Plea for 20mph speed limit outside Northill school as rebuild project gets the green light

It would be added to applicant Central Bedfordshire Council’s proposals for a new building at the back of the school in Bedford Road.

Its scheme involves demolishing the current building to provide a new build hall with servery and storage, as well as reorganisation and alteration to parts of the premises, according to a report to the local authority’s development management committee.

“The project would result in a minor loss of playing field and hard surfaced playing area, which can’t be used for sports because of its size and the siting of the school’s multi-use games area,” said the report.

Senior planning officer Eilis Edmonds explained: “This development will assist with the transition of the school to a primary, as part of the schools for the future programme, with an internal rearrangement for extra classrooms.

“There are objections from Northill Parish Council and Anglian Water. The parish council is concerned about parking, the 30mph speed limit zone outside the school, construction traffic, access from Goodwin Field, and drainage.

“Anglian Water states that the sustainable drainage systems (Suds) hierarchy should be followed. The site is in the village settlement envelope and partly within the Northill conservation area, but the proposed building is outside this area.

“The single storey building will include a hall for dining and school activities, a kitchen and other facilities. There would be no unacceptable harm in terms of flood risk to the site or surrounding land, subject to conditions.”

Conservative Northill councillor Paul Daniels suggested: “This would make the school a better place for all of the community.

“The parish council is objecting to this application, but I don’t share that view. A planned (access) route via Goodwin Field won’t happen now, as traffic will come through the front entrance.

“There’s an agreement with the local pub around parking too. I’m still concerned about mitigating the sewage issues, as there are reports of discharge into the local watercourse when it rains heavily.

“My main concern is the safety of the children on Bedford Road, where I’d like to see the speed reduced to 20mph. I’d like to see as a condition a part-time 20mph limit, which has been spoken about at a CBC traffic management meeting.”

School governor Jacqueline Holmes referred to its transition from a lower to a primary last September, adding: “We want a 20mph speed limit for the safety of the children in our school.

“CBC highways tells us we can’t have a safety barrier in front of the school because the pavement isn’t wide enough, or measures in the road to slow traffic or a 20mph flashing warning sign to encourage motorists to slow down.

“Do you have the power to get highways to implement a 20mph limit, or do we wait until a child is killed when with a lower speed restriction we could avoid such a catastrophe?”

Councillors unanimously approved the development, with an extra condition to be determined to implement a 20mph enforceable zone.