A HEADTEACHER has admitted causing uproar by closing his school’s car park this week - but says his hands are tied as he can no longer allow parents to use an ‘illegal’ road.

Khalsa Primary School’s Raminder Vig said his decision on Tuesday, at the school in Wexham Road, led to calls from parents, councillors and even Slough MP Tan Dhesi.

But he said the car park’s access road needed to be sorted out and he has been warned by Slough Borough Council (SBC) that it should not be used - or parked on - until it is correctly resurfaced.

He says the job could cost up to £220,000, but this is a ball park figure, and soon the school will have around £155,000 - still way short of the estimate.

Parents have been asked for voluntary donations of £150 towards the cost - which led to several ringing The Observer this week.

One mother of three, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “There is no communication. We haven’t been told how much this will cost precisely or had details or confirmation from the council that they have said ‘close the car park’.”

Another, who also wished to remain anonymous, said she rarely used the car park and could not justify contributing the £150.

Mr Vig said: “We worked out we have 300 families in school. If we ask for a voluntary contribution of £150 from those who can afford it we will get closer to our figure.” He said the school had to fundraise as otherwise it meant taking cash out the main budget - and risking redundancies.

Mr Vig said SBC was working with the school to go to tender but until contracts were considered he could not get an accurate cost.

Three years ago the school received planning permission to improve the road, which is close to trees with preservation orders, but this is set to expire this year. Mr Vig added: “We are told if don’t get it sorted we cannot use that road.”

He said a near miss in November where a tree narrowly missed hitting a car on the untreated road, set alarm bells ringing. He added that different materials were needed for different areas and they could not simply ‘tarmac’ the road.

A spokesperson for SBC said the closure of the car park was entirely a decision for the school itself regardless of any advice it may have received from officials.