PARENTS and councillors have expressed their anger at Somerset County Council (SCC) for deeming it safe for children to walk more than two miles from North Petherton to Robert Blake Science College in Bridgwater.

North Petherton parents and councillors are outraged at the decision, with the mayor accusing SCC of being ‘reckless with children’s safety’.
 

The law states a bus must be provided for children aged eight and over who live more than three miles away from school.

But, after the major roadworks scheme at Huntworth Roundabout was completed, SCC has re-measured the home-to-school distance for every child in the village, with the route from North Petherton to Robert Blake Science College measuring under three miles.

Since September 2015, a bus had been put on for children from North Petherton due to the danger of the road, but the county council now says the route has been reassessed and because it has been deemed safe, free school transport will be withdrawn from those living within three miles of the school from Easter.

Now, angry parents from the village said they are concerned for their children’s safety.

Maxine Dyer, who has two children studying at Robert Blake, said: “All of the parents and children are unhappy with the outcome of the report that the county council has come to.

"We are not sure if they have taken into consideration the extra vehicles that come through to go Hinkley point, or that there are building plans to make a hotel on that side of the road, or the extra 100 homes they want to build on the housing estate.

“We all want to know how many of the staff would be willing to walk this journey every day come rain or shine, or more to the point how many would allow their children to walk it.”

Cllr Alan Bradford, mayor of North Petherton, said: “It is totally unreasonable for the county council to make this decision without proper consultation and with insufficient time for parents to prepare well informed appeals. 

“Terminating the service at the end of this term is unacceptable. The (parish) council and parents have genuine concerns about the contents of the report and we need time to properly scrutinisze it and its conclusions. There has to be the opportunity to hold serious and properly informed discussions, to do otherwise is being reckless with children’s safety.”

Somerset County Council says a new footpath and cycleway and signals at the Huntworth Roundabout have been installed in response to concerns about pedestrian safety. 

The works finished in December 2016 and a formal route assessment has now found the route to be safe and appropriate.

The assessment included several walks of the route and analysis of data relating to traffic flow and accidents.

It also took into account a safety audit of other highways works in the area.

As the route has been assessed as safe for children to walk, temporary free school transport from North Petherton to the Robert Blake Science College in Bridgwater will end at Easter.

Cllr Frances Nicholson, cabinet member for children and families, said: “We take the safety of school children very seriously and put a temporary free bus service in place because the A38 works made the route unsafe.

“This was always temporary and now that the work is finished and the route assessed as safe, this service will come to an end. 

“The children who used the temporary free transport will either now walk or cycle to school, or their parents will have to make alternative arrangements.

“The county council always give at least half a term’s notice of a change like this, and in this case the notice period is far longer, so I hope the Easter deadline gives parents plenty time to decide on their future plans”

“All local authorities have a policy for when free school transport is available and to be fair to everyone we have to implement our policy consistently across the county.”

The council’s school transport policy, as required by Government, states that free transport to secondary schools is only available if the school is more than three miles away.

The free service that was in place before for children living more than three miles from the school continues.

Spare seats on that service are offered for sale on a first come first served basis to children who live closer to the school.