OBJECTION TO CLOSURE

THE SITE

(1) The site for the new school is situated on open pasture land, bordered to the North East by the cliffs of the River Wye and the barbican of Chepstow Castle, to the SE by the steep rocky valley known locally as the Castle Dell, to the NW by private residential development of some quality, and to the SW by the A466 road, known as “Welsh Street” as it enters the built up town area.

(2) Welsh Street/A466 is one of the two main routes into Chepstow from Gwent. ‘Parking is banned along its length. A car park is situated at the town end of the road, which provides the only access to it. (Traffic entering Chepstow from the A48 and seeking the car park has to turn into Welsh Street at a traffic-light controlled junction before the old town gate. The area is congested. Following the opening of the A1+8 ‘by-pass’, currently under construction, it is considered that traffic leaving the town by the present A48 route will find it difficult to enter/cross the Gloucestershire/ Gwent traffic flow. If this proves to be the case, the Welsh Street access to Chepstow will necessarily attract the main volume of local traffic.) Traffic in Welsh Street at present is considerable, follows the main patterns for a commercial and shopping center, and comprises the types of vehicles associated with such activity.

(2.1) Welsh Street/A466 slopes from LW to L. The approximated difference in level between the west and east boundaries of the proposed school site is 39 vertical feet. From the crest of Welsh Street/A466, occurring in the vicinity of Crossway Green, to the east boundary of the proposed school site, the difference in levels is approximately seventy-nine vertical feet. It may thus be appreciated that the A466 passes the site from West to East on a marked downward gradient. This results in:-

a) A considerable volume of water flowing down the road in wet weather. In sub-zero temperatures, this water tends to freeze and create hazardous conditions.

b) A tendency for vehicles approaching the town to be driven, albeit unintentionally, in marked excess of the 30 M.P.H. speed limit. The inherent potential for accidents involving traffic associated with the school to occur is self-evident

(3) Access to the proposed school site from A466/Welsh Street is by a pull-in or forecourt intended to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. This area is entered via two gateways apparently 6m in width and set 44m apart. For vehicular use, the western (up-hill) gateway is designated ‘IN’; the eastern (down-hill) ‘OUT’. To the west of the IN gate, there is a separate pedestrian access, possibly intended to be associated with the junior forms. There is a similar pedestrian access to the east of the OUT gate, perhaps for use by the Infant forms.

(3.1) Some 76m further east of the 07T gate, there is a separate access for Infants. It is considered that this access constitutes a hazard on two grounds:-

• It connects directly between the Infants’ hard-top play area and A466/Welsh Street, thus allowing any child who wishes to leave the school site unobserved. This is clearly undesirable.

• Conversely, this access will admit to the site anyone who wishes to enter unobserved. The risks are obvious.

(4) It is urge’ that this particular access is removed from the scheme. It is clear from the design of the forecourt that the arrival and departure of children by vehicle is anticipated. There is nothing to indicate that the implications of this have been considered very carefully, however. As a result, there will be congestion, dangerous manoeuvring, parking problems, and a potentially dangerous combination of children and vehicles moving unrestricted over most of the area, unless considerable changes to the present plan are made.

(4.1) Neither is there any indications that much thought has been given to car parking for those employed at the school. Spaces could, logically, be required for the following:-

8 teachers (excluding a non-teaching Head Reacher
1 Secretary
1 Caretaker/Cleaner
1 Kitchen Staff
1 Visitor, or Specialist Teacher, or Health Worker etc.

This totals 12 parking space excessive. The design allows for 19 spaces, plus ‘Junior Hard play/Overspill Parking’.

(4.2) The entrance from A166/Welsh Street to the main Chepstow town car park (cf 2.i. above) is situated approximately 270m from the entrance to the propose school site. It is not clear whether or not all, or any, staff working at the school would be required to leave their cars in the main Chepstow car park and walk the remaining distance to and from the school. This point must be clarified, since the space available to vehicles upon the school site is crucial to the safety of children and drivers alike.

(5) The problems created by coaches on this site must be addressed. Since it is proposed that pupils from St. Aryans and Mathern shall attend this school, and since these two villages lie ‘on opposite sides of Chepstow, common sense suggests that two coaches will be required to transport the children, one coach from each village. These coaches will enter the school site in the morning to set down the children, and enter it again in the afternoon in order to pick them up. The coaches could, alternatively, set down and collect the children outside the site, but the obstruction they would cause upon the busy A466/ Welsh Street (cf 2.i. above) would make this hazardous and undesirable. It must be assumed, therefore, that coaches and other school-connected vehicles will enter the site.

(5.1) It has been confirmed with coach operators that the average coach of up to 40 seats requires an area measuring 12.2m x 3.6m in which to park safely. Coaches of over 40 seats capacity require rather more room. This minimum space allows for clearance before and behind the coach and also allows for passing traffic on one side only. By superimposing these measurements upon the plan it will be seen that it is possible for one coach to park on either side of the angle of the ‘Setting Down Zone’. The remaining vehicle space, especially towards the OUT gateway, is severely restricted by their presence, however, and children alighting from, or entering, private cars would have to do so from the off-side of the coaches. The overall effect would be severely to limit the flow of traffic through the area and probably cause a tail-back, congesting the A166/ Welsh Street.

5.2 It is necessary to consider in detail the times at which the above congestion would occur. Assuming the school day began at 0900 hrs. It is reasonable to assume that children (and staff) would begin to arrive at the school from about 0840 hrs. This, it is important to recall, is the time when A166/Welsh Street is particularly busy with traffic proceeding into Chepstow for business and domestic purposes. In addition, the Chepstow Comprehensive School situated approximately 300m further west along the A466/Welsh Street generates its own school transport traffic at this time, including bicycles and mopeds. With this in mind, it is essential that all stopping traffic connected with the school should be able to pull in off the main road, and subsequently re-join the A466/Welsh Street safely.

(5.3) In the afternoon, the problem is compounded by the fact that the Infants are likely to finish work about half an hour earlier than the Juniors, but will have to await the end of the Juniors’ day before the Juniors can also board the coaches and all depart for home. The problems of transport policy, the safety of waiting Infants and responsibility for them are matters of grave concern. The demand on the site is that it shall accommodate two coaches from, say, 14:50 hrs.’ until about 15:40 hrs.’ whilst allowing a steady stream of private cars both to park on site and pass through it in the process of collecting children. This, the present site will not permit.

(5.4) By the time the coaches are ready to leave, road and pedestrian traffic will have started to increase as the result of departures from Chepstow Comprehensive School. Safe arrangements for school traffic are of the utmost importance. The site is not big enough to guarantee this safety. As shown, the presence of coaches will:-cause congestion tailing back on to the A466/Welsh Street

(6) I or are these difficulties confined to the use of coaches for transport. It may safely be assumed that a number of children will arrive and leave by private cars; indeed, Gwent County Council’s school transport policy may actually compel some of the Mathern School children to travel in this way.

(6.1) It follows that, at the same time as the coaches are brining children or returning them home, there will be a number of cars visiting the site for the same purpose. It also follows that a number of these cars will belong to families having two, or more, children, of whom one is in the Infants section and the other the Juniors. As with the coaches, a half hour or so of waiting (which means parking) will be necessary in the afternoon. It is assumed that Gwent County Council world not expect the drivers in such circumstances to collect the Infant child, drive away and park elsewhere for half an hour, and then return for the Junior child. If this assumption is wrong, Gwent County Council’s requirements on this point must be stated clearly.

6.2 Perhaps it is intended that parents in this category should drive onto the ‘Junior Hard play/Overspill Parking’ area to wait. This would oblige children to proceed to areas in which vehicles were in motion (cf 55.iv.c above), and this is unacceptable on safety grounds, being contrary to the most basic RoSPA guidelines. Where a school is being built upon a virgin site, it should never even be contemplated.

(6.3) The perils of an unguided melee of cars and children upon a play area would be compounded in darkness or foul weather. In such circumstances, the parents of children living near enough to the school normally to walk to and from their homes would undoubtedly wish to meet them by car if they were able. An informed guess suggests that there could be more than 40 waiting cars in such circumstances.

(7) The ‘Setting Down Zone’, parking for 19 cars (including staff), and an ‘Overspill Parking’ area as shown are insufficient to meet the demonstrable needs of vehicles on site. Clearly, no serious thought has been applied to this aspect of the site, and, as it stands, it is woefully inadequate.

(7.1) Trans-port an’ children must be segregated. This constitutes safe practice from which there can be no deviation. The site will not do to meet such basic requirements as it stands. Unless its area can be increased, or a better lay—out designed, no school with such basic shortcomings should be built upon it.8 A general word needs to be said about the effective control of traffic on the A166/Welsh Street. As has already been mentioned, the speed limit is mostly exceeded (cf 2.ii.b above) and at the appropriate times of day there is additional traffic associated with Chepstow Comprehensive School (of 5v above). A request for a supervised crossing has already been made to Gwent County Council to enhance the safety of children in the vicinity of Chepstow Comprehensive School. Further school development upon the same road would increase existing hazards. In the event of its taking place, a fully integrated system of traffic lights should operate at all necessary points along this stretch of road. Ideally, such a system should be controlled by a traffic warden, to ensure its observance and prevent its abuse by either unruly youngsters or irresponsible motorists.

(8) A general word needs to be said about the effective control of traffic on the A166/Welsh Street. As has already been mentioned, the speed limit is mostly exceeded (cf 2.ii.b above) and at the appropriate times of day there is additional traffic associated with Chepstow Comprehensive School (of 5v above). A request for a supervised crossing has already been made to Gwent County Council to enhance the safety of children in the vicinity of Chepstow Comprehensive School. Further school development upon the same road would increase existing hazards. In the event of its taking place, a fully integrated system of traffic lights should operate at all necessary points along this stretch of road. Ideally, such a system should be controlled by a traffic warden, to ensure its observance and prevent its abuse by either unruly youngsters or irresponsible motorists.

(9) It has already been mentioned that the site slopes about 39 feet from west to east (cf2.ii above) and that this is but part of a long and continuing slope affecting the whole of that section of A166/Welsh Street. In wet weather, rain water flows freely down this road and, entry to the school’s site being on the downhill side of a concave bend in the highway, the natural tendency of water will be to continue its downhill course straight through the school gate. At present, a kerb, pavement and well-footed wall keep such run-off in a suitably deep gutter. Should rainfall be unusually heavy or prolonged, there is no doubt that the site will be flooded by water from higher up the hill. Blocked drains, such as are caused by autumn leaves, will exacerbate this problem. Exceptional drainage to deal with this run-off will therefore need to be incorporated on the school site.

(9.1) In winter, this surface water freezes. The school and its associated paths and play areas appear to be built on no fewer than five different levels (possibly more). The bulk of them occurring on the western side of the main building, which is aligned in such a way that the winter sun will not shine fully upon them until after 1100 hrs. Earlier on winter mornings, the main ‘Staff and Visitors’ Entrance’ and ‘Juniors’ Entrance’ will be shielded from the sun by the building’s own shadow, at precisely the time when the previous night’s frost still lingers and the children are arriving for the day. Icy steps, paths and pedestrian areas are bound to cause numerous accidents of all grades of severity. This betokens very bad planning, unacceptable upon a virgin site.

(9.2) The same problems of water an ice apply to the designated areas for vehicles, already shown to be totally inadequate for their purpose. Assuming that the drop in level from the ‘Setting Down Zone’ to the ‘Staff and Visitors’ Entrance’ is something in the order of 15 feet (based upon a step, as shown on the plan, being in the region of 6″ high – a distance adequate for small children), the ‘Kitchen Service’ area needs must be 2 feet lower still. It is doubted that vehicles will be able to approach it in icy weather without liberal, and expensive, applications of salt and grit. By the same token, the ‘Junior Hard play/Overspill Parking’ area would appear to be some 14 feet below the main vehicle area, and thus in need of special treatment throughout the winter. It is upon this area, re-freezing at the end of the day, that cars and children are supposedly to mingle: The crassness of such stupidity is quite incredible. As has already been stated, no site incorporating such features is fit for a new school