CONCERNS among Garnock Valley parents about the safety of children accessing the proposed new Garnock school campus at Longbar are growing – with a protest demonstration planned.

A group of parents and carers from Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Beith who have organised themselves under the umbrella of the ‘Longbar school campus’ Facebook page will walk the route along the B777 to Longbar Farm to highlight their fears on the evening of Thursday, June 6.

Many parents are unhappy about the prospect of their children having to walk or cycle along the route which carries a high volume of HGVs and locals say floods frequently.

Children attending the new campus will not qualify for bus transport if they live within three miles of the proposed site – affecting the majority of pupils in Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Beith – saving the council an estimated £300,000 a year.

Allan Cairns from Kilbirnie whose daughter attends Garnock Academy will be on the demonstration. He said: “There has been no-one I have met who is in favour of this site.

“There are many questions and many issues that are being ignored.

“We feel our voice must be heard and our concerns must be made known to as many people as possible.” “We intend to try to force a rethink and move the site to a safer more suitable one.“ According to Mr Cairns the school was originally to be built at the Caledonia Road side of the site where access would in his opinion have been safer than from the B777. However, in conversations with planning engineers he was told the area is ‘unworkable’ forcing proposed construction work to be moved to the south side of the site.

Brent Norris, Chair of the Garnock Academy Parent Council, was more upbeat about the plans. He said: “Whilst acknowledging the site is not perfect, the Parent Council is keen to see the new building get underway.

“Based on the information supplied by the architects and the Council it is looking like a fantastic learning environment for our young people.” However, he also expressed worries about safety issues.

“The Parent Council has huge concerns regarding the safe routes to the new location from both Beith and Kilbirnie, and would like to discuss the routes with the council to ensure the safety of the young people travelling to and from school.” Grounds for objection posted on the North Ayrshire Council planning page include claims of lack of consultation on the choice of site. One letter states: “There is an obvious agenda to rush through this deeply flawed process with surprising disregard for numerous issues.” Others raise questions over the suitability of a site which is prone to flooding and the impact on small businesses of locating the campus away from shops: “The Garnock Valley does not need a super school. It will suck the life blood out of these small areas, whereas local schools give small businesses and corner shops regular weekly trade.” Local independent Councillor Jean Highgate supports the campaign. As well as sharing parents’ concerns over safety, she is also worried about closure of local libraries after the new public library on the campus opens, in addition to increased traffic and carbon footprint resulting from more car journeys.

“It is totally the wrong site,” Cllr Highgate said. “The powers that be did not listen to local knowledge regarding ground conditions.

“We were shown on the site visit a totally different position from what is in the plans.

“The geotechnical survey is quite frightening reading. There is going to be far more expense than was anticipated to build this school.

“Safe routes to school are of paramount importance. I don’t see how the proposals can be approved – then say ‘we’ll find something’ when they don’t own land around the site.

“The two floor library that will be there means that down the line – no matter what they say – the local libraries will close.

“And the carbon footprint will be increased by people taking their kids to school by car. I’ve heard plenty of parents saying ‘there’s no way my kids are walking to school’. What about those that don’t have a car or don’t have time.

“We’ve got to make them listen somehow.” A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “We recognise the importance of ensuring pupils can travel to school safely.

“Although school travel is not dealt with directly as part of the planning process, all relevant comments made during the pre-application and current statutory planning consultation will be fed into a detailed assessment of school travel.

“This will provide a more detailed approach to school travel, including the provision of safe walking and cycling routes to the campus.

“We have already developed plans to extend existing pedestrian and cycle routes in Beith to connect directly to the campus site.

“This will allow pupils arriving from Beith to walk along a route where a pavement is provided. In addition, cycle storage is provided which will encourage cycling.”