Alleyns Staff Parking

[TheCat]

As a neighbour of Alleyns School, I received the attached letter in the post today.

It is a long letter, which in a nutshell says that the school is no longer going to allow their staff to park on the school grounds, meaning they will be parking on local streets.

The letter states that Alleyns is closing its 'Interim' carpark, which it used after the loss of the old carpark due to building works. But using the term 'interim' would normally suggest that it is a temporary measure before a suitable replacement is found. In this case it appears the 'replacement' is to not set aside a small section of their sprawling grounds for staff parking, but to further congest local streets....

Cant say this letter fills me with community goodwill.

There's a contact email of [email protected] for anyone who wishes to follow-up with the school.

[mikeb]

That is a tone-deaf letter.

[worldwiser]

Rather a selective and reductive reading of the 'long letter' wouldn't you say? Their stated goal is to reduce travel to the school by car where possible. How would they achieve that by having lots of parking spaces? I think their approach - working with other schools, incentivising other forms of transport - is to be encouraged and contrary to your opinion, very community-minded.

[TheCat]

worldwiser Wrote:

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> Rather a selective and reductive reading of the

> 'long letter' wouldn't you say? Their stated goal

> is to reduce travel to the school by car where

> possible. How would they achieve that by having

> lots of parking spaces? I think their approach -

> working with other schools, incentivising other

> forms of transport - is to be encouraged and

> contrary to your opinion, very community-minded.

I disagree. The rest of the long letter is just 'patter' to attempt to impress you with all the 'traffic management' initiatives they support, and to the convince you of their commitment to reducing congestion. The purpose being to distract you from the actual reason for the letter, which is to inform local residents that they will be forcing their staff to park in local streets. Exactly how removing staff parking will incentivise staff not to drive when there is free parking in neighbouring streets, I don't know.

[bels123]

I fully support their goal of encouraging sustainable travel and reducing congestion (and more importantly air quality) but surely this only works if there is a CPZ in neighbouring roads to force it. Otherwise what is to stop staff adding to the parking pressures in the area?

The same argument applies to the closeby new Charter school and medical centre where only minimal parking spaces have been provided onsite (as per guidance from Southwark to fit with their travel strategy) in order to encourage sustainable travel but I can?t see that people are going suddenly stop driving if they think there might be a few available free spaces within 500m. All we?ll get is more congestion with cars circling the roads trying to find them.

[flocker spotter]

hmm

Can I hear a cuckoo calling?

[singalto]

Their stated goal is not to reduce travel to school by car and the number of coaches already there for much of the day is mind boggling. A first step would be not to allow children to drive to school! I live near the Harris primary school and parking in local streets during term time is a nice ghtmare. Adding Alleyn?s staff and kids? cars is going to make it worse..

[solar]

Can't they return to using the original car park now that it is no longer required for the temporary classroom block?

[James Barber]

The temporary car park I understand was created without planning permission. It causes issues for Townley Road residents who complained to me so I asked Planning Enforcement to investigate. I suspect this is the result but having left office I've not been told directly by officers.

My perception is the former Village ward councillors, that the main school site fell within the boundaries, turned a blind eye to such contraventions of planning law.

So what will now happen is the school will return to the position before the building works.

[TheCat]

James Barber Wrote:

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> The temporary car park I understand was created

> without planning permission. It causes issues for

> Townley Road residents who complained to me so I

> asked Planning Enforcement to investigate. I

> suspect this is the result but having left office

> I've not been told directly by officers.

> My perception is the former Village ward

> councillors, that the main school site fell within

> the boundaries, turned a blind eye to such

> contraventions of planning law.

> So what will now happen is the school will return

> to the position before the building works.

Thanks James, appreciate the post. If they return to their previous position with parking off Hillsboro road, then fine. But, my read of the letter doesn't suggest this is the case....I hope Im wrong.

[Brisvegas]

TheCat,

I agree that it isn't clear at all from the letter if the car spaces will be replaced. However, I contacted the school yesterday when I got the same letter, and they've confirmed that the car spaces will be replaced on site.

So we can put out pitchforks away for now

[TheCat]

Well...I stand corrected. My apologies to Alleyns, and to Worldwiser above.

I don't think it was 100% clear the spaces were being replaced, and the cycnic in me (most of me) went straight to the negative.

Carry on people...nothing to see here......

[DaveR]

"I don't think it was 100% clear the spaces were being replaced, and the cycnic in me (most of me) went straight to the negative."

....because it's a fee paying school?

[Jules-and-Boo]

I would imagine it's because of Alley's record of total lack of consideration to it's local community, fee paying school or not

[TheCat]

DaveR Wrote:

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> "I don't think it was 100% clear the spaces were

> being replaced, and the cycnic in me (most of me)

> went straight to the negative."

>

> ....because it's a fee paying school?

No. Just because it wasn't clear. Nothing to do with it being a fee paying school. i attended a fee paying school. And in anycase, I have no predisposition either way. Jules and Boo was closer to the mark in their comment above.

[mikeb]

At the risk of reliving a long-running thread, it does seem that Dulwich College is far more engaged with the local community (i.e. non-parents) than either of JAGS or Alleyn's. I wonder if it's either explicitly or tacitly agreed between the three foundation schools that DC will do most of the running when it comes to community outreach / making its facilities available.

[flocker spotter]

we are lucky to have these fine establishments so close to us

[Abe_froeman]

It is a bizarre communication. Why did they bother?

[sillywoman]

"we are lucky to have these fine establishments so close to us"

What utter poppycock. These fine establishments do nothing to benefit the lives of me or mine, and only serve to irritate and aggravate with their loud, arrogant, drug taking students hanging around our streets and arrogant, monster-truck driving parents using our near by roads as a free car park or racetrack on tier way to drop little Johnny at school - not to mention their teachers using us a car park since they built over their quadrangle parking. How on earth do you think they are of any benefit to people living near them? In what way do they benefit 'us'. What an ignorant comment. Tchk!

[Jules-and-Boo]

sillywoman - you forgot the obvious coaches

[flocker spotter]

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> "we are lucky to have these fine establishments so

> close to us"

>

> What utter poppycock. These fine establishments do

> nothing to benefit the lives of me or mine, and

> only serve to irritate and aggravate with their

> loud, arrogant, drug taking students hanging

> around our streets and arrogant, monster-truck

> driving parents using our near by roads as a free

> car park or racetrack on tier way to drop little

> Johnny at school - not to mention their teachers

> using us a car park since they built over their

> quadrangle parking. How on earth do you think they

> are of any benefit to people living near them? In

> what way do they benefit 'us'. What an ignorant

> comment. Tchk!

I am taking the piss

[hammerman]

Thought this was another disappearing thread! Read it up until late last night but from this morning it has not been on the forum and has now re-appeared tonight.

As TheCat mentions, why can't the school give up some of their sprawling grounds for the sake of car parking? Alleyns used to have car boot sales on their grounds years ago and the queue to get in went back to Melbourne Grove so one can imagine how many cars were parked up.

[Townleygreen]

because their grounds are classified by the planners as "Metropolitan Open Land" which can't be built on without fighting with the planners.

[mikeb]

@TownleyGreen

yes that?s true - until they need permission to build a theatre, or sports centre. Incidentally, the sports centre was I believe supposed to be open to local residents outside school hours but sadly (for some) it transpired after it was finished that this wasn?t compatible with security concerns, which presumably were unforeseeable.

Also, there?s a reason you can?t build on MOL: it?s basically urban green belt. And therefore not really supposed to be used for the next unnecessary school facility.

[uncleglen]

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> "we are lucky to have these fine establishments so

> close to us"

>

> What utter poppycock. These fine establishments do

> nothing to benefit the lives of me or mine, and

> only serve to irritate and aggravate with their

> loud, arrogant, drug taking students hanging

> around our streets and arrogant, monster-truck

> driving parents using our near by roads as a free

> car park or racetrack on tier way to drop little

> Johnny at school - not to mention their teachers

> using us a car park since they built over their

> quadrangle parking. How on earth do you think they

> are of any benefit to people living near them? In

> what way do they benefit 'us'. What an ignorant

> comment. Tchk!

Exactly the same can be said for ALL the schools around here- especially the primary schools!