Town's plan to close streets at school drop-off

There could be major changes outside the Oval in Bebington to become a car park for school parents

A £10m plan to "reimagine" a town's streets and make it safer include closing some roads for school drop-offs and pick-ups.

The proposal for Bebington in Wirral, Merseyside, also includes planting trees and putting in new cycle lanes and walking routes.

The changes are part of By Ours Bebington project carried out by cycling charity Sustrans in partnership with Wirral Council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The situation outside St John’s Aided Catholic Infant School was described as "dangerous", with major changes planned around the Oval Leisure Centre.

Some 3,000 letters were sent out to residents to ask their thoughts on the plans along with workshops and surveys following a £2.1m investment by the combined authority to create "liveable neighbourhoods" across the city region.

The area covered by the project includes Teehey Lane, Town Lane, Old Chester Road, The Village, Bebington Road, and Heath Road and includes Bebington cemetery, Higher Bebington recreation ground, ten schools, and the Oval Leisure Centre.

'Vibrant neighbourhoods'

About 2,200 people engaged with the consultation project, with 66% of them supporting the plans and 19% opposing.

The proposals put forward by Sustrans to the council's Environment and Transport Committee meeting include:

• 3.7km (2.3 miles) of improvements to walking routes including 1.8km of traffic-free footpaths

• 2.1km of cycle tracks

• The closure of four streets at school drop-off and pick-up time

• Five enhanced green spaces

• Three one-way streets and measures to slow down traffic

According to Sustrans’ survey, just 20% of people currently feel safe cycling through the town.

Outside the Oval, major changes could be introduced for three schools, Saint John’s Catholic Junior School, St John’s Aided Catholic Infant School, and St John Plessington Catholic Secondary College.

These include closing off the road outside the infant school to traffic and turning the road to the Oval into a two-way street.

Where the road is closed, it could be turned into a play area and the Oval car park would be redesigned to make it safer for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Roads could be temporarily closed outside St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School although resident and emergency access would still be allowed.

Norbury Avenue and Holmway outside Brackenwood Infant and Junior Schools could also temporarily close to traffic at pick-up and drop-off with other measures introduced to slow down cars around the schools.

So far there has been no cost to the council but it will be up to the local authority to find funding going forward to support the plans.

Wirral Council’s Environment Committee Chair, Councillor Liz Grey, said the project aimed "to reimagine local streets in Bebington and supports creating vibrant neighbourhoods with cleaner air, where more people walk to shops and services, stop and chat to each other, and children can play out safely".