Parents raise concerns amid school transport changes

Parents in a Surrey village have raised concerns about the county council's decision to withdraw free school transport to a local college, saying children now walk routes families describe as risky and poorly maintained.

A petition with 517 signatures, organised by Councillor Rebecca Jennings-Evans, is calling for the decision to withdraw transport from Lightwater to Collingwood College to be paused.

The campaigners have argued the council is relying on narrow legal guidance while overlooking the day-to-day reality facing 11-year-olds.

Surrey County Council (SCC) maintains the crossings involved are signal-controlled, pavements exist along key sections, and police have raised no concerns about the country park.

For years, many families qualified for free transport because there was no recognised safe walking route.

That changed after a new footbridge over the M3 connected Lightwater to Bagshot.

A review found 48 families were then within three miles of the school using newly-identified paths.

Travel assistance was removed, with families given two school terms' notice instead of the usual four weeks.

The council has said its Safer Travel Team walked the routes several times at school travel hours and judged them safe under national road safety rules.

But parents who walked the routes themselves have said the picture on the ground is very different.

Their concerns include stretches along or across the busy A30 and A322 and narrow or informal pavements on Chapel Lane that force pedestrians into the road around bends with poor visibility.

Campaigners also raised worries about isolated paths through Lightwater Country Park, which are unlit and run near open water.

In a partial concession, SCC said it was likely to keep four dedicated school coach services running in 2026–27, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Parents, however, want transport reinstated or the decision paused pending a fresh multi-agency safety review.

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