The impact of Whitehall Park School on Traffic patterns.

[David Barry]

INTRODUCTION

(While this is of particular interest to people on Gresley Road,  

Ashmount Road, and Stanhope Road, there may be some impact on Hornsey  

lane, and in the Whitehall Park area, including Dresden Road)

When Ashmount School was in operation on Hornsey Lane  the vast  

majority of children lived within easy walking distance.   Even so a  

small minority of parents did use cars despite strenious efforts   

made to discourage car use.  Even these small numbers could, from  

time to time, cause congestion in a way which  inconvenienced  

residents, particularly  on Ashmount Road near the school. This was  

often the subject of complaints to the school and discussed at   

Governing Body meetings. The return of a school to that site could be  

expected to   raise the possibility of a return of traffic problems.   

The proposers of Whitehall Park School have recently begun the  

process of applying for the first of two  planning permissions they  

will need to reinstate a school on the old Ashmount site. The traffic  

impact is one of the matters they are required to address in any  

application for planning permission. Which they have done. It is  

their own prediction of traffic problems with which I am concerned,  

and in which my fellow residents may be interested.

The planning   application is for  permission to put temporary  

classrooms on the site until the old Ashmount School building is  

replaced with a new one. (The second planning application, to be made  

"in the autumn" will be for the work to replace the old Ashmount  

building,  which it is anticipated will be for a full demolish and  

rebuild). If you want to look at the full planning application  

documents are  on the Council's website.  It is  planning application  

P2014/1754/FUL

WHY, BASED ON INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY BELLEVUE LTD, THE NEW SCHOOL  

MAY CREATE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

The traffic issue  issue is addressed by the applicants in two  

documents. A Transport statement and a Travel plan.

The Transport Statement lists on page 9 the no less than 12 separate  

postcodes from which  applications to the school had been received.  

They concluded:

"Some of these postcode areas are over 10km from the school site,  

which is considerably further than may be expected for the typical  

journey to school area for a primary school. Pupils travelling longer  

distances to primary school may be less likely to use active modes of  

transport i.e. cycling, walking and scooters and more likely to be  

transported by car, ..."

The Travel plan includes  a map, which appears to be based on the  

same  information.

Clearly if the pattern of recruitment to this school  so different  

to  Ashmount,   includes people as far away as Tottenham, and hardly  

any children within walking distance, the impact of traffic on  the  

Whitehall Park area , and, in particular on  the amenity of people on  

Ashmount Road and Gresley Road  (always noticeable when Ashmount was   

there), could be significant.  This would be due to a greater  

propensity to car use by pupils coming much longer distances to a  

site poorly served by public transport.

MORE INFORMATION NEEDED

When I realised this I wrote to Islington planning to ask the  

planning committee to take this issue into account. (Which they might  

be able to do by adding planning conditions) I highlighted one  

comment made by Whitehall Park School about the problem:

"however without more detailed information on pupils' home postcodes  

and numbers the effect on use of different modes of transport is  

difficult to forecast."

And noted that the information in the planning application was quite  

old, the application submitted in May and that there will, no doubt  

have been changes to the information. Especially as due to local  

recruitment difficulties Whitehall Park have been actively recruiting  

pupils from the south of Islington, Muswell Hill, Barnet and  

Tottenham. (And the local recruitment difficulties have been  

increased as people in the N19 area who were not originally offered  

the school they wanted on the 15 April, offer day, have had  

subsequent, better offers)

So I wrote to the planning committee and said:

"It seems entirely reasonable that the committee would expect to get  

the most up to date information possible. Given that the school will  

need to monitor admissions carefully, and has already announced a  

programme of home visits to the home addresses of accepting children,  

they must be keeping their records updated on a daily basis. Be that  

as it may  the committee should ask for a breakdown of application  

information dated as close to the planning meeting as practicable (a  

week before?). It might also be considered approriate to have as a  

planning condition, if the application granted, which requires  

regular updating on the progress of admissions.

The information needed would be the number of applications actually  

accepted, and not just made, by postcode, and the number of  

outstanding offers,  that is offers made for which the deadline for  

responding has not passed, but, at least so far, have not been  

accepted. The figures would also take account of those who, having  

been offered a place, and accepted it, have now relinquished that  

offer in favour of a preferred place at another school. Care has to  

be taken on this, as in this year Whitehall Park School is not part  

of the London Pan Admissions system, is taking applications directly,  

and it is entirely possible therefore for a parent to have two  

offers, one for Whitehall Park and one for another school.  It would  

also be helpful as well as these figures to have an updated map. As  

the school needs to have this information at its finger tips, it is  

not burdensome to ask for it.

Without this information it is impossible, as the Traffic Statement  

concedes, to get a clear idea of the likely impact on traffic."

Now obviously I am only one person. If like me, you are concerned at  

a possible build up of traffic twice a day during school term, it  

would be helpful if you were to write to Islington planning and raise  

your concerns. this would make it more likely that they would add  

planning conditions that would help.

Although the official date for objections to be in by has expired,  

Islington Planning will accept comments up to the actual decision  

day, so if you are prompt and send an email to :

[e-mail]

that would help.

Also copy your emails to our councillors:

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

(Of the three councillors, all Labour now,  Dave Poyser is the  

councillor whose surgery, at Hornsey lane Community Centre, is in our  

area.)

Regards

David Barry

Dresden Road, N19.