School Streets
Making the school run healthier and happier
We are delivering School Streets in west Cheshire as part of our plans to improve road safety, encourage walking, wheeling, cycling, and scooting to and from school and improve the air quality and environment outside schools.
We are committed to making the borough's streets safer for everyone living, working, and visiting west Cheshire. An area of priority are the streets outside our schools - we want to make the journey to school safer and healthier for children and their families and help to make it a pleasant environment for everyone living and working there.
One of the ways we are doing this is through the introduction of School Streets, whereby the street(s) immediately outside the school entrance are restricted at school opening and closing times.
Only people walking, wheeling, cycling, and scooting are permitted access to the School Street zone while the restriction is in place, with exemptions given to emergency vehicles and Blue Badge holders. Permits will be given to residents living and businesses working within the zone.
Aims of the School Street scheme
The aim of a School Street is to make it easier and safer for children and their parents or carers to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school.
Reducing the use of private car journeys to and from school should lead to:
- Less road danger from traffic
- Less anti-social behaviour from inconsiderate parking and dangerous driving
- More children walking, wheeling, cycling, and scooting to school
- Reduced congestion and local pollution from idling vehicles
School Streets are now being rolled out by local authorities across the country. In April 2023 we launched our first pilot scheme at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Ellesmere Port. Our second pilot School Street launched in June 2023 at Woodlands Primary School, Ellesmere Port. We are now looking at delivering three more School Streets.
Contact the School Streets team
To comment on the School Street consultation at Guilden Sutton in Chester or Davenham please email us at cheshirewest-schoolstreets@wsp.com.
Your questions answered
By restricting motorised traffic outside school entrances during drop-off and pick-up times, we aim to create safer, healthier, and more pleasant environments for children and families.
School Streets help reduce traffic danger, discourage anti-social parking and driving behaviours, and encourage more walking, wheeling, cycling, and scooting to school. This initiative supports our priority to make streets safer for all residents and to foster sustainable travel habits from an early age.
Vehicles will not be allowed to enter the School Street when it is in operation (during school drop-off and pick up times) unless exempt.
Exemptions include:
- Residents' vehicles displaying a valid School Streets permit
- Blue badge holders residing at or visiting properties within the restricted roads, or accessing the school
- School buses and school transport services serving the school.
- Public transport
- Emergency services, doctors on call, district nurses, carers and support workers working at the properties on the restricted roads
- Statutory public services/utilities (gas, electricity, water, telecoms companies) working at the properties on the restricted roads
Exempt motorists are required to drive carefully during the School Street operation times. Residents who live on the School Street (or require access to their property) will be exempt but will need to display a permit. All residents in the School Street Zone will receive a letter from us to explain how to apply for permits.
The operational hours of the School Street will be indicated on the road signs at the entrances to the School Street zone.
A School Street reduces the build-up of traffic outside school gates for local residents and those using the school and creates a safer, healthier and happier environment for children, families and people in the community. We work with potential schools to find out how children currently travel and how many pupils live within walking distance of the school to see the potential for increasing active travel trips.
There are many School Streets around the country, supporting more children to walk, wheel, cycle and scoot to school, and tail pipe emissions and traffic congestion are reduced at the school gate - all things that can be achieved in west Cheshire too.
Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School and Woodlands Primary School, both in Ellesmere Port, were the first two School Streets to launch in the borough in 2023.
We understand it is not always possible for everyone to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to and/or from school. Certain people and vehicles will be exempt from the School Street restrictions, and we will work with the schools involved and their community to make sure that alternatives are considered, such as promoting Park and Stride sites.
We are actively encouraging people to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school. If you have limited options to do this due to work commitments etc, we encourage people to park and stride for the remainder of the journey. We work with the schools involved and their community to make sure that alternative suggestions are considered.
If you are parking on roads outside of the School Street zone, please be considerate of residents (for example, by not parking over driveways) and obey existing parking restrictions.
We work with schools to introduce a School Streets for a trial period of 18 months. As it is a trial, each of the School Streets will be reviewed throughout this time with feedback invited by residents and parents. If the trials are considered successful, we will look to make the School Street permanent.
The scheme will only operate during the week, Monday to Friday, during school drop-off and pick-up times. Due to varying school term dates the School Street will be in operation all year.
At the start of considering a new School Street, public consultation is carried out through resident letters, school newsletters and consultation events to get feedback and local information on what happens on the street(s). If the School Street scheme goes ahead, it will be delivered through an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) which is in place for a trial of up to 18 months.
During this time, we will closely monitor the School Streets and listen to feedback and ideas shared to help us decide if it is working for each of the schools and their local communities and will achieve the goals of creating a calmer environment, reducing traffic build-up and increasing active travel.
Entering the School Street Zone without a valid exemption is classed as a moving traffic offence. Cheshire Police currently enforce these contraventions.
If you live in an existing School Street and require an additional vehicle permit, please complete our form and provide proof that the vehicle is registered at your address.
Where possible visitors who need to use a vehicle should visit outside of the School Street operation times or park outside of the zone.
Once you have received your permit, display it in your vehicle.
If you live on the School Street, please inform visitors and family members of the restrictions so that visits can ideally be planned outside of the operating hours.
If you are a parent or carer, share this information with any other people who may drop off or pick up your children from school. It is important that they are aware of the School Street Zone to avoid receiving a fine or points on their licence.
If you have another question, you can get in touch with us using our form: