Parish council call for improvements on new primary school design

PEDESTRIAN access and traffic management are the key areas to improve in the design specification for the long-awaited new primary school at Pathfinder Place, Bowerhill, say Melksham Without Parish Council (MWPC). 

Wiltshire Council has recently submitted a planning application for the new school which could be built when there is sufficient demand for primary school places. The school, which will be Bowerhill’s second primary school, will be south of Western Way, part of the development of 235 houses.  

The design specification to build the primary school for 30 nursery places and 260 pupils aged 4-11 was discussed at the parish council’s planning meeting on Monday 23rd October, where MWPC submitted comments about things they would like to see improved on the design. 

In the planning meeting, it was noted by members they were ‘pleased’ with the fact that the design now includes their request for showers, scooter racks and electric charging points.

However, members raised concern and ‘disappointment’ that pedestrian access and traffic flow had not in their view, been properly considered, with MWPC urging Wiltshire Council to improve these elements of the design before the primary school is built. 

Traffic build-up 

In comments submitted by MWPC about the design, the parish council has requested a left-turn only sign is installed for traffic coming out of the school. Councillors said this would minimise any potential conflict between vehicles and pedestrians accessing the school via one entry point. 

MWPC also said there is a potential for traffic to build up in the car park due to vehicles waiting for a gap in traffic. They also noted there could be a traffic build up on Pathfinder Way, which they suggested could be further compounded by the proposed adjacent development of 210 houses and a 70-bed care home is approved at appeal. 

“I was most concerned by the potential conflict between pedestrians and vehicles just inside the school gate and that when there is a lot of pedestrian movement into the school, it will prevent vehicles from entering the parking spaces and the drop off zone, so the traffic will back up on Pathfinder Way, which is the last thing we want to happen,” said cllr Alan Baines. “I think that is a very important omission in this proposal.”  

To alleviate traffic build-up, MWPC has also asked Wiltshire Council for traffic waiting restrictions to be enforced along Pathfinder Way at the point where Newall Road and Maitland Place join Pathfinder Way and at the proposed new primary school access road on Pathfinder Way. 

Pedestrian access 

How children access the school from Semington Road was also noted as a concern by MWPC, particularly as it may result in people walking along the grass verge of the A365 Western Way, being close to the busy road and inhaling vehicle fumes. 

They also said that previously, they requested for additional pedestrian access to the school off the A365 via the hoggin footpath adjacent to the school. However, this had not been taken on board in the plans. 

 Cllr Richard Wood said, “I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see our suggestions around pedestrian access, to save the children from Semington Road and from town walking all along by the side of the busy main road and very busy when they are walking to school [have not been addressed]. I was a bit disappointed about that and I am not sure if it’s one we can pursue.”   

MWPC urged Wiltshire Council to start work on a safe walking route from Semington Road to the new school, using S106 funds that have been pooled from recent developments, to pay for this, particularly as Wiltshire Council’s draft School Place Strategy says that all children have the right to walk or cycle to school. 

Pedestrian access to schools is an issue MWPC has raised with Wiltshire Council before.  

In the parish council’s comments to Wiltshire Council about the Pathfinder Place primary school, they said that previous experience in recent years has shown their comments about pedestrian access to new schools in the parish have not been considered in the planning or pre-application stages, with Wiltshire Council then having to put them in retrospectively, at a greater cost. 

They cited Melksham Oak Community School and the ongoing need for a footpath at the back of the school, which is currently waiting to be built, and the access to Forest & Sandridge CE Primary School as examples. 

Other things MWPC have requested to be considered in the design of the primary school are; solar battery storage, installing a defibrillator for the school to use, they have proposed for green cladding on the school to blend in with the adjacent green land and have asked for proofing against bird and seagull roosting and a bird management scheme to be put in place following Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s recent concerns about ‘bird strikes’ as the helicopter leaves and returns to its base at Outmarsh.