Peasedown St John’s first ever Community Conversation has taken place to discuss ongoing issues within the village.
The meeting took place to discuss the on-going problem of parking and excess traffic around the start and end of the school day within the area.
Organised by local Councillor Nathan Hartley, around twenty people attended – all being from a mix of residential estates and organisations linked with the community.
Nathan said: “For many years residents have often raised concerns with me about parked vehicles on pavements in housing estates near to the school; Bath Road, Sunnyside View, Church Road and Hillcrest – and the added amount of traffic generated due to parents and carers transporting their children.
“I was keen to organise a constructive meeting with lots of different people that could come up with solutions to the problem. Hence, the idea for Peasedown’s first community conversation came about.”
Contributing to the discussion, held at Idwal Close community hall before Christmas, were;
- Cllr Sarah Bevan, Peasedown St John ward councillor
- PSCO Louise Jones, Avon and Somerset Police
- Cllr Andrew Fraser, Chairman of Peasedown St John Parish Council
- Linda Day, Peasedown Primary School Chair of Governors
- David Tilling, Peasedown Primary School Headteacher
- Residents of Hillcrest and Idwal Close
- Percy Clarke, Peasedown Athletic Football Club Chairman
- Bride Marshall, Peasedown Youth Hub Leader and Senior Youth Worker
- Cllr Dine Romero, Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Youth
- Chris Major, Head of Parking Services, B&NES Council
- Steve Blackmore, Traffic Management Leader, B&NES Council
- Steve Atkinson, Curo Housing Officer, Peasedown St John
- Fiona Randle, Schools Property Team, B&NES Council
Chaired by Cllr Nathan Hartley, the meeting was a chance for those present to express concerns and frustrations and propose ideas to tackle the issue.
Cllr Sarah Bevan added: “The ideas that came forward will all be explored and researched over the coming months. Some are more realistic than others, with a number involving finances to be secured from somewhere to source them.
“Cllr Hartley and I, along with representatives that attended the meeting, will looking at what is and what isn’t realistic.”
Proposed solutions were;
- Building a new school in a less congested part of the village;
- Building a car park on a piece of land near to the school, such as the Recreation Ground or one of the Curo-owned spaces in Hillcrest or Albert Avenue;
- Removing the public toilets in Greenlands Road car park to create more parking spaces;
- Creating more incentives for parents/carers to walk their children to and from school;
- Coordinating a car-share scheme for parents/carers;
- Building an American-style drop-off point at the front of the school.
