‘We must prioritise School Streets where they are most needed’

The Labour administration have consulted on granting the centrally located Cathedral schools a School Street.

Greens have been leading the shift from cars to sustainable transport for decades, the health of children and their growing lungs a primary focus.

We question, however, why Labour has chosen the two Cathedral schools (Bristol Cathedral Choir School and Cathedral Primary School) over many others whose families rely more on walking and who are in less advantageous financial situations than many who get places at these schools.

School Streets are fundamentally a public health intervention in a school context.

These projects have four main aims: lower volumes of traffic around school gates; improve road safety; encourage children to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school; and improve the air quality and environment making it a more pleasant space for everyone.

With investment from the council, schools make adjacent roads temporarily car-free at key times, making it safer and easier for children to arrive and leave on foot or bike.

Shadow cabinet member Christine Townsend claims that Cathedral Schools have a “school level policy that encourages and supports unsustainable, polluting journeys (which) is the antithesis of what School Streets are about” – photo: Cathedral Schools Trust

Originally, Bristol City Council’s School Streets scheme was limited to two per year, but in the 2022 budget, Greens proposed an amendment which was accepted doubling the number of schools that will benefit.

Demand is very high, with more than 60 schools on the waiting list. In a backdrop of public finances stretched to breaking point, this current roll-out rate will take until 2037 to meet even current demand.

Where a political administration chooses to spend time and money is the only reflection of the values it governs by.

At a recent cabinet meeting, Labour’s transport lead, Don Alexander, chose to answer a Green question about meeting government standards for cycle path diversions with a tirade against me (despite or because I was not there to respond?), for daring to question the administration’s decision to prioritise the Cathedral schools on College Square for a school streets project.

As an opposition councillor, it is my role to scrutinise choices and spend, which is why I have been asking questions of both political and senior officers about the administration’s decision to allocate limited public resource to these central schools.

College Square is accessed off Anchor Road – photo: Martin Booth

To begin with, this School Street proposes a space that is semi-closed off already. College Square is a non-residential cul-de-sac; the only car users being those associated with the schools.

It won’t affect the commonly used car drop-off point of Deanery Road. Unlike a typical School Street scheme, there are no commuter vehicles, effected residents or ‘rat-running’ to discourage.

Secondly, places for these schools are allocated under an array of categories but all have one thing in common, none are based on distance from the school.

While local children may struggle to get into a nearby school, Cathedral schools choose to allocate places to those living across the entirety of the city, and beyond. The school’s own admissions policy therefore activity encourages driving.

The school could change how places are allocated; this city centre school is within walking distance for thousands of families. Serving local children could reduce parental car use, but it chooses not to.

Staff from Bristol Cathedral need to drive through College Square to access their car park – photo: Martin Booth

Finally, as I have noted this school operates a myriad of allocation categories for places, none based on distance.

The community schools remaining on Bristol’s school streets waiting list, educate local children, many in areas of deprivation.

The Cathedral schools’ practices mysteriously result in them taking less children on free school meals than even the city average, despite claiming to serve it.

The political decision to provide public funds to mitigate outcomes of a school level policy that encourages and supports unsustainable, polluting journeys is the antithesis of what School Streets are about, hence my questioning of this decision.

Alexander publicly proclaimed that he had “instructed officers to go ahead regardless”, evidence if it were needed, that opposition councillors often bring forward scrutiny that is beyond the intellectual capability of cabinet members to comprehend.

Senior officers clearly understood. Why else would it have been necessary for such an instruction to be given?

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Read next: Don Alexander joins cabinet as Rees relinquishes control of transport portfolio

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So why did Bristol’s Labour administration decide to prioritise a school which does not serve local children for this much-demanded investment?

Bristol Cathedral Choir School converted to a state-funded academy in 2008, having previously been part of the fee-paying independent sector.

Cathedral Primary school opened in 2014 in the basement of Central Library, which was handed over to the Cathedral Schools Trust on a long-term lease by former mayor George Ferguson’s administration.

There appears to be a trend of valuable public resources being handed over to this trust by the current and previous administrations.

As the name suggests, these schools are run and controlled by senior members of Bristol Cathedral. Some are also Merchant Venturers and literally the same people.

College Square is accessed via this Norman gateway and arch from College Green – photo: Martin Booth

Following Ferguson’s decision to hand over the Central Library basement for the primary school, a once open pedestrian route from Anchor Road to the Norman arch is now largely closed for most of the day.

The current Labour administration have recently handed over the site of what was St George’s Primary School on Brandon Hill for use by this trust, and mooted disposing of the Central Library itself ahead of their recent cuts budget.

We now learn that the planning proposal for the old Debenhams site in Broadmead is listing a library as part of the development!

A cursory look at the Cathedral Schools Trust website tells us what those who run these schools see as the next stage of their project when it states: “We would eventually like to see the small number of public parking spaces removed from the square (College Square) and it become a controlled-access pedestrian zone.”

Bristol needs more School Streets. But with only five being set up this year, we must prioritise this investment for where it is most needed: schools that serve local children, in their local areas who we know to be disadvantaged.

These Cathedral schools refuse to do any of this.

Christine Townsend is a Green Party councillor for Southville and shadow cabinet member for education

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• Cars could be banned outside two city centre schools
• ‘This administration doffs its cap to institutions that perpetuate social division’
• Three more schools could join School Streets programme
• More segregated cycle lanes coming soon

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