Bad parking will 'lead to a death' at Cannock school

Householders are angry that a year-long campaign by the authorities to improve safety on Colliers Way in Huntington has failed to produce results.

They claim that twice every weekday their drives are blocked by parents taking their children to Littleton Primary School. Meetings with South Staffordshire Council and the parish council have raised possible solutions, such as painting yellow lines or introducing speed bumps, but none has materialised.

Resident Michelle Frost said: "The situation has got worse, particularly in the last month or two.

"Our biggest fear is that if any of us needed help from the emergency services between the hours of 8am - 9am or 3pm - 4pm it would be almost impossible for them to get access from the junction nearest to the school safely and quickly. Parents are being thoughtless."

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "The problem has increased ten-fold and has now become completely chaotic and extremely dangerous.

"Motorists have also started parking opposite drives, as well as blocking dropped curbs, making reversing off drives difficult and unsafe. It's almost impossible to see any oncoming traffic when you have vehicles parked so close to your driveway.

"It concerns me how little action has been taken. Children are running between cars into roads to cross over to use the park, and the volume of pedestrians at school finish time causes children and parents to have to walk in the road to get by.

"Add to that, the speed that drivers take the bend near to the school and it's a serious, if not fatal, accident waiting to happen. I fear that it will take a pedestrian getting hit by a car before anything is done, which is completely unacceptable."

He said last week his wife had been prevented from taking their four-month old daughter to an important medical appointment because their drive was blocked by two cars.

Today, Councillor Jeff Ashley, of South Staffordshire Council, said a solution may be close at hand. Huntington Parish Council has applied for planning permission for a temporary 42-vehicle car park on county council-owned land in Cocksparrow Lane next to the school.

Councillor Ashley said: "The car park would be used by the school at start and finish times and also by the popular Barns Inn and Hotel, mainly in the evenings and hotels. as well as by the community generally.

"I've got every sympathy with residents. I'm aware the car parking situation has not improved in Colliers Way and although this may not completely solve the parking congestion in Colliers Way, it should alleviate the problem."