A MEETING last week heard serious safety concerns should the new Haygrove School in Bridgwater be built opposite its current site.

As reported in the Mercury, Somerset County Council's Buildings Schools for the Future team is considering two sites for the new school - Haygrove Farm opposite the existing school and Queenswood Farm.

The BSF team has already decided it would not be possible to rebuild the school on its existing site.

Last week a meeting of the Haygrove Road and Springfield Avenue Residents Associations heard a list of concerns should the school be rebuilt away from its current location.

The chairman told the packed meeting: “Many of you have raised concerns over the lack of communication from BSF about dropping the existing Haygrove School site with the playing fields nearby. We need more detail on the road plans.”

The associations described at the meeting how they believed the safety of children would be jeopardised if Haygrove - along with Penrose School - were rebuilt at Haygrove Farm.

It was claimed that with more than 1,000 children attending the school, crossing Durleigh Road from the allocated drop off could be dangerous.

The meeting also heard concerns about: · the narrow width of Haygrove Road · having a single access route into the school · restricted parking on neighbouring roads · the position of traffic lights and crossings directly opposite drives on Durleigh Road.

· increased traffic on Durleigh Road · the destruction of wildlife and trees.

· limited space for growth of the school.

The Building Schools for the Future team insists it will talk directly with local people to address their concerns.

Project manager Julia Ridge said: “The BSF team are currently looking at the two site options.

“Detailed plans have not yet been drawn up as we are undertaking informal consultations to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each site.

“The detailed information will be prepared for the formal consultation at the outline planning stage. As a team, we are happy to meet with local residents to talk through the suggestions as we understand that any proposal is naturally of concern to them.”