PROTECT TUNSTALL COMMUNITY

I am in support of KCC's application for the relocation and building of Tunstall School.

I myself was a pupil at Tunstall School, finishing nearly 12 years ago, and live in a neighbouring village that will be directly affected by the increased traffic flow that will accompany the move from single to two form entry.

When I was at Tunstall the accommodation was not fit for purpose. I somewhat doubt there has been any improvement since. Classrooms were small and cramped. Outdoor spaces were small and restrictive. Communal learning areas (such as library and IT facilities) were so small that they were almost non-existent. This didn't provide a suitable environment for effective learning, especially at a young age. This has also been noted in KCC and Ofsted statements, and therefore it represents a fact that the current site and buildings are not fit for purpose for the current single form entry primary education. Arguments about retaining the current site can't be valid with statements from influential bodies like these. Indeed, results attained at the School may be good, but with greater space and fit for use facilities they could be bettered. With a long term rising population trend local government isn't going to approve a move to half form entry due to its cost ineffectiveness with the population growth trend, again this is a futile argument.

Where ever there is a proposed development like this, be it housing or indeed schools, there is going to be local objection to development on green land, increased traffic and the buildings themselves. Tunstall is no exception but with increased population there is a need for new schools in the town. Land cannot appear from no where! Sure, the population growth may not necessarily be exclusive to the Tunstall area, but the combination of the need for a replacement for Tunstall School with the need for increased school places could be seen by KCC as an ideal opportunity to remove two problems with one solution - it's more cost effective to build one two form entry school than two single form entry schools, and ultimately cost will play a large part in the decision making process of KCC's plans for school places. It's a school in the village, not the village's school, and so it's not solely for the village's use, people from outside of its immediate vicinity can and should be able to access the school - the quasi-market system that we have in this country means that parents can choose what school they send their children to, regardless of location.

It seems logical to say that traffic flow will increase at school start and finish times, although most likely after and before commuter traffic times respectively, not at the same time. It's not just Tunstall that is affected by increased traffic at this time, however. The whole of Sittingbourne goes into gridlock - outside every school - Tunstall will be no different, but I don’t think the impact will be that great - it will be at the same time as current traffic build up. Perhaps with improved and increased facilities the School would be able to provide more after school clubs that would reduce the impact!

The most subjective part of my comment is to agree that parking may be problematic. There aren't many on site spaces for leaving and collecting children during normal school times. Not only this, but the space would be completely inadequate for school events such as the summer fete, concerts, parents' evenings, May Day etc. (I'm surprised that the village scaremongers haven't thought of this!). This would cause huge spill over into neighbouring roads, with potentially unsafe movement caused by the roads and traffic between the School and cars. I feel that there would be a suitable solution to this problem. The KCC owned site includes a part to the west that is marked as unused in this application. If the site plan were to be flipped such that the staff parking is located on the west of the site rather than the planned east of the site, a portion of the unused section could be used for an additional car park, easily accessed by the now west aligned driveway. Having separate entrance and exit driveways and access points to the road could also improve traffic flow by reducing the load on a single access point.

This is a fantastic opportunity to improve a school that has struggled with its accommodation for decades, as well as meet the needs of a population rise. The reports within the application state that the marginal traffic impact on the village will be not be as great as local commentators are speculating on. I am in support of this application and fully hope that it is granted.