Dalkeith Grove residents demand action on school traffic chaos and parking Issues
Residents of Dalkeith Grove, Stanmore, have voiced urgent concerns over severe traffic congestion and safety risks stemming from school pick-up and drop-off times, demanding immediate action from local authorities and schools.
Presenting a deputation to the Harrow Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, residents detailed a litany of problems caused by traffic associated with North London Collegiate School (NLCS) and Elwood Primary School. The issues include gridlock, double parking, obstructed driveways, and vehicles mounting pavements, creating a hazardous environment for residents, including the elderly and young children.
The deputation, led by Mr Nurali Panjwani, highlighted that ambulances have struggled to access the road during peak traffic times. Residents shared experiences of ambulances struggling to access the road during peak traffic times
and highlighted the impact on elderly and young residents.
One resident stated, My mum recently had been admitted to hospital but it was at a peak time during this traffic and guess what the ambulance was struggling.
Another resident mentioned, I have a 76-year-old mother who's got Alzheimer's. God forbid I need to call the paramedics, but if there's a time during those busy hours, I will be looking at you lot and saying, well, you guys didn't help.
The deputation also highlighted that vehicles using the pavements to drive at considerable speeds to just get out of the traffic
and that None of this is obviously acceptable from health and safety perspective.
During the panel meeting, it was noted that while Elwood Primary School has parking restrictions aligned with pick-up times, NLCS does not actively utilise its designated parking on Canons Drive, exacerbating the traffic issues on Dalkeith Grove. Residents expressed that NLCS never made it available to parents
and are not encouraging the usage of Canons Drive.
Councillor Rhys Benjamin, who declared a pecuniary interest as a school governor and parent, confirmed that the NLCS parking lot on Canons Drive is open for parents between 3pm and 3.45pm, though acknowledged that traffic issues peak around 4pm due to after-school activities. He also mentioned that the parking lot is open for parents between 3 o'clock to 3.45pm and then it's closed and opens at 5.30.
Residents requested actual data for how many vehicles we're parking there and when.
Councillor Benjamin acknowledged that the afternoon is a particular problem because they park in the afternoon when they park in resident bays as well.
He also noted that the Cannons Centre, the Sports Centre, which the school operates as a separate business, they open it around 5.30 or 6pm, but this is only for people attending the Cannons Centre as a leisure facility and not for school parents.
Elwood Primary School, based at Pangborn Drive, benefits from a parking restriction between 3pm and 4pm, which aligns with the school pick-up time. Residents requested that Elwood Primary School actively use Pangborn Drive as well as Dalkeith.
It was also stated that Elwood School has an active entrance on Pangborn.
NLCS is registered at Canons Drive, and residents requested that they either make its parking lots available or use Canons Drive as an alternative road to Dalkeith Grove that would help distribute the traffic equally across the neighbourhood and help with the parking restrictions.
Residents are requesting that both schools take active steps to reduce traffic on Dalkeith Grove and that current parking restriction timings be reviewed to better align with school pick-up and drop-off times. Residents of Dalkeith Grove stated that the current parking restriction timings are not aligned with the school pickup and drop-off hours
and that they were not consulted on the current timings.
A proposal was discussed to change the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) timings to 3pm to 4pm and 8am to 9am.
The Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel is expected to further assess the proposed changes to CPZ timings. The next phase of work
mentioned in relation to the CPZ timing assessment is that the proposal to change the timings will be assessed and potentially rolled over to the next phase of work.
The meeting concluded with the panel coming to the conclusion that it's the CPZ timings that need to change, and this will have to be assessed, as has been discussed before, this will be rolled over to the next year and as part of the next phase, and then we can evaluate this proposal for changing the timings.
Public reports pack Tuesday 20-Oct-2026 18.30 Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel