bridge onto borrowdale and up to lumhead and walk back , then she would go to work, me and my brother were always some of the first people to arrive, its just lazy parents who have no interest in anyone but themselves, parking around gatley primary is causing horendous damage to the all the pavements, i’m with sue from burnside, accept i would go out and let there tyres down , lazy,lazy,lazy, lazy, lazy.
I was told the double yellow lines at the Burnside/Cedar/Hawthorn road junction were put there at the request of the school after the children suggested it to make the roads safer. Well surprise surprise every school day at starting and finishing times a number of parents treat these double yellow lines as their own personal parking spaces. I would love to have the authority to be able to issue them with parking tickets. The council could make a small fortune from the fines.