CCTV picks up more people illegally stopping outside Grimsby schools
152 Penalty Notice Charges have been issued.
More than 150 fines have been issued to drivers illegally stopping outside of schools in Grimsby in the last nine months.
Updated figures have been released by North East Lincolnshire Council to show the effect of council-installed CCTV at Signhills Academy in Cleethorpes and Old Clee Primary in Grimsby. Cameras were first installed outside Signhills last September, while Old Clee got its CCTV in December, and two more schools will have them up and running in June.
A total of 152 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been issued across the two sites, 122 of which have been paid. There have been 88 PCNs at Signhills and 64 issued for offences outside of Old Clee Academy.
This means that there were 34 PCNs issued in term time between the Easter break and Spring half term. Nine of these were at Signhills and 25 at Old Clee.
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, says it shows the CCTV rollout has worked as hoped. “Without a doubt, these cameras are making spaces outside our schools much safer for children and their families.
“We have been very clear on our approach. This is about keeping children safe when they are entering and leaving school.
“We’ve seen instances before where parents are simply stopping their cars right outside the school entrance and abandoning their vehicles to take their children to school, with no regard for other road users or pedestrians.”
The initiative has also previously received school staff praise, as it has led to reduced numbers of vehicles stopping outside of schools at peak times. Cameras have now been installed outside of Queen Mary Infant and Nursery School in Cleethorpes, and Welholme Academy, Grimsby, reports the Grimsby Telegraph.
These will go live from June and there will be a two week grace period where warning letters only will be issued to drivers stopping on zigzag lines outside of the schools.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has also previously reported on more school parking CCTV rollout details in North East Lincolnshire Council’s latest Local Transport Plan. The schools getting the four new cameras will be Waltham Leas Primary, Scartho Infants, and Stanford Junior &
Infants Schools. The council has set aside £95,000 for these enforcement cameras in 2023/24 and £50,000 the following financial year.
There are also plans to have automatic number plate recognition enforcement cameras at six schools in the next year. This includes all four schools part of the council’s School Streets trial – Pilgrim, Ormiston South Parade, Reynolds and Macaulay – and Waltham Leas and Queen Mary.
This scheme has seen motor vehicle traffic banned on approaches to these schools.
Anyone who is issued a PCN for illegally stopping outside one of the schools with CCTV must pay a £70 fine. If they pay within two weeks, it drops to £35.