CALLS for road safety zones to be put in place around schools in Swindon have been dismissed as "pointless" by town councillors.

Coun Junab Ali, (Lab, Central) put forward the motion at Thursday night’s full council meeting.

He said: “This isn’t just a problem in my ward, it is a problem all over Swindon.

“Do we really have to wait for someone to die, or for a parent or a child to get knocked over before we do something about this?”

These calls were made after incidents of children getting hurt outside St Joseph’s Catholic College, with complaints being made by nearby residents and the college.

While measures can vary, school safety zones are a stretch of road immediately outside a school where the speed limit is 20mph and no vehicles can stop or park during certain times.

Coun Ali added there would be further health benefits from the zones as traffic can increase by 43 per cent during rush hour.

“Something needs to be done to address the impact of so many vehicles on the road just outside a school,” he said.

"If children and families feel safer when travelling to school, then they will stop driving, and they will start walking or cycling or taking their scooters.

"The children will then be fitter and healthier and become more independent. Air pollution would also then go down if there were fewer cars on the roads, the air quality would go up, and it is better for everyone”.

Coun Kevin Parry, (Con, Covingham & Dorcan), who is cabinet member for service delivery waste and transport, said there are already policies in place that mean the safety of the roads outside schools get regularly assessed.

He said: "Every single councillor in this chamber of course wants children to get to school safely, but there is already a policy in place which was put in place two years ago, which are being delivered over a period of five years."

Leader of the Council David Renard also said the motion was "pointless", and the Labour Group was again accused by Conservatives of trying to score political points.

Labour also proposed an amendment to the Local Transport Plan, asking for free parking for the first two hours in town centre car parks.

Coun Jim Robbins said he understood the cost implication, but thinks it would bring more people to the town centre for longer, offsetting the cost to the council, and this would therefore help local businesses in the town centre.

The amendment was voted down by Conservative councillors, but Leader David Renard did say that the administration would consider it in its annual review of car parking charges.