Parents who are being threatened with £130-a-day fines for dropping their children off at school claims have slammed the ‘money-grabbing’ council behind the scheme.
Croydon Council launched the six-month trial outside Woodcote Primary School in Coulsdon, Heavers Farm Primary School and St Chads RC Primary School in nearby Selhurst after their roads became so congested that fights began to break out.
But the ‘dangerous’ move has prompted anger from locals, who are bemused as to how grandparents and pregnant women will be expected to cope with the longer walks – but the council insist they have child safety in mind.
They also fear it will just push the existing parking problems into more roads, causing widespread traffic chaos, and many parents believe finances are the council’s primary motive.
Parents who are being threatened with £130-a-day fines for dropping their children off at school claims have slammed the ‘money-grabbing’ council behind the scheme
Map shows the area around Woodcote Primary School where parents are banned from parking
Croydon Council in south London are running the six-month trial outside St Chads RC Primary School (pictured) as well as two other primaries
Elizabeth Yepes, 48 with her son Matthew aged 10 Caption: Parents at St Chads Primary School, in Selhurst
Martina Coady, 27, who was dropping off her six-year-old daughter Caitlin at St Chads, accused the council of leaving parents ‘completely screwed’ in a bid to make money.
She said: ‘I fully understand the residents’ point of view, but it’s difficult for us as well.
‘I’m not within walking distance so it’s a bit of a pain to come – and usually I would have to come out of here and go straight to work.
‘It’s a nightmare for us as well. Parking over residents’ drives is completely unreasonable, but a normal parking space, I don’t see the issue.
‘It’s going to be difficult for me now because we’re all parking down the road and it’s going to fill up. The council will probably put restrictions on there too.
‘They are going to make a whole lot of money and we are going to be completely screwed.
Tracy Stewart, 50 with her son Luca aged 9 (left) and Maureen Boston, 38 with her year 6 student daughter Laila (right)
A Croydon Council parking warden watches the road where parking restrictions are in place outside St Chads
Another council worker talks to local resident near to the new no-car zone ouside the Woodcote Primary School
‘Of course the money has played a part: wherever the council can make money they make money.
‘It’s a £130 fine for driving up here; how are you going to keep control of that? What about residents with friends and stuff like that?
‘It’s not fair putting extortionate fines on people that are going to school then going to work.’
A camera now overlooks the entrance to the cul-de-sac leading to the school, recording cars as they enter between 8am and 9.30am.
Martina Coady, 27, who was dropping off her six-year-old daughter Caitlin at St Chads, accused the council of leaving parents ‘completely screwed’ in a bid to make money
Residents living there are exempt from punishment – but those with a number plate which isn’t registered will get a fine sent to them.
Another mother called Eki, who didn’t give her surname, said: ‘It’s a good and a bad idea. I’m one of the community, it’s an advantage for people not driving but for people driving is a disadvantage.’
And one parent, who didn’t want to be named, said she fears she was caught this morning because she was unaware of the changes.
She added: ‘We’re new to the area so it’s a bit of a shock.
‘To not be allowed to turn into the road is really annoying. Even just a quick drop off should not really be a problem.
‘If you live on the road and people are parking outside my house, I would be annoyed, however it’s a really busy road, there are two schools nearby.’
A parking attendant was monitoring the situation this morning to see whether the scheme affected traffic in surround roads.
The enforcement officer, who did not give his name, said: ‘I’m looking at the main roads to see how congested they are. I can’t do anything, it’s to see how they get congested then we do reports on that sort of thing.
‘We’re just seeing the impact on the surrounding roads and the disturbance of the cars.’
He added: ‘If it’s successful we will look at doing it in other locations.
‘It’s done by a computer. It targets cars which have gone in there between the times and the footage gets reviewed by an enforcement officer to see if it’s a genuine offence.
Cars parked along Alverston Gardens, the road where the school is situated. The new rules are designed to alleviate parking issues on the road
GV of Woodcote Primary School in Coulsdon, where a new pedestrianised zone has been introduced in the roads surrounding it
‘For the first few days we will only be issued warning notices.’
Georgiee Rodriques, 30, has two children at Woodcote Primary – Savanna, five, and Tallie, two.
The marketing manager lives in Old Coulsdon – three miles from the school – and is unable to make the two-hour walking round trip.
She said: ‘It was literally a few weeks before school finished that they told us this was happening.
‘There were meetings but it was never discussed really, they never gave us an option about it.
‘This will make the school run really difficult, I have two kids and the road is really busy.
‘We’re going to have to cross a busy road, and it’s quite dangerous.
‘Sometimes I would park further away before anyway, but now it’s going to be even worse.
Number plate recognition cameras have been installed next to St Chads to catch drivers who park at the school gates
Signs indicating the new pedestrianised zone on Fairfield Way that leads to Woodcote Primary School in Coulsdon
‘The other problem is that because my daughter is young, I’m going to have to take her in a buggy, but we won’t be able to access the year one playground with it because of building work.
‘I’m not even sure what it’s going to be like, everyone is really dubious and not sure what to expect – I’m really annoyed.
‘The teachers don’t have a car park any more but they’ll still be able to park there, which is a bit convenient.
‘This is the school I chose to send my daughter to but it doesn’t feel nice, we weren’t told about this.
‘There are lots of parents, it’s a big school, and this is just going to cause problems on other roads.’
The ban will also cause problems for parents who live close enough to walk, with parents parking in nearby residential streets which were already busy.
Sadia Mohiud-din, 41, says cars already line her streets during the school run, but says she expects it to get far worse.
The GP, who lives five minutes from Woodcote Primary, has three children who currently attend the school and two more who previously went there.
Felicia Kitcher with her two-year-old son, Immanuel, is also among those who are now forced to walk into school
Elizabeth Yepes, 48 with her son Matthew aged 10, outside St Chads School in Selhurst
She said: ‘I walk my kids to school, because we only live about five minutes away.
‘The streets are going to be a lot more crowded, and I’m quite worried that the road where we live will be used as parking for parents.
‘It currently gets very busy from high school parents, but now I’m thinking primary school parents will park there too.
‘There are a fair number of kids dropped off already but not many of them walk without a parent, so it’s going to be a lot busier.
‘I don’t think the traffic will be worse, but blocking off the roads but won’t reduce the problem, it will just be dispersed.
‘I think pregnant mums and families with young children will really struggle too – the school have said that 75 per cent of families live within a 20 minute walk, but that’s really hard with young kids and can really be double the length.
‘Quite often, the grandparents help me do the school run, and they sometimes struggle with their mobility.
‘I’ve got concerns about older people who might sometimes need to drop the children off close to the school – are they going to make exceptions?
The move will see parents hit with a whopping fine if they pick up and drop off their children outside three schools in south London before and after class. Pictured, Woodcote Primary School in Coulsdon
Another woman, Rita Fyneface, was dropping off one of her children at St Chads
‘Nothing has really been discussed.’
But those living on the roads where the schools are located welcomed the scheme – and claimed it is the only way to stop fights breaking out at peak times.
Other parents said they had seen children almost hit and bollards knocked down as cars struggle for space on the narrow road.
Tracy Stewart, 50, who was dropping off her nine-year-old son Luca at St Chads, said: ‘It’s a great idea. I live in this road and it’s a nightmare in the morning and after school.
‘When I’m going to work I can’t get out of my road. People are just pulling up anywhere. It’s a brilliant idea – we needed to do something.
Commenting on the difference since the measure was introduced, she said: ‘I can’t believe it, this road is usually completely congested all the way down, all the way around, they park on my drive and block the car in.
‘I walk my son to school and other people should walk theirs.
‘There have been arguments, rows. I have been to the school and complained lots of times.’
The six-month trial will affect roads outside Woodcote Primary School in Coulsdon, Heavers Farm Primary School and St Chads RC Primary School (pictured) in Selhurst
Maureen Boston, 38, who was dropping off her daughter Laila, who is in Year 6, said: ‘I think it’s fantastic.
‘There’s usually all sorts of arguments and altercations. I have never driven in here but I’m happy they have put a stop to it.
‘I think it’s dangerous in terms of the kids going in and health and safety.’
‘Before it was very busy, there was lots of cars coming in and with children crossing the road there were safety issues. Now it’s calmer.
‘I think it’s much better and there is lots of parking on surrounding roads for those who drive to school.’
Francoise Gaynair, 40, who was dropping off her daughter Amelie, 10, said she has had three children at the school over the last 12 years.
She said: ‘I’m really happy it has been done. I have been at the school over 12 years and every morning there’s traffic. They park up here no matter what we say.
‘They should leave earlier in the morning and get ready before the children.
‘Kids used to get hurt because parents used to speed down the road, we have had bollards being knocked down. It’s hard to cross for the children.
Parents furious at the plans have branded the scheme ‘ridiculous’. But others have supported the plans and say the roads leading to Heavers Farm Primary School (pictured) and St Chads Primary are a ‘fatality waiting to happen’
‘People were parking in residents’ drives, there’s no respect in that.’
Elizabeth Yepes, 48, who was dropping off her son Matthew, 10, added: ‘I’m much in favour because it caused a lot of trouble, arguments, some people were not happy.
‘I think the best thing is for nobody to park in this road and it’s dangerous for the children.’
Croydon is not the first council to impose such fines, with Hackney council launching its ‘School Streets’ initiative earlier this year at two of its schools.
Cars will be banned from roads near to schools at drop-off and pick up times with pupils being encouraged to walk or cycle.
Croydon Council told MailOnline all surplus money generated from parking fines paid to Croydon Council goes towards the Freedom Pass, a travel scheme for the over-60s in London
A council spokesman said: ‘We are trialling this initiative because the headteachers and local police raised concerns about road safety on the school run, and we want pupils’ families, residents and staff to get in touch with us throughout the six-month consultation period before we consider whether to extend it.’
Councillor Stuart King, cabinet member for transport and environment, added: ‘These roads are a school run traffic headache for everyone, so this trial is about improving child safety and boosting walking and the environment.
‘By getting hundreds of individual parents to park legally outside these pedestrian zones or – even better – at home, we hope this will make a big difference and we want to hear what people think.
‘The temporary number plate cameras will help our officers make a fair decision on who can drive through the pedestrian zones and who can’t, allowing residents, their visitors, school staff and delivery drivers to go about their business as usual.’