Calls for new path on school walk route

We s t Lothian promotes a “walk to school” for kids and parents.

But at one Livingston primary that’s impossible — there’s no pavement, just a muddy grass verge.

And recently, the local community council said: “People will take their cars because there’s no safe walking.”

Stephen Egan from Eliburn Community Council told West Lothian Council’s Executive: “It’s about safety and it’s about the green agenda.”

The community council joined forces with Peel Primary’s Parent Teacher Association to plead for funding for the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Funding Programme.

They were looking to secure £ 18,000 to put towards a pavement to connect Peel Primary to its surrounding streets.

At the moment there’s only road access, and it’s heavily used because parents find it easier to drive their children to school or to the clubs after hours in the building.

The school is open from 7.30am for the breakfast club provision and long past school hours for wraparound care and use of the community hall by groups including a scout troop.

There’s no footpath to the building between Aller Place and Garden Place, explained Mr Egan.

Parents have to cross the school’s car park after struggling along grass verges — often pushing buggies through a muddy quagmire.

Mr Egan said he didn’t feel that the plan made sense in terms of helping children and their families walk to school.

He added: “I find it astonishing that planning permission was given [for a primary school] without a pavement or pedestrian access.”

The community council and PTA have won huge support online for the footpath.

The community council’s Facebook page was “inundated” with support when it first raised the issue.

While West Lothian Council say is sympathetic to the plans roads engineers fear that the contract or work could not be completed in the strict timeframes of the town centre fund programme.

Contracts have to be signed by the end of March, and work completed within six months.

A report to West Lothian Council’s Executive said: “Officers from Roads and Transportation have concerns that this amount of funding to the project proposal would only allow the pathway to stretch from The Aller Place/ Garden Place junction to the road entrance of community wing with no further safe passage to the school/ community wing building.”

Mr Egan said the community hoped to fund the project through the town centre plans.

But he added if that could not be done it would pursue it through new “participatory budgeting” where local communities can nominate spending on improvement projects.

C o u n c i l l o r F rank Anderson asked if the commu n i t y c o u n c i l would be prepared for the pavement access to be completed in “sections”- if that made it easier to fund.

“It certainly could be done in sections”, said Mr Egan.

Craig McCorriston, head of planning, said council officers were ready to work with the community council and PTA to find a solution.

The report added: “Funding would be awarded to help find a practical, safe solution to the issues raised within the application.”

Chairing the meeting, council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick, said councillors understood the residents’ concerns and assured them that the authority takes safety seriously.

He added: “I think the members have taken on board very seriously the petition.

“We are concerned about school safety.

“I’m pre p a red to recommend that we ask officers to give weight to the concerns of this executive as regards this particular project.”

And the council leader, thanked Stephen Egan for his work in bringing the issue to the council’s attention.

Councillor Fitzpatrick added: “Mr Egan, thank you for your presentation and for your hard work in the community.”