By Gabriel Morris, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to extend a traffic scheme have taken a step forward despite fears over child safety.

Medway Council introduced the School Streets scheme, which stops drivers from using roads outside of schools during drop-off and pick-up times, across seven sites in April.

The move has been deemed a success and the council wants to expand it to a further nine schools.

These schools are Crest Infants School/Delce Academy, The King’s Pre-Preparatory School and Nursery and St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary School in Rochester, Fairview Primary School, St Margaret’s Church of England Junior School and St. Margarets Infant School in Rainham; Horsted Primary School in Chatham; Hilltop Primary School in Frindsbury, High Halstow Primary Academy in High Halstow; and Cliffe Woods Primary School, Cliffe Woods Pre-School and the City of Rochester School in Cliffe Woods.

But the move was called-in by the Medway Conservative Group and discussed at Medway Council’s regeneration, culture and environment overview and scrutiny committee last month (December 19).

Local residents, parents and staff at schools shared their fears over the plans with councillors at the meeting.

David Stubbs has a child at St William of Perth School and fears forcing parents to drop their children off in Maidstone Road is more dangerous than the current system.

The main road, which is home to two secondary schools, was in the top 20 stretches for speeding offences, with 849 speeding fines handed out in 2023.

Mr Stubbs told the committee: “The council has no data to support dangerous driving at Canon Close.

“But there is data to show the road where children will be forced onto dangerous roads.

“In the last five years, there have been multiple road traffic incidents and one fatal accident on that road.

“The grim reality is if a child gets hit at 30 to 40 miles an hour on Maidstone Road, they’re very unlikely to survive.

“In contrast, if a child was to be hit at 10 to 20 miles per hour on Canon Close, they’re more likely to survive.”

Mark Snoswell is the development director at King’s School Rochester. He supports the rol-out of traffic-free zones but doesn’t believe it will work at his school.

He said: “They will be dropped off around Maidstone Road and then crossing over to get into King Edward Road.

“It’s a very major road. It has raised pavements which have steps going up to them, and it has stepped pavements on the other side. It’s dangerous for kids and parents trying to cross it.

“I worry fatalities or accidents are going to happen.”

Medway Council’s plans would add nine more schools to the programme, joining the seven already participating in the initiative since it began in April.

Earlier this year, Medway Council’s cabinet approved the expansion as councillors believed it was essential to improve the safety of children walking to school.

A consultation into the scheme revealed residents living on the streets support the scheme but those nearby generally did not.

Michelle Atkins, who lives near Fairview Primary, said: “I’ve seen children getting alighted from cars roadside into the traffic.

“With more cars there, it’s an accident waiting to happen.

“I think a child is much more likely to be injured, harmed, or in danger with their parents parking on major roads.

“We're also very concerned that if people can't park in our roads, which is what they do at the moment, relatively safely, relatively courteously, they will move to busier roads such as Maidstone Road, which is a major road, speeding traffic and is already very congested.”

Addressing concerns, Cllr Dan McDonald (Lab) said: “We are still going out to statutory consultation. The speakers tonight have been amazing.

“The stories that you have come and told about the personal problem you have with your own schemes, I’m sure, have been listened to tonight, and there will be an opportunity for views to be fed into consultation.”

Speaking previously on the plans, Cllr Alex Paterson (Lab), Medway Council’s portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, said: “The first School Streets have transformed active journeys to school for thousands of pupils across Medway – creating a calmer environment at the school gate, making roads safer and reducing the pollution being breathed in by young people.

“That’s why I’m committed to further rollout of the scheme where appropriate.

“I would ask residents, teachers, parents and anyone else with an interest, to help us fine-tune the details of these proposals for the next wave of School Streets, so that they can deliver the maximum benefit.”

Medway Conservative Group, who called in the decision, is not opposed to School Streets in principle but claims there isn’t an evidence base surrounding the second tranche of the scheme.

Cllr Andrew Lawrence (Con), shadow cabinet member for regeneration, community, and housing, said: “There is some concern from residents that this is already a done deal, and the statutory consultation is the icing on the cake.

“The cabinet papers did not express the amount of opposition to some of the schemes.

“For example, I presented a petition to the full council, signed by 100 residents in the area around Fairview Primary School, and that wasn’t even referenced.

“I think good policies are made on evidence; bad policies are made on feelings.”

However, as the Conservative motion failed, progress will continue, and a statutory consultation is expected to take place at some point in the first half of this year.