East Devon MP urges action on safer walking and cycling routes to schools

A call for action has been issued by a Devon MP over safer walking and cycling routes to schools in two towns.

Speaking in parliament, Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat), the member for Honiton and Sidmouth, urged the government to “play a role in getting behind rural local authorities” to help make more safe routes for pupils to get to school.
Students at Sidmouth College have been calling for a cycle path between Sidford and Sidbury because, Mr Foord said, the road between the two villages is “narrow, winding and dangerous, especially for schoolchildren walking or cycling”.
“When there is a bus, cost is a barrier,” he said.
“Without a dedicated path, young people are missing out on after-school clubs, social time or extra help with learning. A safe cycle path would give those young people real independence; it would help them to stay active and healthy, and it would cut down on car use.
Mr Foord added that Ottery St Mary’s Coleridge bridge, built in 2011, had been damaged by a storm over a year ago, meaning parents were now having to drive their children to school.
“The bridge repair is being held up by environmental permits, and I have asked the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to find a better balance,” he said.
“Of course, protecting our biodiversity and our rivers is vital, but so is the safety of our children. We are having children risk their lives in the dark hours during wintertime by going on very narrow pavements and into the road.”
Also in Ottery, Mr Foord said the town’s King’s School had proposed a multi-use path in the Otter Valley from Feniton to Sidmouth along an old railway line, adding that Devon County Council “really ought to get behind” it and the other two examples.
In December, the county council outlined its local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP), which included the Otter Valley among 10 routes across Devon it wants to support.
The Otter Valley scheme is one of two designated as ‘medium-term’ priorities, putting them below three classified as ‘short term’.
In March this year, the county council said it planned to invest £7.7 million in walking and cycling routes across the county, with that cash coming from a mix of its own funds and £3.9 million from Active Travel England.
Besides walking and cycling routes, the council said it would be funding a pedestrian crossing improvements in places including Ivybridge, Great Torrington and Sidmouth, and investigating so-called “schools streets opportunities” to support safer routes to schools.