School Parking

[SEMPA1234567]

A housing development was given planning permission in our town under the condition that they also built a new school to provide for the extra kids.

Old school was closed and all kids moved to new building.

3 years down the line residents are constantly complaining about parking. I’ve never seen anyone do anything like block a drive etc the general vibe is they just don’t want people parking on the roads outside their houses. Private road signs have now started to appear (not sure who’s put them up).

My personal opinion is as long as your not being inconsiderate then parking on the road should be fine and if the residents didn’t want people from the school parking there then they should maybe have thought about that before they brought a house next to a school! It’s max 30mins in the morning and afternoon so can’t see it’s a big issue, people aren’t leaving their cars there all day.

I’d like to know though does anyone have any specialist knowledge in this area, planners etc. Are the residents correct and roads on a new build estate private and aren’t allowed to be parked on or are they just like any other street in the area? Is there a way to check a roads status?

Btw none of the roads are gated so I assume there’s a least right of way to drive over them but I just don’t know what that means for parking.

If it’s against the law then I’d stop parking there immediately but this would seem a bit strange to me!

The council will be able to tell you if they've adopted the roads on the estate or not. If they haven't been adopted and the residents are stuck paying to maintain them (usually due to developer cock up unless it's a very posh estate) I can see why they wouldn't be happy about lots of school traffic, but I think it would be very odd to leave access to a school to the mercies of a resident's association.

@SEMPA1234567
Agree with above. Are roads named? Is toad adopted by the local authority? This means they are responsible for maintaining it. Also the conditions pertaining to parking etc. Residents associations rarely control a road and can enforce parking restrictions.

The school should maybe look at walking crocodiles though. Organised walking groups that walk through the estate. Does anyone else park there? Are any no parking signs/private road issued by the council? It’s unlikely to be a private road these days. Most developers do comply with road regulations.

Thank you for your responses. I’ve talked to some other parents that live on the estate. It seems that the roads are a mixture of adopted and unadopted roads. Some the council are responsible for and some that the owners pay maintenance for. Even the mums that pay maintenance for their road didn’t seem to know what the rules about parking were!

A parent has written to the council to seek a bit more clarity so we’ll see what the response is.

It seems to me to be just a few homeowners that are getting themselves worked up about nothing and are trying to make things difficult for parents using their cars. In reality though I can’t see what they can do unless they’re willing to pay for a private company to police their own private road! They’re probably just have to learn to live with it! There’s nothing else around the estate so the only issues they have will be from the parents, the rest of the day it’s absolutely dead around there!

It seems to me to be just a few homeowners that are getting themselves worked up about nothing and are trying to make things difficult for parents using their cars. In reality though I can’t see what they can do unless they’re willing to pay for a private company to police their own private road!

They could put gates on the road entrance if they get planning permission from the council, or just a manned barrier that operates a few days per week or hours per day. The barrier could be manned by local residents.

Where I live one private road, which is a through route to non-motorised vehicles, has a manned barrier down one way about 3-6 times a year from about 8am to 6pm year to ensure that the road stays private. They pay a company to do it. There as when other roads are closed, whether adopted or unadopted, the residents man the barriers themselves.

A handful of private roads with minor celebrities living on them, have had years of fights with the council as they have put up large gates at the end of the roads without planning permission. (The people already live behind gated properties and if you are upstairs on one of the buses with a telephoto lense I suppose you could see in. ) The reason the council have rejected the gates is because it means that the emergency services don't have access and things like refuse/recycling collection and royal mail have difficult access.

BTW the council maintains all the roads in my area. Those on unadopted roads have to pay additional fees on top of their council tax for their road to be maintained.

Hmm, torn.
Are you absolutely sure noone is parking inconsiderately? It is incredibly annoying to try and exit your house to go to work and find someone parked across your drive, who tells you "I'll only be 5 minuites" when you asked them to move rather than walk off.
I got blocked 3 or 4 times in the 6 months I rented that house - and those are the times I know about, as I tried to avoid using the car at school drop off times.

I live near a school and the frustration is usually about dangerous parking or stupid parking. Driving onto the grass areas, driving across pavements, on double yellow lines, blocking the coach parking, parking on the end of the parking bay, blocking the fire exit of a local business...

The parents then ont look when driving off, nearly hitting kids.

Unfortunately the few idiots overshadow everyone that parks sensibly.

@SEMPA1234567
Rather than asking around (people don’t really understand highways regulations) why not ask your Highways Authority. There may well be plans to adopt all
the roads. They might be waiting for the contractor to finish some work, for example. Residents on a private road do have to pay for its upkeep. They may well not want the school cars and, if if remains private, they can apply for gates.

Many parents are not considerate. The school should be organising crocodiles from less contentious areas where parents can park. Therefore speak to the school. You can park safely and considerately on adopted roads where there are no parking restrictions. Or maybe walk a bit further and park elsewhere?

If I was a resident I would do what my estate did, we got organised and got the local councillor involve. We ended up with double yellows where it wasn’t safe to park and a residential zone with no parking hours. Every so often the traffic wardens pay a visit and issue tickets, worked a treat.

You cannot do any of that via the council on an unadopted road. The question from the op was about this type of road.