Last week there was an opportunity for parents and local residents to have a first look at what Winnersh Primary School’s expansion plans might look like.

The council intends to increase the school intake, so that eventually it will have 1 1/2 times the pupils it currently does.   It is one of three schools they have identified for expansion, to meet the potential shortfall in primary school places that they are predicting.    The last two years have seen difficulties over primary school places due to more children coming through than expected and this trend seems to be set to continue.

There are both advantages and disadvantages for the school.

On the plus side, they would get some new buildings and more flexible space, which should provide a better teaching environment and also give them enough room to have more activities before and after school.

On the down side, some parents have concerns about the size of the school, which would then be at about 600 pupils.  But my main worry – and the main worry that I picked up while I was at the event – was about the traffic and parking.  Both are already horrendous, and adding more children could make them much much worse.

It seems as though the expansion is going to happen.  So I will be concentrating on trying to get as much done as possible to help with both traffic and parking.   I have already put in a list of possible options for spreading the parking around, and reducing the number of car journeys.  The Winnersh NAG and our local PCSO are also on the case.  The school will have to have a decent travel plan when the planning application for the new buildings is considered, so we have a chance to get some sensible measures.  To be fair, the school and Children’s Services are both keen to try to fix the problems, and Highways are working on it too.

And finally, one of the proposals is to put in the pedestrian crossing on Robin Hood Lane near Arbor Lane that Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey ran a petition on, a petition which she presented to the council in September. 

If you have any suggestions yourselves, send them to me.  You can leave them as comments here or tweet them to @PrueBray.

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