Is this the Braywick Court School 'Travel Plan'?

Here's a video showing the 'walking bus' route Braywick Court School are proposing. 

And the inadequate single-track road all the cars will have to use. The road where cars can't pass in both directions. The one they will then have to widen, taking up more greenbelt land on Braywick Sports Ground. Will a normal road even fit past those 5-a-side football pitches? 

The School has already thought this through though right? RBWM? Put in a planning application yet? Mentioned that this is going to be necessary to anyone yet? The School opens in 2 weeks...

The video also shows the horrible path that RBWM have dug up through the lovely grassland area at the back of Braywick Park already, seems like it was rushed through without any environmental studies. Strange when the nearby site where they're building the new Oldfield School had to put building work on hold so ecologists could capture and re-home a large colony of rare, and protected species of slow-worms. Let's hope they didn't re-home them over here - then bulldoze them up... Did anyone check on that before they did this? It's an offence to kill or injure slow worms in the UK.

Why are we so desperate for these extra school places anyway when a new double-sized Oldfield School opens next year, and the old site will also then be used for education?

Do Bellevue Education Trust have their eyes on the old Oldfield School site as part of the long-game? 

What about the need for 'special educational needs' places locally as noted in this report here:http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/news_18913_chiltern_road_site_options.htm

What if Bellevue Place Education Trust's 'plan B' is to create a situation where Braywick Court already has several classes of children, but can't get planning permission to expand (we certainly hope they won't get it if it involves building on the park, and building the big 2 storey development they have shown they want to) - which then puts pressure on RBWM to re-home the school on the old Oldfield School site - instead of the other options which would provide 'special educational needs' places.

'Special Educational Needs places' ARE needed in the area (See this RBWM Report). Especially since Holyport Manor School closed (and the site is now opening as a... $15m FREE SCHOOL... Founded by... COUNCILLOR DUDLEY, and who's head of Sport is... Councillor Bicknell's Son.). One of the sponsor groups for Braywick Court School (Place Group) were project management advisors to Holyport College too. All very friendly... 

Just a bit worrying that the very people who will eventually be looking over the planning application may be under political pressure from others on the council to support it (presumably those directly involved/linked to the School will rightly step down from the development panel - but that does't mean there won't be pressure on those in the council that ARE on it). If they upset those higher up will they have to step down from their cabinet roles in planning? 

Anyway... what do you think about this walking bus? Would you happily let your 5yr old kid walk this route every day? In winter? When its raining? What then? Ah yes, use the car park at Braywick Park, which barely coped when Winbury was open with 90 kids - let alone 210.

There won't be traffic chaos on Hibbert Road and in the car park when Braywick Court School is up to 210 will there?

Especially not now that there are 8 less spaces available there because RBWM have made them 'permit holder only' for School Staff.

Because the area where teachers used to park when it was Winbury School, now can't be used as they want to build a big new 2 storey development on it. To accommodate the extra 120 kids this school wants to eventually have - over the 90 when it worked perfectly well as Winbury School.

Councillors & RBWM have been promoting the School, taking over the existing Nature Centre Building so the School can use it - and then building a new Nature Centre Building in the middle of Braywick Park as a good thing in the Maidenhead Advertiser.

And who will the planning application eventually be made to? RBWM...

Nice.

Why the 'Walking Bus' plan will not work. Is it just a PR smokescreen to placate locals' concerns over parking & traffic?

The Headteacher of the school has stated that parents will not be using the car park beside the school. This may be her intention, but she cannot make this commitment on behalf of the parents. She cannot enforce this. Some parents will ignore this and as the school grows in size this will inevitably lead to parking problems.  

As we all know, the car park was not adequate when Winbury was in operation with far fewer children. Hibbert Road and Gas Lane are completely unsuitable for roadside parking for the parents. 

The intended "walking bus" or "park & stride scheme" from the Rifle Club/Maidenhead Target Shooting Club car park depends on a lot of parental co-operation and some organisation provided by the school. In bad weather some parents will not be happy for their children to walk from the Rifle Club car park and will want to drop them at the car park near the school. 

This scheme is something that the Head is intending but she cannot force the parents to comply. Even if the scheme appears to work well at the beginning when the school is still very small, it will be much more difficult to enforce once the school grows to full size.

Is this 'walking bus' scheme just a PR smokescreen to placate locals' concerns over the parking & traffic problems, so that they can push through planning permission?

It should also be noted that the road leading to the Rifle Club Car Park is only single track, with no space for traffic passing in both directions. Surely this will end up gridlock with the parents of 210 pupils trying to access it at drop off & pick up times? Have the council considered this? Will they have to build a wider new road, taking up space on the Braywick Sports Fields? (There's a rugby pitch right where they would have to do that so good luck..).

The car park adjacent to the Nature Centre is a public car park and should be available for use by other local residents who walk in the park or visit the Nature Centre. If the school encroaches on this car park it will be reducing the ability of local residents to use a local public amenity, and if they are forced to park on Hibbert Road this would be unsafe.

When construction of the enlarged school begins, presumably all the construction traffic for the work will have to use the public car park. This again is extremely disruptive. It will cause noise and disturbance to neighbouring residents and will also take up space in the public car park.

Remember, when the site was Winbury School there were only at most 90 pupils - Braywick Court School has been 'rubber stamped' to eventually have 210. That's almost 2 and a half times as many children. They intend to take over the existing Nature Centre building, build a large 2 storey development on the site, not in keeping with current architecture, on PUBLIC OPEN SPACE AND build a big brand new building RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BRAYWICK PARK.

Not cool.


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