Grandmother's campaign for tighter traffic controls near Tangmere primary school picks up speed

The launch took place at Tangmere Primary Academy itself on Monday (February 26), and saw students presenting their ideas for the campaign logo. The winning team, who had worked on their entry for several weeks, each received an Amazon gift voucher worth £10, and their creation will spearhead the campaign in the weeks and months to come.

For campaign organiser Sandra Cropper, Monday’s event was the culmination of weeks of hard work. She noticed conditions around Tangmere Road – which she must cross to walk her grandchildren to school – were increasingly unsafe, and wants to see a 20 miles per hour speed limit, as well as more road safety signs, introduced to the area.

"Everyone was so ecstatic and so energised in the assembly,” she said. “It was absolutely amazing, I’ve got to say, and the children just did so well with all the designs.”

Businesses, organisations and residents have been keen to throw their weight behind the campaign ever since it started this year, Sandra said:

"I’ve been round all the local businesses to get their input and you wouldn’t believe the support every business has given us. Every business I’ve been to in this area has thrown their weight behind us,” she said. “At the end of the day, this is about children and you have to be adamant about that.”

She was also keen to praise Tangmere Primary Academy headmaster Paul Turney, who has backed the campaign since it started. “Although the campaign was my idea, he really helped make it happen,” Sandra told Sussex World. “He’s a headmaster and he’s still helping us. People don’t realise how much time something like this takes.”

Politicians are eager to support the movement, too. Monday’s event was attended by Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Jessica Brown-Fuller, and Chichester MP Gillian Keegan is set to visit the school on Friday.

In a statement, she said she is “fully behind the campaign”: ”Making sure children in our community can walk to school safely is so important, and I will continue to raise this with the County Council to ensure action is taken.”