Councillors have supported a campaign against plans to scrap free school buses for hundreds of students at Tytherington School.
Cheshire East Council bosses approved proposals to reclassify five walking routes to schools as ‘safe’ and withdraw access to free buses, despite parents’ and teachers claims the routes - which includes the Middlewood Way from Bollington to Tytherington - are too dangerous for children.
More than a hundred parents and pupils from Tytherington School attended a meeting of the Children and Families Overview Scrutiny Committee yesterday (Tuesday, July 19), to campaign against the proposals.
Coun Michael Jones, who overturned a similar proposal three years ago during his term as leader, also spoke against the plans at the meeting at Sandbach Town Hall, suggesting savings could be made elsewhere.
Speaking after the meeting, Coun Beverley Dooley, who sits on the committee and has been campaigning against the plans, said the committee came to a unanimous decision that the Middlewood Way wasn’t safe.
She said: “The scrutiny committee agreed on a recommendation to withdraw the walking route from Grimshaw Lane to Tytherington School as it is simply not viable.”
Committee members singled out the Middlewood Way as the most dangerous of the five routes affected, and said improvements could be made along the other routes to make them suitable.
Coun Dooley added: “They have made recommendations to the cabinet to improve street lighting on the Poynton part of the Middlewood Way and the Willaston to Millbank part of the Middlewood Way.”
The Cabinet will consider the recommendations of the scrutiny committee at Full Cabinet’s next meeting in September.
Speaking at the meeting Bollington ward councillor Amanda Stott accused the council of creating a ‘trap’ for predatory adults and bullies by making children walk an unsafe route.
But council officers urged the committee to ignore suggestions the Middlewood Way was dangerous - including one from a police officer - claiming it was not from an official source.
Speaking after the meeting, Tytherington School headteacher Manny Botwe said he was pleased the scrutiny committee were supporting the campaign.
He said: “I hope that the cabinet agrees with the scrutiny committee’s recommendation and declares the Middlewood Way as an unsafe route.”
He added that he was ‘disappointed’ with the response of council officers during the meeting.
He said: “I’m astonished and extremely disappointed that council officials seem to be completely disregarding our concerns. The big issue for us is the disregard for personal safety.”
