PARENTS will be banned from parking directly outside a primary school in Colchester after it signed up to a new £50,000 safety initiative.

Hamilton Primary School, in Constantine Road, is the latest school to join the North Essex Parking Partnership’s (NEPP) 3PR scheme.

The initiative aims to prevent inconsiderate, illegal and dangerous parking around schools by working towards changing parents’, and students, behaviours.

It uses an incentivised approach to try and get youngsters and their parents using more sustainable and healthy methods of getting to school.

A 3PR zone will be implemented directly outside the school, which bans cars from parking inside this area.

Children who enter the zone on foot are given a token to take to their classroom.

At the end of the week or month the class with the most tokens wins the 3PR cup and a certificate.

Colchester mayor and mayoress, Nick and Elizabeth Cope, visited the school to launch the scheme on Wednesday.

Nick Hutchings, headteacher of Hamilton Primary School, said: “We are aware a number of parents drive to the school who could walk.

“As part of our drive to have healthy lifestyles for our children and improve residents’ environment in relation to parking concerns, the school is working with the NEPP to reduce the number of vehicles at drop off and pick up time.

“We hope our involvement with the 3PR scheme will make a difference. We are grateful to have had the support of mayor and mayoress of Colchester for attending the launch.”

The 3PR scheme has so far been adopted by more than 15 schools across Essex.

A spokesman for the NEPP said: “In June 2018, the NEPP Joint Parking Committee set aside £50,000 to introduce the 3PR scheme in north Essex to help tackle inconsiderate parking around primary schools.

“Since then, the scheme has gone from strength to strength and NEPP has launched 17 schemes across the six partner areas, with another nine launching in the coming months.”

To find out more, visit schoolparking.org.uk.

Schools can email 3pr@colch.onmicrosoft.com to sign up.