Mornings and hometimes 'unsafe' outside Northamptonshire village's school after developers are late with zebra crossing, say parents

One mum, Amy Coughlin, says she and her sons have to walk along the busy A508 when they would otherwise use a footpath.

Parents say a housing developer has made mornings and hometime outside a school in a village near Northampton 'unsafe'.

Persimmon Homes has been working to build over 290 houses in land off Ashton Road, in Roade, since 2016.

As part of the build, the developers pulled up a give-way buildout outside Roade Primary School with a plan to replace it with a zebra crossing 'as close to the school' as possible'.

Traffic calming measures were pulled up outside Road Primary School, but a promised zebra crossing has been delayed.

But the traffic calming measures were taken out at the beginning of the October term - and parents have now waited over seven weeks for the crossing to be installed.

They now say it has now led to 'chaos' for parents, teachers and drivers in the village and are calling on Persimmon to finish the job.

One parent, Steph Jervis, said: "Persimmon has been hopeless. They are more worried about profits than the impact they are having on the village.

"There are no permanent traffic calming measures outside the school and it is dangerous. The public doesn't see a natural place to cross and the drivers don't know or realise that pedestrians should have priority.

Persimmon are building some 290 houses on land in Roade.

"They need to do what they set out to do for the safety of the children. Crossing outside the school is unsafe."

A temporary give-way made of traffic cones has been put in place, but parents are not satisfied.

Meanwhile, a footpath linking Ashton Road and Stratford Road that leads through the development has been closed for over a year - meaning children and parents who would otherwise walk through a field to get to school must now detour along the A508, which carries hundreds of lorries a day heading towards the M1.

Now, the developer is asking for the footpath to stay shut for another eight months until August.

One parent, Amy Coughlin, said: "We're looking at two school years where I've had to walk my children along a busy road with lorries.

"My little boy used to whizz to school on his scooter on the footpath, but for over a year now I've had to mind him as we walk along the A508. It can be scary some days."

A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said: "There has been an unforeseen delay in installing the zebra crossing due to supply issues. Buildouts were installed on the road to maintain the status quo with traffic.

Persimmon Homes remains committed to installing the zebra crossing and is working with the highways authority, suppliers and contractors to achieve this as soon as possible.

"The footpath is closed to meet health and safety requirements for the construction site. As soon as works progress to separate the path from the construction area safely we will reopen the route. The safety of our neighbours and staff is of paramount importance to us.”