Parents of primary school child call for rethink on 'dangerous' school walking route
Barkley is no longer eligible for school transport, and will have to walk almost three miles along country roads
Last updated 28th Sep 2023
A parent of an eight year old in Cornwall, who will have to walk almost three miles to school along country roads, is calling for the council to rethink their decision.
Barkley, 8, from Mitchell, used to be eligible for school transport to get him to lessons in Summercourt, but due to going up a school year, he no longer is.
Ashley Sharp, Barkley's Dad, told us: "When they reach a certain age, that threshold in terms of distance gets a bit higher. He's no longer eligible because they deem it as a safe walking route."
According to Ashley, the council have now refused the taxi service he used to get, due to the walk to school being 2.7 miles, which is under the threshold of three miles.
His parents are calling for a reassessment of the route, claiming it's not safe enough for anyone of that age.
"No pavements, no streetlights"
He told Pirate FM: "For the first point-one of a mile it's not too bad but the A30 does join some of the roads.
"You've got 2.5 miles right in the middle which has no pavements, no streetlights, it's the width of one vehicle."
The parents are calling for them to take a look at the walk at night to give a full picture of the safety of school children who will have to start their walk to school before the sun rises.
"They have completed a pedestrian walking route assessment, and whilst elements of that assessment does support their decision in some (but not all) ways, it takes very small bits of information to base their decision on.
"When the clocks go back it's going to be pitch black"
"It was conducted at a time of day where visibility was good, rather than pitch black darkness, which is what they are suggesting my son should walk in.
"I don't know how anybody in their right mind can deem that safe for any pedestrian."
Cornwall Council say they're unable to comment on individual cases but "any parent who is unsuccessful in their application for free home-to-school transport through the council does have the right to appeal. Within this appeal the parent can include any concerns they have about the suitability of the walking route identified for their child".
"When reviewing the appeal, the council will carefully consider the case put forward and where necessary will commission further pedestrian route assessments (PRA) to be undertaken independently to assess the suitability of walking routes".