At their meeting last Wednesday the Village Hall Management Committee decided it would close the car park from Friday 25 April. The area is in need of serious repairs to the surface.
At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday evening it was agreed in principle to support the Village Hall committee and so the schools were informed on Friday. This was done so that the schools knew before they broke up for the Easter holidays.
A whirlwind of comments appeared on the Old Buckenham Facebook page and feelings were running high. Many were angry and others supportive. If you have parked at the Hall on weekdays just before 9am or around 3pm you would soon realise that it gets very crowded as children are dropped off or picked up from school.
When the plans were announced of the intention of moving Chapel Road School from Attleborough to Old Buckenham it was hoped that something could be done to help solve the problems of school parking. At present these hopes appear dashed with the Village Hall management committee needing to find money to repair/resurface a parking area which is mostly used by people bringing their children to the adjacent schools. The county Education Committee appears unable to provide any help with funding.
It is understood that a meeting will take place on Tuesday 8 April between Stephen Askew (our local councillor) and the planners for the new school and all are hoping for some positive news about the infrastructure needs when the new school is built. Stephen Askew does not necessarily agree with the Village Hall's actions but respects the decision and is being kept informed of his constituents' feelings. Depending on the outcome of this meeting it may be possible to postpone any closure plans and find another way to make repairs. If things do not go well there is the option of holding (before the suggested closure date) a public meeting to formulate a response and action plan.
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