PARENTS in Delabole have received letters of apology and a reinstatement of their children’s free bus passes from Cornwall Council — but only for current students.

In July 2017 parents from the Medrose area of Delabole received letters from Cornwall Council to the effect that their children would no longer be entitled to free transport to Sir James Smith’s School, as they lived within three miles of the school entrance and the route via the unmarked rural lane past Deli Farm had been assessed as ‘safe’ for pedestrians.

This move deeply concerned the parents of those affected children, as well as local councillors and even the MP for North Cornwall, Scott Mann, who has paid visits to Delabole to see for himself just how dangerous the route for the children was.

Following an unsuccessful appeal with Cornwall Council in August 2018, 16 families from Delabole registered a complaint with the local government ombudsman. The council have now had the final decision from the ombudsman, which concluded that the council ‘could not demonstrate the appeal’s procedure had been conducted in a fair and transparent manner’ and that the council were ‘at fault in several areas leading to an injustice’.

Despite the national guidance clearly stating that it is good practice to phase in any changes so that children who start school under one set of arrangements continue to benefit from these arrangements until that child has left school, Cornwall Council withdrew bus passes from children who were already in receipt of bus passes, causing parents considerable stress and confusion, according to Cornwall Councillor for Delabole, St Breward and St Teath, Dominic Fairman.

The council has now apologised to all of the parents concerned and confirmed that all these children will now continue to receive free school transport until they finish at Sir James Smith’s School.

Cllr Fairman said: “This is a major victory for the parents, who with the support of the parish council and myself have had to fight for a service that should never have been under threat in the first place.

“However, the fight does not stop here as the council have indicated that they still consider the route to be safe and future children from the village will still need to appeal for free transport.

“This is disappointing, however there is now a clear indication in the ruling that routes like the one from Delabole to Camelford, which have to be walked in darkness due to the early start time of Sir Jim’s, cannot simply be deemed as safe just because children will be accompanied by adults. This route is clearly not safe for any pedestrian of any age in winter.

“More importantly, the ombudsman has ruled that families should not have to show ‘exceptional circumstances’ with regards to why parents are not able to walk the three miles there and back twice a day — and that future appeals panels should take into account only what is ‘reasonably practical’.”

Looking to the future, Cllr Fairman added: “I shall be raising these points at New County Hall and pressing for new guidance for councillors who sit on appeal committees to reflect this judgement from the local government ombudsman.

“As a council we have voted on declaring a climate change emergency, and as we adapt our policies it is quite clear that we need to keep children on buses and have less car travel if we are going to meet these environmental ambitions.”

The news was bitter-sweet for St Teath Parish Council chairman, Roger Lyle, who said while this latest move was a ‘small victory’ for the parents, the fight must go on.

He said: “Whilst I am pleased to note that Cornwall Council have admitted their mistakes and reinstated the bus passes for the children, Cornwall Council have failed to grasp the fundamental point and still deem the route safe.

“Thanks must go to the parents of the children who instigated this project and the fight must go on.”

When the Post approached the ‘No bus passes for some Delabole school children’ group, which has been campaigning since 2017, for their thoughts, a spokesperson claimed the parents had not yet received such letters from the local authority.

They said: “We haven’t received any letters from the council yet. From what Dominic (Fairman) has said, the bus passes are only reinstated for the children already at Sir James Smith’s. It doesn’t apply to new intakes and Cornwall Council are still insisting the road is safe, so parents of new children stating will have to appeal.

“If this is the case, it definitely isn’t the outcome we were hoping for.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “Cornwall Council accepts the findings of the ombudsman’s Decision Notice. In accepting this decision, Cornwall Council has apologised to the families involved and notes the recommendations made.”

What are your thoughts on Cornwall Council’s approach to the issue in Delabole? Do you have a child in Delabole who will be starting at Sir James Smith’s School in September?

Write to [email protected] to let us know your opinion.