TRAFFIC cameras sprang up once again in Warndon Villages to monitor traffic as plans for a new secondary school gather pace.

The black cameras were clearly visible on Woodgreen Drive and Newtown Road on Wednesday but had been removed the following day. We reported how the same cameras were also put in place temporarily in March to keep tabs on traffic ahead of the building of the new school.

Worcester News: A closer look at one of the traffic cameras, pictured in March A closer look at one of the traffic cameras, pictured in March (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “We can confirm that traffic surveys have been carried out using camera monitoring on roundabouts on Woodgreen Drive and Newtown Road this week. These surveys provide traffic information to inform the planning application stage of the new Secondary School for Worcester.”

The small, black cameras were fixed to lampposts in Woodgreen Drive near where mobile speed vans sometimes operate.

In March the road safety team said they are not their cameras and enquiries with Worcestershire County Council have revealed their real purpose.

READ MORE: Newtown Road secondary school signs at entrance to field

READ MORE: New traffic cameras in Woodgreen Drive, Warndon Villages

On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, cabinet gave approval to establish a new 600-place secondary school in Worcester to meet the increased demand for school places.

Worcestershire County Council confirmed last November that plans to open Worcester City Secondary School on Newtown Road are still on track.

The school will open initially with just the year seven cohort, gradually feeding through the school with a new cohort joining each September.

The multi-academy trust Oasis Community Learning was confirmed as the preferred sponsor for the school.

The new school is set to be built on fields off Newtown Road in Worcester between Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the A4440 Nunnery Way roundabout.

At the entrance to the field from Newtown Road, an A4 laminated poster has been displayed with a QR code to scan to access a survey.

The school is still on track to open in 2026 and is expected to reach full capacity by 2030.

The building of the new school was branded ‘controversial’ by one city headteacher, who questioned its need and whether £40 million was a “waste of money.”

Neil Morris, headteacher at Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester, called out council bosses for pushing to build a new secondary school before addressing the existing problems in what he called a “broken” system.