THE father of two children who attend Newton St Cyres Primary School has written a letter of support to Mid Devon District Council to approve a plan for a new school following the rejection of the plan due to road safety concerns:

My name is David Alcock, and I am the father of two children who attend Newton St Cyres Primary School. I am writing because I wish to state my strong support for the plans the school has to construct a new building on Station Road, as well as the proposed Travel Plan, and the revised road safety scheme.

It is my strong opinion that the premises of Newton St Cyres School are in genuine need of replacement.

There is no safe entrance area as members of staff have to drive in to the school car-park through the same gateway as the one used by parents and children to access and leave the school; the main hall is small and of limited usefulness when compared with the “sports halls” of modern primary schools; and three of the four classes in the school are taught in temporary buildings which are completely out-of-date.

This morning I learnt that some of the windows of the south-facing classroom for reception children have been sealed shut by walls which are tilting with old age. This is one example amongst many.

It seems obvious that the buildings of the school need to be replaced.

The school’s current location is also, in my opinion, a cause for concern. Fast-moving and often heavy traffic goes straight past the school, metres from its main gate, along the busy A377.

Whether pedestrians are walking up the very narrow pavement from the village green to the school or crossing the road to Tytheing Close during drop-off and pick-up, they are obviously at risk as a result.

Obviously, parents like me were delighted to learn about the plans to build a new school in Newton St Cyres with EFA funding under the Priority School Building Programme.

We see this not only as a chance for our children to be educated in a building and in a location which is safe, but as an opportunity for them to be schooled in a purpose-built facility much better equipped to satisfy the full range of their educational needs.

I and many others were, therefore, deeply disappointed to learn that the District Council planning committee had rejected the revised road safety scheme for the junction between the A377 and Station Road, and that the building of a new school was in jeopardy as a result.

Having considered this scheme myself (the improved visibility that it will give to motorists approaching the A377, and the prioritisation it will give to vehicles turning into Station Road) I believe that any foreseeable dangers to road users will be effectively neutralised by the proposed changes.

As for pedestrians, they will not be using this section of road anyway, as they will access the footpath to the school by walking through Godolphin Close.

Besides this, I and many other parents, will strongly support the school in its commitment to dilute the flow of traffic as it passes from the A377 onto Station Road and down to the new school site.

Many parents, including myself, already park in the Parish Hall car park before walking to and from school, and I am sure this will continue. The school has made a commitment to stagger the school day with after-school and breakfast clubs, and I’m sure that parents will be interested in the proposal for a walking bus.

For all of these reasons, I hope that the District Council planning committee will reconsider its decision to reject the revised road safety scheme that has been submitted to them by Kingswood Homes.

There seems to me to be no good reason to reject it, and I think it will be a great shame if this rare chance to give the children of Newton St Cyres a fit-for-purpose school is missed.

David Alcock

Newton St Cyres

by email