Over 20 parking fines issued in just five weeks outside a Cleethorpes School for illegal parking
North East Lincolnshire Council is trying to tackle problem parking
More than 20 fixed notice penalties have been issued in five weeks outside one school in Cleethorpes for illegal parking.
North East Lincolnshire Council is this school year taking further action to deter problem parking outside schools in the local authority, creating increased risks of potential children and vehicle collisions. This has included the rollout of CCTV outside of school parking problem hotspots and the issuing of fixed penalty notices.
Signhills Academy, Cleethorpes, has had issues with illegal parking outside the entrance for several years and is one of the schools that has already had CCTV installed to pick up on illegal parking during 8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm on schooldays. In just five weeks, between the start of the school year in September and October 25, 31 notices were issued and 21 fixed penalties given out for illegal parking outside Signhills.
Parents who breach the rules face a fixed penalty fine of £70, reduced to £35 with payment within 14 days. Funding of £2.1m from the council’s Local Transport Plan is behind the CCTV measures, with Signhills the first school to see CCTV installed outside of it as a result.
Put in place by the council’s partner EQUANS, the Videalert enforcement cameras automatically monitor parking in restricted areas at certain times. The areas are also visibly marked with ‘School Keep Clear’ signage.
Old Clee Primary Academy has also had CCTV installed after the relevant Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) came into effect for three weeks now, and schools have sent out letters to parents advising of the parking restrictions. At both Old Clee and Signhills, only warning notices were issued for the first week the CCTV was in place.
The council has also introduced this week a School Streets pilots scheme to improve road safety outside the following schools:
Machray Place, Cleethorpes (Reynolds Primary Academy)
Macaulay Street, Grimsby (Macaulay Primary Academy)
Allerton Drive, Immingham (Pilgrim Primary Academy)
South Parade, Grimsby (Ormiston South Parade Primary Academy)
The first phase will see residents and parents in the school area informed of the scheme. Signage will follow in coming weeks, making restrictions clear to all, and then there will traffic marshals and barriers to restrict vehicle movement during pick-up and drop-off times at the schools.
The operational times will be between 8.30am and 9am at all academies in the weekday mornings. Macaulay and Ormiston South will have marshals in place in the weekday afternoons from 2.45pm to 3.45pm, while for Pilgrim and Reynolds will operate between 3pm and 4pm. The scheme is also appealing for volunteers to assist marshals with the enforcement of restrictions.
Cllr Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children and education, said: “Volunteers will make a huge impact on families in the area by actively working to reduce accidents and making children feel safer. The scheme also encourages children to walk to school, so will increase the amount of exercise some children get each day and improve their health and wellbeing.”
Each volunteer will be given training, a handbook, high viz clothing and will be subject to a DBS check. Anyone considering volunteering are encouraged to contact the Schools Streets team.