NORTH Ayrshire Council is hoping to allay fears over the safety of pupils travelling to the new Garnock supercampus with an exhibition of plans for £1million of work to improve routes to the school.

Parents raised safety issues as one of their major concerns after the Longbar site was confirmed as the location for the new £40million school and leisure complex.

Many were 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.

Some were even motivated to stage a protest demonstration last summer, walking the route along the B777 from Glengarnock station to Longbar.

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.

The council has consistently defended the choice of Longbar as the location of the new school which is now taking shape and is on schedule to be completed in December 2016 ready for opening to pupils in January 2017.

In response to criticism over safety NAC said: “The safety of children is of paramount importance moving forward.” Now the council says concerns have been ‘listened to’ and their plans to improve local roads, pathways and cycle routes in and around the new supercampus are going on public display.

From tomorrow (Thursday, September 18) information boards detailing the improvement works will be available for local residents to view in libraries in Kilbirnie, Beith and Dalry.

Cabinet Member for Place, Councillor Tony Gurney, is encouraging local residents to go along to the library and familiarise themselves with the plans. He said: “During the consultation process, parents and residents rightly identified travel routes as being key to the success of the new school and leisure campus.

“We listened to their concerns and developed these plans which go much further than the required planning regulations and will not only provide the best possible route for pupils and the wider community, but also greatly improve the connections between and within the towns.

“This substantial infrastructure investment is key to the Council’s plans for the development of the Garnock Valley and I would encourage local residents to visit one of the libraries and view the plans.” However, some parents remain sceptical.

Local councillor Anthea Dickson was questioned about the provision of safe routes at Monday’s meeting of Kilbirnie Community Council.

Speaking after the meeting Allan Cairns whose four-year-old son will attend the school said: “Cllr Dickson told me the cycle track route from Kilbirnie would not be lit, widened or fenced off from water ditches.

“There was no decision on installing islands at wide junctions at Holmhead in Kilbirnie or Allan’s Corner in Glengarnock, and when asked about the narrow pavements along the pedestrian routes, some of which are less than 18 inches wide, she said some things just can’t be altered due to road width.

“She advised me to educate my child to enable him to walk the route safely, or get lights on his bike to travel via the cycle track.

“He is four years old and has just started Primary 1 – he will not be cycling that route anytime soon and will not be walking the distance from my home to the new campus.

“I suggested the project is forcing parents to arrange safe travel to school in order that the council do not have to provide buses and parents will not run the risk of these inferior routes.

“The only remaining option will be disruption to parents work schedules in order that our kids get to school safely.

“Basically the council has ignored the pleas of parents and put the responsibility back on parents.

“This is a total disregard for public opinion.

“I will be very interested to see what plans they have come up with, albeit months late.”