Bracknell Forest Council will not intervene into the parking ‘nightmare’ at Kings Academy – despite parents saying it’s to blame.

Access to King’s Academy in Binfield via St George’s Park was restricted from Wednesday, September 18, after a staff member was injured trying to manage traffic flow.

There are currently 17 car parking spaces for more than 300 pupils in the primary school, which has not yet reached full capacity, according to a parent.

Those driving to the school can now only access via Wood Lane, which is partially pedestrianised.

One parent said: “Since the event, the school has advised parents to park on residential streets but have also been providing road traffic barriers to residents to block off the public roads to stop parents parking in them.

“This is causing further inconvenience for parents and rows are now erupting daily between the local residents and parents.”

Wood Lane has become ‘gridlocked’ according to fellow parent David Luck.

But many parents have claimed that the blame lies with Bracknell Forest Council (BFC), which originally approved the traffic and parking management plan.

When planning permission was first granted by the council, it ruled that the school ‘had to provide adequate car parking to prevent the likelihood of on-street car parking which would be a danger to other road users’.

Some parents have claimed the school could be breaching its parking agreement with the council, which others argue is the result of a ‘dysfunctional public transport system’.

David Luck has written to the council to urge them to take action and has asked for other parents to do the same. But BFC officials have confirmed that they will not intervene, despite parent’s wishes.

Andrew Hunter, executive director of place-based services at BFC told the News: “The management of the on-site car park at Kings Academy Binfield is a matter for the school.

“Any changes to operation need to be communicated to parents and users of the site. The council is not involved in the management of the on-site parking arrangements.”

The school, which was first opened in 2018, was built on the site of a former golf course.

Mrs K Moore, executive principal of Kings Academy, said the school ‘will listen carefully to the feedback following our changes and work hard to find the best solutions for everyone’. This includes consulting with Bracknell Forest Council and taking advice from the police.