Plans lodged for more parking to help with chaotic village school run

Plans have been lodged to create a public car park which could address traffic issues in a Torridge community.

Parkham Parish Council wants to develop land next to the Allardice Hall in Parkham for the 34-space car park as well as amenity space.

The plans, which have been submitted to Torridge District Council, have been supported by the local school, residents and the badminton club which say hall users and the wider village would greatly benefit from the proposal.

Parkham on an area next to the village hall

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In a letter to the council, Parkham Primary School said although it was a small school of 60 pupils, the impact it had on roads surrounding it was ‘significant’.

The letter said: “Many of the Allardice Hall car parking spaces are taken each day by members of staff working at the school (with the agreement of the hall trustees) and this leaves little or no space for parents to park in order to safely unload or load their children.

“The result is that many have little option but to park on the four-way junction adjacent to The Bell Inn, or along the road which then obstructs the bus stop by the school itself.

“Having a properly created space where parents can drop their children and walk safely into our school would dramatically improve our families’ experience.”

Parkham Parish Council, which owns the land in the proposal, said it had carried out ‘exhaustive investigations’ to find a use for the land but due to overhead power lines and underground earthing cables it was limited.

It said the parish was in need of a larger car park for ‘safety and convenience’.

Disabled parking would increase as a result of the proposal as too would spaces for parents and toddlers and parking for events and gatherings would prevent vehicles having to park on the road, it said.

The amenity area would provide an open space for picnics and relaxation while also improving biodiversity.

It added: “It would be a safe place for parishioners to meet and socialise and add to the ambience of the parish.”

The Allardice Hall is a licensed premises with operating hours up to 1.30am.

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Torridge District Council’s environmental protection team have required additional information on potential noise mitigation.

“Having regard for the application site being adjacent to a residential development, Stanley Court, located directly to the south, there is the potential for disturbance to residential amenity from vehicle movements and people noise, in particular during noise sensitive times, associated with the hall,” the council said in planning documents.

Its planning committee will decide on the application at a future date.