'We're fed up of school run parents blocking drives': Calls for council to address parking in Leighton Buzzard estate

Relations between parents and homeowners have been described as "fraught", with allegations of blocked driveways and pavements during the morning and afternoon school runs.

Schools have addressed the issue in their newsletters – but residents say that there is "not enough road available for parents to drop off children".

Cllr John Baker, executive member responsible for highways and parking at Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) says the concerns will be shared with the parking enforcement team – although they have "limited resources".

Neil Cairns, of Highfield Road, who has raised the issue on behalf of the community, claimed: "At 9am, our drive was blocked by a lady arriving late for a meeting in Leedon Lower.

"It took 30 minutes to find her to shift her car. Lo and behold, we return at 3.30pm to find another car across our drive.

"Many other residents are fed up with drives being blocked, but it's not the schools’ fault. It's Central Beds Council for not building more schools and overloading the two lower schools near us.

"The little children nearly all arrive in cars, as their homes are miles away in the new estates."

Jen Lloyd, headteacher at Leedon Lower School, said: "I completely understand the frustration of residents at times, particularly during drop-off and collection.

"The streets are very busy, and I know that some families have found using the paths challenging due to parked cars.

"We have communicated with parents requesting considerate parking or perhaps walking to school.

"We are very happy to work with the community to find ways to reduce the congestion and improve the environment for our children, their families and the people who live on Highfield Road."

Neil claims that he has also contacted Bedfordshire Police about the issue, but that the police are "not interested".

He added: "Blocking a drive is not a crime they say – even though Section 137 of the 1980s Highway Act says it is obstruction."

The LBO has also approached Bedfordshire Police for a comment.

Cllr Baker said: "Our parking enforcement team receives requests from across Central Bedfordshire and has limited resources, so it is not possible to provide a permanent enforcement presence outside individual schools.

"Enforcement officers carry out targeted patrols based on identified issues, demand and operational priorities. Where parking restrictions are in place and contraventions are observed, appropriate enforcement action can be taken.

“It should be noted that unless there are parking restrictions in place, the council has no power to issue penalty notices for parking in front of a driveway. The responsibility sits with the driver, not the council, to comply with rule 243 of the Highway Code.

"The concerns raised will be shared with the parking enforcement team and considered alongside other requests for enforcement activity where appropriate."