MP for Bexhill and battle, Huw Merriman, has joined the call from the staff, children families of All Saints CE Primary School in Sidley to stop wasting time and to close All Saints Lane during school drop and collection times.

Children for year 2 took part in a peaceful protest on All Saints Lane this week to highlight the dangers of parents and others parking on All Saints Lane rather than the free 200 space car park in Sidley, only 150m away.

Headteacher, Mike Taylor, shared his concerns that a serious accident was simply a matter of time if things continued as they are. “We are frustrated that following a successful trial of closing the road, we are still in a position where red tape is getting in the way of a free, community led solution to this problem.”

The Year 2 children were takin part in a Social Action project where each term, each class in the school identifies an issue in the community that they want to tackle. Other classes are addressing litter across the town, supporting the Marketplace at the Freedom Church and making pen pals with residents at the Orangery.

Huw Merriman, MP for Sidley, said “I was really pleased to meet the children of Year 2 who were passionate campaigners for better road safety outside their school and consequently had no problem in persuading me to support them on their protest march.”

“As a long-term supporter of no car zones outside schools, I was pleased that the government’s emergency Active Travel Fund was used by the County Council to provide temporary road closures outside All Saints School in Sidley during Covid. This allowed parents and children to walk safely to and from the school where the road and pavements are narrow. I share the school’s disappointment that the Council considers a further period of evaluation and consultation is necessary as this will add several months to re-instating the safety measures for the longer term. I have asked the council to reconsider their procedures."