Concerns have been raised about the safety of children when a school’s parking arrangement comes to an end.

Staff and parents at Bobbing Primary School have been allowed to use the car park area at the village hall, on the opposite side of Sheppey Way, since 1998.

But executive head teacher Katrina Ware was told four weeks ago that, as of next term, they will no longer be allowed to park there as the number of cars is putting people off from using the hall during the day for events such as wakes.

The trustees say that as it is a charity they need to hire the venue out to cover its running costs.

As a result, the gates to the parking area will be locked from September 1, with users of the hall being provided with a key to unlock them.

In a letter from the village hall secretary Sue Crawford, it is suggested that parents drop their children off outside the school “which is safer than using our hall at present as there is no patrol crossing”.

Mrs Ware said: “About 20 to 30 cars park in there. They don’t take up all the spaces, it’s probably about three-quarters full, and if staff parked more sensibly it would probably be about half full.

“I do understand their reasoning, but it’s a very dangerous road.
“In the past when we’ve not been able to park there due to other events going on we’ve allowed staff to park on the front playground, but I can’t allow that permanently – it’s not right to cut down on play space for the children.

“It’s not what it was built for and we would still have staff parking on the road. With staff parking all down the road, where are the parents going to park?

“I know all schools have similar problems, but I believe it will endanger children’s lives.
“It’s a 40mph, very fast straight stretch of road with no pinch points and no yellow lines to encourage safer parking.

“I don’t want to cause any upset, but I would urge them to rethink their decision and to come to some other understanding or arrangement, because if there’s an accident how are we all going to feel about that?”