Axe is lifted on St Modan's bus

Jul 1 2009 by Kaiya Marjoribanks, Stirling Observer Wednesday

FREE transport to St Modan’s High School has been given a reprieve.

Concerns had been raised in recent weeks that the council was about to pull back from an agreement reached when it was decided to build the school near Forthbank Stadium out at Springkerse.

At a meeting on Thursday Labour councillor Margaret Brisley moved a motion asking the council to continue the arrangement agreed in 2007 in relation to St Modan’s, namely that children will receive free transport where the distance from home to school exceeds two miles by the shortest available safe route.

While some children live within a two mile radius, a direct journey is believed by many to be unsafe and the option perceived to be safer is far longer.

In moving the motion, Councillor Brisley said even those of her constituents in Bannockburn using the council’s recommended travel plan to St Modan’s could not negotiate the safe route to schools without going over the council’s three mile policy.

She, along with all other councillors, agreed to accept an amendment by the SNP administration which instructed officers to undertake a “comprehensive review of school transport in full consultation with all interested parties, with a view to a revised policy being brought back for approval of council in time for it to be in place for he start of the 2010/11 school session”.

The cost to the council of the arrangement at the moment is believed to be £15,000 and covers 19 pupils.

Children’s services director David Cameron said continuing under the current arrangements would mean that St Modan’s would continue to be regarded as an exception to the policy and therefore would remain “vulnerable to any changes”.

He added: “A comprehensive review would offer an opportunity of resolving that in the long term.

“I think it would offer greater security to the St Modan’s community than the current arrangement.”

Councillor Brisley said later: “The SNP administration had to concede that they could not remove the free transport to those children attending St Modan’s even in areas like Bannockburn and Fallin in apparent close proximity to the school.

“The safe route to St Modan’s High School is impossible to fulfil using public transport from some areas of my ward without exceeding this rule.

“This is a victory for common sense and I am delighted the SNP decided to put their controversial proposals on hold.

“I will now be fighting to ensure the costs of the free school transport to St Modan’s High School are consolidated into the children’s services budget for the foreseeable future.”