GOVERNORS at a Trowbridge primary school fear an increase in traffic will hurtle past their front gates if a multi-million pound business park is approved.

Plans for a £7m business park off Bradford Road were turned down earlier this month, but governors at Walwayne Court Primary School believe it is only a matter of time before the project goes ahead.

They fear the park, which could provide hundreds of new office and warehouse jobs, will vastly increase the amount of traffic travelling along Brook Road, as motorists and lorry drivers steer clear of Trowbridge town centre.

The 8.2 acre site was earmarked as industrial and business land by a government inspector last year.

Bath University has expressed an interest in creating a spin-off campus at the park, with other major firms also making early inquires.

Chairman of governors Judy Vanderpump said children already find it difficult to cross the road, with the school finding it impossible to recruit a crossing patroller.

"If plans for a business park go ahead it would lead to a massive problem with traffic. First thing in the morning it would be horrendous," she said.

"I think if the park happens, parents will decide it a safer option to drive their kids to school rather than let them walk.

"At the moment we do not have a lollipop person. No one wants to work half-an-hour in the morning and half-an-hour in the evening for peanuts."

Fellow governor and former town councillor Graham Hedley said it was important to concentrate on a pelican crossing and a lollipop person in case a business park is approved.

"Road traffic at rush hours will be impossible along Bradford Road and most of the extra traffic will go along Brook Road.

"It will be an extra danger for children and will make residents lives more difficult."

Mr Hedley said the business park could create a need for four pelican crossings, two on Brook Road and two on Bradford Road, to cater for children walking to and from school.

A spokesman for Wiltshire County Council said some schools were experiencing difficulties hiring school crossing patrollers but it was not a countywide problem.

He said: "Ideally we look for candidates who are local to the school and connected to it in some way.

"We do help schools to recruit and we had a successful countywide recruitment campaign last year. Specifically at Walwayne Court an advert for a new patroller was advertised last week."