Parking plea at St Oswald's Primary School, Durham

Staff from St Oswald's Primary School on Church Street took to the Market Place on Saturday (November 2) to drum up support for their parking campaign. Some are said to be facing costs of more than  £1,200 to park per year.

At present, staff have the option of paying for limited on-street parking near the school, which is within the city’s “Controlled Parking Zone” or using Howlands Park and Ride off South Road.

However, staff say this is not suitable as the buses serving the park and ride are often already full and therefore do not stop.

And because council rules mean the site is only for people leaving their vehicles to use park and ride buses, if staff walk to the school instead, they are at risk of receiving a parking ticket.

St Oswald's Primary School teachers and supporters. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Staff are now urging Durham County Council to allow them to pay for yearly permits that would let them park for free nearby.

Teaching assistant Hannah Ryall, 31, said their message is "fairness".

"One of the arguments from the council is that it will create more pollution, but we are having to drive past the school anyway to get to the park-and-ride so we are polluting the street regardless,” she said.

"The permits that we would like don’t necessarily have to be on that street, we could park in the street nearby."

She said by the time staff get to the park and ride, the buses are full and they drive past, leading to teachers arriving at school late.

St Oswald's Primary School, Durham City. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Caroline West, a year five teacher, said that costs can sometimes be £8.50 a day.

"It's unbelievable," she said. "When you have your books and everything to mark and you are the last stop on the road, the last thing you want is to miss multiple buses in a row when they are full.

"I just keep paying extra, and extra - money is coming out all the time."

Deputy headteacher Beth Windsor, 27, has been at the school for six years and emphasised the pressure the parking situation is placing on staff, many of whom are working parents.

She said: "We are the only school in Durham county that has to pay for parking. Since I've been working at the school, costs have increased.

"This is a huge cost being put on to our staff. We just feel it is unfair that we are having to pay to work."

Emma Farthing from the NEU. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Also present at Saturday’s demonstration was Emma Farthing,joint district secretary and member of the National Education Union (NEU), who said: "The union is backing this because it is about an inherent unfairness. At the end of the day, they are the only Durham county school that are expected to pay.

"Why would any educator want to move there when they will have to pay to park? Some of the lowest paid staff, support workers, are being made to pay to go to work."

Labour MP for the City of Durham, Mary Kelly Foy, added: "I'm pleased to support the school staff of St Oswald's Primary School and Nursery with their campaign.

"It cannot be right that staff at St Oswald's are the only ones in the City of Durham constituency who are being charged by the council to park their cars when they are at work, simply because of the location of the school.

"Unbelievably, some members of staff are now having to pay more than £1,000 and the local authority has rejected their request for help, suggesting they use the Park and Ride instead.

"However, this shows that they haven’t taken the request seriously or they would realise that would mean almost all staff would be late to work!

"St Oswald's is a great school, with dedicated staff, and we need to support them to keep it that way. This petition has a simple ask, think again.

"I would encourage all parents of children at the school to get involved and add their signatures. You can also contact me at Mary.foy.mp@parliament.uk if you want to help out."

In response, Mark Jackson, head of transport and contract services at Durham County Council, said: “St Oswald’s Primary School is located within Durham City’s Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ), where demand for parking is a lot higher than in other parts of the county. Parking charges are in place to encourage a regular turnover of spaces for residents, visitors, businesses and their customers, and to help lower emissions and improve air quality.

“While we continue to offer short stay permits to support parents dropping off and picking up children from St Oswald’s, unfortunately, we are unable to provide reduced cost permits for staff.

“Doing so would commit us to making this concession for other businesses in the zone, which would undermine the scheme and exacerbate the current parking problems outside of the school.

“We’ve met with representatives from St Oswald’s to discuss other options, including the use of our Park and Ride service. This runs from 7am and 7pm and stops a short distance from the school on Church Street. The service costs £2 per day with a Pop Pay As You Go card and departs every 15 minutes.”