A SECTION of green space on a village housing estate could be dug up to create a number of parking spaces.

The proposal for five parking bays in Bishops Lydeard would help improve the safety of children walking to the nearby primary school.

Bishops Lydeard and Cothelstone Parish Council has applied for planning permission for the scheme in Quantock View.

It has been designed to prevent any damage to the roots of the mature trees on the green.

A statement with the application lodged with Somerset West and Taunton Council says: "The additional parking spaces are proposed to alleviate parking issues experienced in Quantock View.

"On occasion parked cars park along the road edge adjacent to the green particularly during school drop off and pick up causing issues including:

  • safety issues, particularly for school children walking to Bishops Lydeard Primary School, the back entrance for which is located on Quantock View. Visibility for children crossing the road is reduced as a result of the parked vehicles;
  • restricted access for the remainder of Quantock View - larger vehicles struggle to navigate Quantock View when vehicles park alongside the green particularly refuse trucks, delivery vehicles and emergency service vehicles;
  • vehicles parking wholly or partially on the grassed area along the edge of Quantock View damage the grass and deposit mud on the highway causing blockage of road gullies leading to standing water on the road surface."

The parish council commissioned Transport Planning Associates (TPA) to review the parking situation in Quantock View.

TPA recommended a maximum of five parking spaces, which should be larger than a standard parking bay to allow safe manouevring into the adjoining carriageway.

The application statement adds: "The proposal will help to improve road safety and improve the safety of walking routes for school children of the local primary school."

It added that with 173 new homes currently under construction in the village, it is important to maintain safe routes to school. The proposal will "reduce cars parked obscuring road crossings, making walking routes safer."

Letters outlining the proposals were sent to all householders in Quantock View, while a public consultation was held last November. Feedback from both initiatives was supportive of the plan.