Petition over decision to axe school bus route for pupils in Milton Keynes village

A petition was presented to a West Northamptonshire full council meeting on Monday (July 13), demanding a rethink over cutting a bus service for children in Old Stratford attending Elizabeth Woodville School (EWS), in Deanshanger.

Nicky Laurence, a concerned parent, told councillors at the meeting: “Between 2007 and 2023, the walking route was formally assessed six times. On every occasion, the outcome was the same – the bus service was retained.

“Nothing has changed since 2023 to make the route more safe. It is unlit, poorly maintained and often narrows to single lane width due to overgrown vegetation. Pedestrians and cyclists are forced into conflict points.

“These are not minor inconveniences – they’re genuine safety risks for children walking to school.”

She presented the petition of 414 signatures on behalf of parents and pupils in Old Stratford to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

National policy states children are entitled to free school travel support if the walking distance to their nearest suitable school is more than three miles for those aged eight to 16. The furthest distance between the school and homes in the adjacent village is around 1.7 miles, so this would not qualify.

However, local authorities are required to provide or arrange free travel arrangements where the route has been assessed as unacceptable to walk. For nearly two decades, the footpath has been determined to be unsafe.

The walking route, which can take up to 40 minutes from the furthest end of Old Stratford according to Google Maps, follows a path alongside the A422 between the two villages.

Ellie Gray, who currently has two children at EWS, said she would not feel comfortable with her children walking to school in the morning, but that she would struggle to find time to drive them alongside her other commitments.

She said: “As an adult, I don’t like walking that way myself, and I wouldn’t expect my kids to – it’s just not a safe route.

“We don’t understand why this is happening now. Nothing has changed with the route; if anything, it’s got more overgrown now than it was years ago.

“I’ve got more kids going up in the next few years as well, so this could impact us for a long time.”

However, Stacey Lambert, another mum from Old Stratford, said she “doesn’t have a choice” but for her kids to walk as she is not able to drive them. She raised concerns about the isolation along the path, including previous incidents on the footbridge.

“Nobody can see down that route,” she said, “My son will have to walk it and then my daughter will be coming up soon.

“You’d just be worried the whole day, especially if they stopped children from having phones at school, then they can’t even message us to say they’ve got to school OK.”

The bus service currently provides transport for around 90 students. A group appeal, which was submitted by parents, against the withdrawal of the service was dismissed at the start of this month.

Independent Deanshanger and Paulerspury councillor, Ian McCord, has backed the parents hoping to save the route and told the LDRS that he has raised a formal complaint around the appeal process for apparent bias and asked for it to be re-heard.

He claimed one of the reasons stated for the removal of the service was a cost saving of £54,000 a year, which he said was in direct conflict with the position of one of the appeal panel members, who was the Assistant Director for Highways and the budget holder for that saving.

Cllr McCord added: “The school bus has been running for a long long time and the path and the route has been assessed many many times. Each time the bus has been was retained, so it’s clear that it was never really deemed as safe.

“When you speak with parents, they’ll tell you that it’s flooded from time to time, there are trip hazards on it, it’s unlit, and there are huge areas where there’s no visibility from the road at all. There’s no way that I would’ve let an 11-year-old daughter of mine walk that route.

“But, I think at the moment, it looks like our children will have to walk to school. Therefore, between now and September, it is vitally important that WNC go down there and clear that path. They really must make it as safe as it possibly can be.”

West Northamptonshire Council has been approached for comment, but has not responded at the time of writing.

According to WNC’s guidelines for assessing walking routes, it will not take into account to isolation of a route, weather conditions, lack of street lighting, or the presence of uncut hedges.

It adds that there is a general expectation that a child will be accompanied by a parent and that “a route does not fail to qualify as safe because of dangers which would arise if the child is unaccompanied”.

Valid considerations include road width, visibility and the severity of bends, the existence of canals, rivers and ditches which could pose a hazard and speed limits and other warning signs on the road.