Council to reconsider petition for lollipop patrols

Parents raised concerns over the cuts to the only zebra crossing near Werrington Primary School

A petition to reinstate school crossing patrols at four primary schools will be reconsidered by Peterborough City Council's cabinet members.

Cuts were made to crossings at Old Fletton, Newark Hill and Werrington in a bid to save money by the council.

The decision has left lollipop men and women redundant but the authority said it was "one of a number of difficult decisions" it had to make in order to balance the budget.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Werrington resident Nyree Ambarchian created a petition asking the council to re-examine the decision to cut the patrols and proposed the matter was put to a vote of the full council.

A city council spokesperson had assured that crossings and/or speed restrictions such as 20mph zones would be in place at each of the schools.

Councillors discussed the petition at a meeting on Wednesday after it received 553 valid signatures.

Presenting the petition on behalf of Ms Ambarchian, Werrington mum Kerri Deboo told councillors: "This is not just about traffic. This is not just about budgets.

"This is about the safety of our children and the message this council is sending to families across Peterborough.

"If even one child is hurt because this protection was removed, we will all look back and ask was this worth it?"

'Not been made lightly'

Werrington ward councillor John Fox, who is the leader of Peterborough First, supported the petition and said that a child's life was "worth far more than a budget cut".

He added: "These patrols are not optional, they are essential. Crossing the road to school should not be a life or death decision."

Angus Ellis, cabinet member for transport, defended the decision to cut the patrols and said it had "not been made lightly".

Labour councillor Katy Cole, cabinet member for children's services, proposed a motion to put the decision back to the next available cabinet meeting so it could be re-examined "as quickly as possible".

This motion was supported by all councillors.

The next scheduled cabinet meeting is on 23 September.

Reacting to the councillors' support in bringing the decision back to cabinet, Ms Deboo told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We just still need a bit more clarity about the mitigating factors that are going to be put into place and the timeliness of that really."