School keep-clear sign painted next to empty field

Yellow "school keep clear "markings have been painted on a road in Sawtry, despite no school building being there.

The field off Glatton Road is earmarked for a new primary school in the future, but it is still awaiting full planning permission.

Simon Bywater, the ward's Conservative district and county councillor, said it has "attracted considerable criticism and ridicule locally".

Cambridgeshire County Council said the markings were painted in error by contractors acting on behalf of the developer, which is planning to build the houses.

"We have made clear to the developer that the markings must be removed as a priority and entirely at their own expense," a council spokesperson said.

A new school for Sawtry was given outline planning permission in 2021 and will be known as Saltbrook Primary Academy.

A full planning application was submitted in October 2025.

With the decision still outstanding, Bywater said: "We've got the school road markings before we've got the school. You really couldn't make it up."

He said the "the premature installation" of the markings rubbed "salt into the wound", given the nearby Great Gidding Primary School closed down in 2023.

"It creates the impression that resources and attention are being directed towards road markings when they are urgently needed elsewhere, before the fundamental issues surrounding the school's approval and delivery have been resolved."

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