Blow for Stoney school supporters

Published in Matlock Mercury on Mon 15th Jan 2007

Councillors Charles Cutting and Roland Hosker lead colleagues, protesters and parents along the A623 between Curbar and Stoney Middleton

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a Dales school from closure have been dealt "another nail in the coffin" after their road safety concerns were dismissed.

Despite a strong turnout of supporters of Stoney Middleton School on Monday, four county councillors found that the roads linking the school with its neighbour in Curbar are safe for children to walk along.

The verdict, by a three-to-one majority, is another blow to parents fighting to keep the school from closure.

District and county councillor for the area Nigel Allwood said he was disappointed with the decision.

"I shouldn't want to be walking my child along there with lorries going by," he said.

"Today seems to have been a complete waste of time.

"I found out today that there may be as many as five new children moving to Stoney Middleton, so circumstances change.

"But this feels like another nail in the coffin."

Stoney Middleton School has been earmarked for closure by Derbyshire County Council because of falling pupil numbers, with the authority suggesting the children could be accommodated at Curbar Primary School.

Parents claim the route, which has seen 11 accidents in the last three years, is not a safe one for children.

Roland Hosker, one of the county councillors who took part in Monday's walk said: "There is a strong criteria that we have to consider and all the way on the walk we did this afternoon there is a proper footway.

"There is lighting, and in the only place they had to cross the A623, there was a pedestrian crossing.

"There was a good amount of traffic, but because there was a footpath for the entire route it was felt that it did not meet the hazardous criteria."