RESIDENTS living near the entrance to a York school are demanding reassurances that their twice daily traffic nightmare will soon be over.

Frustrated householders say there is "absolute chaos" in Fulfordgate every weekday morning and afternoon when a convoy of school buses trundles along to enter and leave Fulford School, and when parents also drop off and pick up their children.

Sixth formers parking their cars in the street and adjacent Eastward Avenue also add to the congestion problems, they said.

They claimed a new entrance to the school was always promised as part of the massive Germany Beck housing development nearby, which is about to start, but said they had heard nothing about whether or when the work will start.

One resident, Dave Gamston, said the problem had been exacerbated because residents’ liaison meetings, at which such concerns could be raised, had repeatedly been cancelled and the first was only finally going ahead next Wednesday.

He said: "For the last three years, I’ve been trying to get straight answers from senior council officials on how seriously this is being pursued and what practical commitments are in place to make sure it will happen.

“All I’ve encountered is procrastination and talk of imminent meetings, spelling frustration and loss of trust in the council’s handling.”

He said the Germany Beck development would have a big impact on the neighbourhood and the new school entrance would be one of the few benefits.

Fulford head teacher Lorna Savage said the school was "only one piece in the jigsaw" but she wanted to see a solution to the problem in Fulfordgate, because of the problems it caused local residents and also the health and safety concerns that it raised.

Simon Usher, managing director at Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, which is going to build 650 homes in the Germany Beck site near the school, said that as part of its planning obligation, it would be providing an adopted road up to the southern boundary of the school, where it adjoined the development site.“We are working towards this being installed by the end of the year,” he said.

He added that the company was working on the access road into the development from the A19 in Fulford and it was aiming to begin construction of the first properties in July.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: “This is a complicated issue which involves several partners and the local community.

“We are working with Fulford School, Persimmon Homes and local residents to ensure a safe solution can be reached and that this will be considered through a liaison advisory committee.”