Parents of children at Old Catton Church of England Junior School say they usually stop in the ground's car park to drop off their children and pick them up after school.

The barricaded entrance to the Old Catton recreation ground, and the side access to the Junior School (Image: Denise Bradley)

To get to the car park they need to pass through a drive way, which leads away from the main road, where a gate to the school is also located.

But the parish council has barricaded the entrance and the access gate to stop children from walking through while construction vehicles move through the area to carry out the upgrade work.

The blockade has left mums frustrated over the council's decision, saying the barriers have made it more unsafe for children, who now have to use alternative entrances.

Parents at the junior school, which educates children between seven and 11 years old, say the barriers have forced drivers to rely on two other entrances during the busy school runs.

The Old Catton Junior School (Image: Denise Bradley)

Mum of two Emma Garrington said: "Parents and the kids now either use the main entrance, which opens onto the main road, or a smaller pedestrian gate which causes a bottleneck and an overspill onto the road."

Sophie Bryant, a mum of two children at the school, said: "It feels like they are putting their needs first before the safety of the children."

Debbie Thompson, who has a child in Year 6, said: "The parish council appear to be treating the recreation ground as their private property and not a communal space." 

The sign at the barricaded entrance to the Old Catton recreation ground, and the side access to the Junior School (Image: Denise Bradley)

Sarah Vincent, the clerk for Old Catton Parish Council, said the safety of the children has been the council's priority.

She also says the council put in place an alternative route through the recreation ground.

Old Catton Parish Council's alternative route (Image: Old Catton Parish Council)

The route has been sectioned off by fencing (Image: Old Catton Parish Council)

She said: "We appreciate this change may be inconvenient, but the temporary closure of the permissive gate is to keep children safely away from construction traffic.  Their safety has been our priority throughout and we remain in dialogue with the school.

"Provision for an alternative safe route through the recreation ground, as requested by the school, has been made available, which they are currently not using."

She added: "The project is delivering improved facilities for the benefit of the whole community, including upgrading existing play equipment, installing new play equipment and new changing and toilet provision, funded through S106 contributions specifically allocated for recreation and play."

WHAT ARE THE COUNCIL'S PLANS?

The tension between the parents and the council dates back to 2023 when plans for the recreation ground's upgrades were first revealed.

The fenced off side entrance to the Old Catton Junior School, where work is being done at the recreation ground (Image: Denise Bradley)

Three years ago, the parish council proposed to build new changing rooms, alongside a new path and access road for maintenance vehicles through a plot currently occupied by a play area.

It also wants to add new public toilets, improved accessibility and upgraded facilities for clubs and youth groups.

But the plans were met with backlash from its parishioners who said the designs did "not appear to align to the needs of the community".

Other neighbours also raised concerns about the access road replacing the play area near the junior school.

"The proposed play area will no longer be near the car park and no longer near the school where parents wait to pick up or drop off pupils," they said. 

"This is when it is most used."

Work for the first phase of the scheme began on March 16 and is expected to take approximately 16 weeks to complete.

© Eastern Daily Press