Council accused of ‘penny pinching’ on school safety, Teesdale Mercury

Plans to scrap a Teesdale primary school crossing patrol have been slammed as “penny pinching and dangerous” as opposition to the proposals gathers pace.

Durham County Council has decided to abolish the patrol at Middleton-in-Teesdale Nursery and Primary School from this Friday (June 26).

The council said the money saved will be reinvested in areas of more urgent need.

The school was only told about decision after it had found someone to do the job, which had been vacant for several months.

Following objections from school governors, Cllr Richard Bell and Middleton Parish Council have now also written to the county council to register their opposition.

In the letter on behalf of the parish council, Chairman John Cronin said the county council’s plans put lives at risk.

He asked: “Does the cabinet of the all powerful Durham County Council really believe that it is worth risking the physical safety, or possibly lives, of the 116 children who attend Middleton-in-Teesdale Nursery and Primary School in order to save less than £2,000 from your annual budget of £1.2 billion?”

The decision to scrap the Middleton crossing was taken after the so-called ‘PV2’ formula was applied.

Using the formula, which takes into account road speed, traffic flow and pedestrian use, the council decided that Middleton falls below the criteria to have a crossing patrol.   

But Cllr Cronin said “fancy formulae” and “spurious statistics” don’t matter “one jot” to people with children and grandchildren at the school.

“We know only too well how hazardous it is for parents and carers to cross the main road through the village,” he said.

Cllr Richard Bell has also written to the county council with his objections to the plan.

“I am behind the governors in wanting to keep the crossing. It seems a very small saving to make on a matter of safety,” said Cllr Bell.

“The council is always pushing the idea that more children should walk to school, rather than being taken in cars, and this flies in the face of that policy.”

A spokeswoman for Durham County Council said that no other crossing patrols in Teesdale would be affected.

“A policy was agreed last September that if a school crossing patrol is vacant, and if the need falls below the criteria, we would discontinue them,” she said.

“This is not a case of costing cutting – the money will be reinvested to have a mobile crossing patrol to be used where there is a more urgent need and higher risk.”

The spokeswoman added that the council’s criteria for the need for crossings is “less strict” than the national guidelines.

The county council is to conduct a further survey of traffic in Middleton at the end of the month.

A spokeswoman said: “In response to people locally telling us that there is an increase in traffic at this time of year there will be a survey towards the end of the month.”

She added that the council’s decision still stands.