AN APPEAL to reconsider a dangerous route to school for some Delabole schoolchildren has been lost.

It was announced recently that the government has made changes to its school transport regulations, stating that children over the age of eleven years, living closer than three miles to school, will not be issued free bus passes to school.

This has sparked outrage from many parents in Delabole, whose concern revolving around a narrow, poorly-lit 60mph road from the village into Camelford, which these schoolchildren in question would be forced to walk, has led them to create a petition and seek an appeal from Cornwall Council.

On August 22, the Cornwall Council appeal committee sat to consider an appeal from eleven families from Delabole around their entitlement to free school transport to Sir James Smith’s School in Camelford.

By using the rural single-track road past Deli Farm as a route to walk to school it meant that all the children in the village on the Medrose side of the church were under the three miles cut off point for automatic free transport.

This route had been deemed safe to walk under an assessment undertaken by Cormac following the council’s policy on walking routes, which was adopted by cabinet in May 2016.

The policy closely follows the national guidance on safe walking routes and does not take into account adverse weather, street lighting, pavements on lightly used roads and is also based on the assumption that children will be accompanied by parents or carers for their personal safety.

The committee, which for purposes of confidentiality about pupils and parents’ private matters, sat behind closed doors with the press and public excluded. Representing the parents were Cllrs Heard and Lyle from St Teath Parish Council, Jon Pearson, an independent highway consultant, Rachel Beadle, from the office of Conservative MP for North Cornwall Scott Mann, and Cornwall Councillor for St Teath, St Breward and Delabole, Dominic Fairman.

According to the online petition, which has so far gained over 3,280 signatures, the route mainly consists of 60mph road, with poor street lighting, phone signal and no pavements — meaning children would be walking along the road, exposed to potentially fast drivers, as well as the risk of attending school wet, cold or even suffering heat exhaustion.

Since the appeal was lost, Cornwall Council has said that due to pressures surrounding budgets, free school transport is unable to be granted to all children, unless there are exceptional circumstances involved, and added that the route from Delabole to Camelford’s Sir James Smith’s School is ‘suitable for pedestrian use’.

A spokesperson from Cornwall Council said: “National policy and statutory legislation determines who is eligible for free home to school transport, and, unfortunately, due to the budgetary pressures on all councils at present, we cannot provide free transport for all.

“There is a robust appeals process in place for any parent or carer who feels that the home to school transport policy has not been applied correctly or that there are exceptional circumstances under which transport should be provided.

“Where there is any question over the sustainability of the route for pedestrian use, the council undertakes a pedestrian route assessment.

“In this case, two assessments of the walking route from Delabole to Sir James Smith’s School have been undertaken in accordance with the council’s published pedestrian route assessment policy and the home to school transport policy, and both assessments have determined that the route is suitable for pedestrian use.

“The council’s transport appeals panel heard the cases submitted by parents last week, and upheld these findings.”

Cornwall Councillor Dominic Fairman, said: “Given that the national guidelines are clearly not fit for purpose in Cornwall, I was disappointed but not entirely surprised that the appeals committee ruled that Cornwall Council had followed their policy correctly.

“The parents and the parish council spoke very well and there was good evidence from the highway consultant. Our local MP had raised the issue at Westminster and even the Prime Minister urged the council to look at the issue carefully.”

However, Cllr Fairman belives the policy ‘discriminates against’ those communities in the rural countryside, stating that when ‘cabinet adopted it in 2016, there was a recommendation that further work be undertaken to make this policy fit for Cornwall’.

“We need to encourage bus use in the next generation, and a policy that requires parents to spend up to four hours a day to and from school is clearly nonsense in this day and age,” he continued. “I shall be raising this issue in the chamber at the next opportunity and hope to gain support from other Cornwall Councillors to get this policy reviewed.”

He added: “We all know that as the government continues to underfund, local authorities’ money is tight. However, there are always choices to be made and helping working parents get their children safely, to and from school, should be a fundamental service that should be higher up within the council’s priorities.”