Parents parking outside this Hartlepool primary are causing a danger say school chiefs

A small number of parents are hindering the visibility of pedestrians and other road users by ignoring parking restrictions, which include yellow lines, outside Jesmond Gardens Primary School.

School bosses have regularly warned parents in newsletters and patrols have been carried out by community safety chiefs, which council officials say are starting to work.

The width of Jesmond Gardens is also reduced due to residents parking opposite the school.

Concerns for children’s safety have also been raised by a near neighbour saying there is a shortage of metal barriers between the pavement and road.

Alan Reed, 62, a retired chemical industry worker, who lives close by, said: “All it takes is one child to run out between parked cars on the pavement and they are going to get hurt.

“I can’t understand how a new school was built without barriers around it, especially on such a busy road.

“If you look at Sacred Heart school it has barriers outside, and outside the old Jesmond Road school there are barriers.”

Mr Reed has contacted his ward councillors and the school about the issue.

Jesmond Gardens Primary School opened in 2011 and has around 350 pupils on its roll.

In November, it won the go-ahead to build and open a new nursery for two and three-year-olds.

In a joint statement, Jesmond Gardens Primary School and Hartlepool Borough Council said: “The safety of our pupils is paramount.

“The problem is not a lack of barriers but a small minority of parents ignoring the parking restrictions and as a result impairing pedestrians’ and other drivers’ visibility and also causing inconvenience to residents who live in the vicinity of the school.

“The school and the Council are working together to tackle the problem, including the school issuing regular warnings in its weekly newsletter to parents and members of the Hartlepool Community Safety Team patrolling the area.

“As a result, we have started to see a reduction in the problem and we will continue to take action to resolve it.”

The statement added: “In terms of railings, we do have railings at key points along the road outside the school, in particular on the signal-controlled junction in front of the school entrance, in front of the other entrance to the school near the staff car park and where the footpath running adjacent to Grayfields sports pavilion meets the road.

“These are all specifically placed to prevent children and other pedestrians walking straight ahead onto the road.”

But it added it is not practical to have railings the full length of Jesmond Gardens as, combined with the school fence, the pavement is too narrow for wheelchairs or pushchairs to be able to pass, creating another potential safety risk.