Tipperary primary school gets green light for new safer drop-off area
A Tipperary primary school is set to get a new off-road set-down area aimed at making drop-off and collection times safer for children, parents and motorists.
St Patrick’s National School, Kylepark in Borrisokane applied to Tipperary County Council for planning permission to develop an off road vehicle set-down area, accessed via a new vehicular entrance to serve the school.
The application also sought the provision of internal paths, road and landscaping.
The plans aim to make school drop-off and pick-up times safer for pedestrians and motorists, as well as to make the best use of parking outside the school.
Council planners raised concerns during the planning process about a different parking arrangement for the school, which had also received planning permission in recent years.
“It is noted that planning permission was granted for a carparking scheme which ran parallel to the L1092 public road.
“However, the application documents do not make reference to same and the applicant’s intentions towards the approved scheme are not clear,” planners said.
“Importantly, it would not be possible to implement the current proposal and this approved proposal,” they added.
In a response to the council, an agent working on behalf of the school’s board of management said that the previously granted application would not be implemented, and this plan would be in its place.
“The planning permission for a parallel parking/set-down area located to the front of the school will not be implemented and the proposal has been abandoned by the school management committee,” the agent said.
“The delivery of this proposal is out of budget of the school committee and would also have severely impacted the internal free space to the school frontage.
“The extensive works would have a significant impact on access to the school during works and would therefore be restricted to a summer holiday period development,” the agent added.
The new project being proposed would be able to take place during term-time, they said, and would be more cost effective.
The school’s response was considered acceptable by planners, who recommended that planning permission be granted subject to five conditions.
Included among the conditions are that the contractor engages with Nenagh’s District Engineer to discuss the relocation of a flashing speed limit sign that is near the school.
Planners also stipulated the hours that work can take place on the site, and added that landscaping be done in the first planting season after the works have started.