Plans to alter The King’s School’s car park have been backed by town councillors following a number of ‘near misses’ between students and vehicles and other safety concerns.

The proposals say the western part of the school site requires urgent changes because of ‘significant risks’ to youngsters.

The redesign aims to segregate vehicles and pedestrians during school hours.

The plans state: “Students and the public would be segregated by physical fences externally and access controlled doors internally which would link to the existing system the school has currently installed as part of the eastern side safeguarding improvements.”

Pedestrian access to the skate park would not be accessible during opening times under the plans, but public access to the leisure centre would always be available.

The school says the benefits would also prevent the public from ‘un-managed’ access to students during the day.

The application states: “The area is currently used as a car park and also two tennis courts. The tennis courts are currently used for overflow car parking and are rarely used for sport due to alternative facilities being available, such as the multi-use games area and astroturf.”

Ottery Town Council’s planning committee has agreed to support the application, but stipulated there should be full access, including to the skate park, outside school hours and during holidays, for pedestrians and maintenance works. Councillors also said the width of the existing gates should be a minimum of 3.65m and that any trees cut down will be replaced.

Elli Pang, a trustee of the skate park, told councillors there was only one route to the facility and it needed to be accessible.

She added: “While we are fully supportive that security for students is of primary importance - we have absolutely no problems with that - but we would ask the council, when you are considering the application, to bear in mind it is the only access to the skate park and that in no way will it be impeded through the arrangement of this new access.

“Not only the access for the users of the skate park, but for maintenance vehicles that are needed every year for inspection and maintenance purposes and for grass-cutting.”