PARENTS of children at a Wrexham school have been urged to park more responsibly following concerns regarding child safety and access.

North Wales Police confirmed this week that a meeting had been arranged between the force, residents, Wrexham Council and Ysgol Penrhyn.

It comes after long term issues regarding parents parking on double yellow lines, zig-zags, on junctions and corners - as well as causing access issues for nearby residents.

New Broughton Councillor Claire Lovett and Gwenfro Councillor Nigel Williams, both of whom are governors at the school, have implored parents to park more responsibly.

Cllr Lovett, whose ward boundary comes close to the school and includes part of the road, said: "This is an historic problem - there's no parking for the school itself.

"People are parking on double yellows, on zig-zags, on a bend, blocking a junction - we've got a number of problems on the actual lane the school entrance is on as well."

Cllr Lovett said the parking problems have been causing difficulties for bin wagons accessing their routes.

"It is inconsiderate and dangerous parking," she added.

The Leader: Cllr Claire Lovett (WCBC)Cllr Claire Lovett (WCBC) (Image: Wrexham Council)"I ask drivers to be considerate where possible.

"I appreciate many people drop off their children on the way to work so walking them to school may not be the best way for them. 

"But please find somewhere that isn't going to cause issues or put children or others in danger."

Cllr Williams, whose ward includes the school, said: "This has been an ongoing problem for years but it seems to be getting worse recently.

"I have asked enforcement teams to come out before and they give some tickets out, things calm down for a bit but then we're back to square one.

"There are only so many enforcement officers to cover the whole country - we can't have them sitting outside one school.

"With the refuse wagons not being able to pick up bins because of the parking, I have requested a meeting with highways officers to see what we can do.

"We are looking at changing the times of the collections so it doesn't clash with the times parents are dropping off or picking up."

Speaking of the impact of the bad parking, he continued: "I know it's a difficult situation, but people just park anywhere.

"They are stopping on corners as well, which is dangerous for children crossing the road.

"The school has sent numerous letters out but it doesn't seem to have much effect."

The Leader: Cllr Nigel Williams (WCBC)Cllr Nigel Williams (WCBC) (Image: Wrexham Council)Cllr Williams said the situation is resulting in a lot of frustration for residents in the immediate vicinity as well, with the parking causing access issues and the bin collection problems.

A Wrexham Council spokesman said: “We are looking into the issues with parking around the school and had a positive meeting with the local residents, the head teacher and Chair of governors of the school and the police. 

"This was to listen to the concerns from the school and the local residents who are affected by the parking situation.

“We will be looking at what can be done to alleviate the problem. There are double yellow lines however parents and visitors to the school continue to park on the double yellow lines. 

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"This unfortunately is not an isolated issue. We experience similar issues across many school sites in Wrexham. 

"We have a cyclic programme where the enforcement team attend these sites to issue fines however despite this, people continue to park on double yellow lines.

“As with all road safety concerns, we will consider whether there are any other actions we can take which may improve the situation; however, primarily we would appeal to members of the public to adhere to the restrictions in place on the highway, which are there to ensure safety of all road users, including school children.”