Mylnhurst School Ecclesall: Woodholm Road residents' warning over parking outside exclusive Sheffield school

Angry residents say users of an exclusive Sheffield school’s facilities have been creating havoc with what they claim is dangerous and selfish parking.

The row has sparked a meeting between residents on Woodholm Road, Ecclesall, Mylnhurst School, South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Council to try to end the problems.

Residents say that in the evenings, when Mylnhurst School’s buildings are used out of school hours, they see parking over driveways, and vehicles blocking the road for buses, as well parking as over double yellow lines and zig zag lines.

Residents have asked for parking enforcement officers to come to the street.

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They say the problem stems from when the school’s facilities, such as swimming pool and sports hall, are used outside school times by community groups.

Resident Sarah Alton is one of the locals fighting for action to stop the problem.

She said: “I’m amazed that there has not been a serious accident. We are concerned about child safety and feel it’s an accident waiting to happen. We feel that they are not putting enough parking on.

“There are not enough parking places on the site. And there are not enough parking places on the street to cope with the demand, which we think is dangerous.”

She said that there was once an overspill car park on the site, but that was lost when it was turned into a multi-use games area.

The school says that as part of its planning application, a parking survey was conducted which said ample parking was available in the local area and there was no requirement to 'replace' lost parking.

“The school tells people not to park on Woodholm, but they still do,” she said. “Residents are having their drives blocked, and people park on double yellow lines. Buses are stopped because of parents parking offloading their children.

“It is causing a lot of stress for residents. There’s no 20mph speed limit. You see people spotting a gap, and then rushing in their cars to get there to try and get in there before anyone else. It’s chaos.”

“The key problem now is that there is not enough onsite parking for users of the facilities in the evenings and weekends ”

The school says there are two entrances that are available to all site users at all times, but people tend to use the one on Woodholm Road because it is closer to the swimming pool and sports hall.

They have now agreed to a trial opening of the school's car park after hours and at weekends to see if it would improve matters.

Mylnhurst headteacher Mike Hibbert said the school hugely valued all its neighbours on Woodholm Road and the surrounding streets and wanted to do everything it could to maintain a good relationship with them. It invited them into the school to talk through, in person, any concerns they may have.

He said: “Parking on the residential roads around Ecclesall can be an issue - as it is on streets across Sheffield - and here at Mylnhurst we do everything we can to mitigate that by encouraging as many of our families to walk or cycle to school. We regularly encourage our families by hosting a 'walking bus' led by our staff and eco committee. The school and sports centre have fabulous facilities to accommodate and securely store bicycles and we are very keen for more people to use these and are considering ways to incentivise this.

“Mylnhurst School has been a proud part of our local community for 90 years, and we want to ensure we do everything we can to work closely with our neighbours for another 90 years and beyond.”

Ward councillors Barbara Master and Shaffaq Mohammed said in a statement: “Both sides were keen to discuss how the problems could be tackled so we arranged for them to meet with representatives from the Neighbourhood Policing Team and Parking Enforcement Services. They were able to explain their relevant powers and interventions that could help in these situations. The meeting was hosted by the Head at the School.

“The result has been an agreed series of actions set out in phases which will be evaluated at each stage. The Head has outlined phase one, which involves a trial opening of the school car park. Residents and the head are already collaborating on checking its effectiveness as well as seeking ways to reduce the problems for all living and working in this area.

“This is a very positive outcome of the meeting and we’re very pleased that both sides and the representatives from the police and council wished to engage in this way.”

South Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “We have been made aware of issues with parking around Woodholm Road in Sheffield and have been working with partner agencies to address the problem. A number of next steps have now been agreed and we will continue to support where we can.“