Grandmother calls for tighter speed limits around Tangmere primary school

Sandra Cropper walks her grandchildren to Tangmere Primary Academy three days a week but, over the last few years, increased traffic and limited signage on Tangmere Road – around the corner from the school itself– has made doing so more and more dangerous.

"People who don't know the village but but drive in are zooming along at forty miles per hour. It’s an accident waiting to happen,” she said.

That’s not just because of the speed and quantity of traffic, Mrs Cropper explained, but because there are too few signs telling motorists there’s a school in the area. She told Sussex World there are only four school warning signs near Tangmere Road, and only two of them are “where they need to be” to do any good.

"There’s nothing to show that directly to the left of the road, there’s a primary school.” she said. “So people just don’t know.”

Mrs Cropper also said that traffic is sometimes so busy that it can take up five or six minutes to cross – which is a lot with a pair of toddlers in tow.

Now, she’s launched a campaign to keep schoolchildren safe and passing motorists in check; petitioning West Sussex County Council to reduce the speed limit around Tangmere Primary Academy to just 20 miles per hour.

She has the backing of the school itself, which champions walking to school as a way to keep fit and stay active, and hopes to secure the support of local councillors, the Tangmere Parish Council, Chichester MP Gillian Keegan, and Liberal Democrat election candidate Jessica Brown Fuller as the campaign gets underway.

"It’s all about the safety of the children,” she said. “That’s what’s most important. Hit me, do what you want with me, but not a child. It’s a death trap at all times of the day.”

A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said they are in contact with the campaign, and formal applications for both speed limit changes and road safety improvements can be made online.

"“Keeping children, parents and staff safe on their way to school is a top priority for West Sussex County Council,” they added.