Another road outside a Sheffield school will be closed for new week-long trial

Anns Road in Heeley will be closed to all traffic from next Monday, February 3 until Friday, February 7, from 8.15am-9.15am and 2.45pm-3.45pm each day.

It will be the latest School Streets closure designed to cut pollution around playgrounds, get more pupils walking or cycling to and from school and improve safety outside the gates, amid concerns about inconsiderate drivers putting children’s lives at risk.

Sheffield Council’s Active Travel team said it had worked closely with Anns Grove Primary School and the school council to arrange the closure, and that all three ward councillors and Sheffield City Region's active travel commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, had been invited to attend the launch day.

Bannerdale Road was previously closed for a week during drop-off and pick-up times at Holt House Infant and Carterknowle Junior schools in November.

Sheffield Council said there had been a ‘very positive’ response to that pilot scheme, with the schools involved now pushing for a month-long trial closure this summer.

Parents praised the initiative and the schools told how more pupils had travelled by foot and bike both during that week and afterwards.

But one businessman claimed the closure had caused ‘gridlock’ elsewhere, increasing pollution and damaging the local economy.

Anns Grove was one of five schools which the council announced last year would be invited to take part in School Streets trials, which if successful could lead to permanent closures.