The permit system will be introduced to ease the school’s parking problems

A pass system is being introduced to ease parking problems at a Leicestershire school. Harborough District Council said it introduced the measure in response to difficulties experienced by parents and carers of children at Market Harborough Church of England Primary School.

The new system will operate in the council-owned Doddridge Road car park near the school for 30 minutes at the start and end of the school day, allowing parents to park there rather than on the street. A council spokeswoman said the scheme would be launched in time for the new school year at the end of August 2024.

The new arrangements follow the introduction of a similar parking scheme earlier in the year by the council at St Joseph’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in the town. Elaine Bird, head of regulatory services at the council, said: “We have been discussing options with Market Harborough Church of England Primary School to see if we can find a practical solution to the parking issues some parents and carers are experiencing. We understand the difficulties parents and carers can face when dropping off and picking up their children. The council will continue to work with schools in the Harborough district where possible to ease on-street parking issues at peak times of the school day.”

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Neil O’Brien, the Conservative candidate for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston at the next general election, welcomed the changes but said in a statement on social media that parents at the school had said they would prefer to be able to drop their children off using the car park Angel St. instead of having to cross main roads to get from the Doddridge Road car park to the school.

Before the permit was announced, he said: “I am renewing my appeal to Harborough District Council to allow parents to use the Angel Street car park when it is not busy to let them drop their children off, because they have already been very kind. it allowed parents from St Joseph’s down the road to do a similar thing to stop them parking on busy Coventry Street and I think that’s what we need here too, because otherwise we’re going to solve the problem.”

After the council announced the use of Doddridge Road car park, he said: “Parents at Market Harborough C of E say they would prefer to be able to drop their children off using Angel St. Car Park rather than Doddridge Road Car Park on the other side of town , I appeal to the council to rethink this decision to make life a little easier for parents and avoid parking on nearby roads.”