School run exclusion zone

Parents could be banned from driving within 200 metres of school gates under plans to tackle congestion and global warming.

Camden council is considering excluding cars from areas with a heavy concentration of schools during rush hour.

The plan's supporters believe it would help combat the child obesity crisis by encouraging children to walk or cycle to school and reduce carbon emissions.

But parents' groups are fiercely opposed, saying the proposal would hit families with children at private schools the hardest.

The plan for the exclusion zone, which would not affect emergency vehicles or those performing "essential" services, has been put forward by Camden's Sustainability Task Force, which advises the council on eco-friendly policies, for consideration early next year. Most of its previous recommendations have been accepted.

Alexis Rowell, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Belsize who chairs the task force, denied he was a "class warrior" targeting wealthy families.

He said: "In my ward, we have a lot of private schools for historical reasons. However, because of house prices and the desire to have a garden, many parentsnow live outside the area and often bring their children to school by car.

"Car exclusion zones around schools during school-run hours would be one way to address the problem but safer streets, lower speed limits, escorted groups of children, separate cycle lanes, school buses, better public transport with better access for parents with buggies and help to relocate schools that are no longer situated near their pupils are also ways we can help to make the school run more sustainable and children happier and healthier."

Mr Rowell said he wanted a debate on the issue, adding that most children at Camden's state schools already walk or use public transport to reach school.

The Schools Travel Action Group, which represents parents who do the school run, said it was "nonsense" to suggest only children at private schools were picked up and dropped off by car.

Co-chairwoman Vicky Fobel said: "This raises issues about parent choice - making it impossible for parents to drive means they won't have the choice to send their children to schools outside their immediate area. We don't live in a police state and people should be able to choose the school they want, even if some parents have to drive."

In June, the council decided to reduce the number of its travel permits, which allow parents to park for up to 15 minutes in residents' parking bays near 37 schools, from the 2,430 to just 500 a year from next September. When the scheme started in 2003, 6,944 permits were issued.

A Camden spokeswoman said officials and executive members would be the first to consider any recommendations from the task force once they received them, probably in February.