A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.
Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.
Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public contacted the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda, at least one working day before the meeting to provide brief details of the matter to be covered.
Minutes:
Heidi Reed spoke about the Middlewood Way on route to the Tytherington High school. She had sought advice from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust on personal safety which suggested that people who felt isolated and unsafe should seek busy areas near to shops or garages etc. She contended that the Middlewood Way was poorly lit, isolated in many areas with no shops or garages nearby and was therefore unsafe. She raised concerns about how an alarm would be raised in the event of an incident. To highlight potential dangers, she referred to recent reports of a sexual assault against a teenage on a former railway line in Sandbach which was similar in nature to the Middlewood Way. The only alternative available for pupils who did not wish to use the Middlewood Way would be to cross a dual carriageway on the A523 Silk Road. She urged Cabinet to reverse its decision.
Dr Chris Murdoch referred to the personal circumstances of his son who had diabetes and was asthmatic. His concerns related to the difficulties that emergency services would encounter if they needed to gain access to Middlewood Way. He contended that the safety assessment carried out by the Council had ignored Department of Education guidance on safety.
Emanuel Botwe Head teacher at Tytherington High School informed the committee of his fundamental duty as head teacher to ensure the safety of children in his care. He had recently spoken to one 6th former from his school who had refused to use the Middlewood Way to travel to school, and had instead walked along the very busy Silk Road. He contended that the designation of Middlewood Way as an available walking route was not realistic. He stated that on 11 July, many parents had decided to take their children to school by car. This had illustrated potential future congestion difficulties on Badger Road which was adjacent to Tytherington High School, if the decision went ahead.
He questioned the practicality of parents accompanying a child on a daily walking journey covering six miles a day to ensure their safe arrival at school. In support of his assertion, he asked the Council to research a legal case: Regina V Devon County Council ex parte George (1989).
If Middlewood way was to be considered an available route, he asked 3 questions:
Will it make children safe?
Will it increase attendance?
Will it improve life chances of Children in Bollington?
Bollington Town Councillor Ken Edwards referred to a decision taken by Cabinet 3 years ago to reject the designation of Middlewood Way as an available walking route. He contended that the grounds upon which that decision had been taken had not changed in the three years since and should therefore be rejected again as an available walking route. He suggested that Bollington was an attractive place to live with four good primary schools and safe access to secondary schools. He commended the committee for having visited the walking routes but asked Members to imagine the Middlewood way in winter.
Dr Shelly Piasecka was a resident of Williston and referred to legislation relating to available walking routes to school and contended that if a route presented road safety hazards, the Council should declare it unavailable. She referred to the A51 which formed part of the Willaston walking route and informed the Committee that traffic flows were high and in respect of HGVs, 26% higher than the national average. She therefore wished to know how the road safety assessment had been carried out. The route also included a level crossing which had a history of accidents.
Janette Walker Head teacher at Malbank School in Nantwich stated that she aimed as Head teacher to treat every child as if it were her own. She would not allow her own child to walk on the available route to her school because she did not consider it to be safe. She added that many pupils would be carrying books, sports equipment and technology along a route which potentially could take an hour to travel, so they would arrive at school tired and in winter, wet and cold. She concluded that pupils would have to walk along a route with no street lights in parts and have to negotiate a level crossing. She contended that this presented a safeguarding issue for all children at Malbank school and urged Cabinet to reverse its decision.
Isla Roberts spoke about her concerns regarding the speed at which emergency services would be able to access Middlewood Way in the case of an emergency. In addition, she also raised concerns about the fact that most teenagers carried mobile phones which may make them a target for theft.
Angela Miller, Business Manager at Mallbank School referred to an exercise she had undertaken with students three years ago to trial the available walking route to Mallbank School. She informed the committee that it took an adult fifty seven minutes to complete the full route. She expressed concern about children being distracted on the way which would add to their journey times. Additionally, there was no street lighting in stretches which meant that that it could also be very dark in winter.
Bollington Town Councillor Alan Williamson informed the committee of an incident involving an assault on his son on the Middlewood way some time ago. As a former firefighter he reiterated concerns expressed by other speakers that Middlewood Way provided poor access for emergency services.
Francesca Wharton informed the committee that her husband had recently been killed in a road traffic accident while cycling and had previously been involved in a collision with a vehicle at the roundabout on the Silk Road. She informed the Committee that it would be unthinkable to lose a child because of a road traffic accident at this location.