Petition - Request to reinstate the School Crossing Patrol (SCP) Officer (Fleet Infants/Velmead Junior School/Velmead Rd)

Thank you for your petition to reinstate the School Crossing Patrol (SCP) Officer on Velmead Road.

The crossing on Velmead Road remains a justified crossing and there are no plans currently to withdraw the service permanently.

For reasons of confidentiality, we are unable to discuss why the current SCP is absent but hope the situation will be resolved soon. Due to the absence of the SCP, we have informed the schools so they can notify parents. This will allow parents to make alternative arrangements for their children's safe travel to and from school if necessary. SCPs are a non-statutory service, and responsibility lies with parents to get their children to and from school as they would at other times and locations in the absence of a SCP.

The Traffic Management team have recently carried out an initial site visit and confirmed that there appears to be scope to extend both (i) the double yellow lines on the north side of the road and (ii) the School Keep clear zig-zag markings on the south side, a safe distance beyond the existing crossing point. This is planned to be included in our traffic management programme for 2025/2026.

Please note that the implementation of revised yellow lines / zig-zag markings is subject to the successful completion of the statutory Traffic Regulation Order procedure before additional lines / markings can be provided on site.

This procedure includes consultations with members of the public (via formal public advertisement) and other interested parties and can take several months to complete depending upon (i) the size / complexity of the proposals under consideration, (ii) the number / complexity of any representations received and (iii) the availability of funding and resources to progress the scheme. I hope that this clarifies the current situation.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Waste