00:00Buses for Chilmington Green!
00:02That's the sound of 30 parents and counsellors who are not backing down over a lack of buses to their
00:10secondary school,
00:11which has no real public transport to speak of.
00:15Chilmington Green is in the middle of nowhere, slap bang in the heart of an as yet unfinished housing estate
00:22whose developers have been plagued with financial misfortune.
00:27Without any other way to get to school, children are forced to make their own way back to town along
00:35unlit pathways and country roads.
00:38No, it's not acceptable. We need a paid bus service so our students, our kids can get to school safely.
00:46There's no alternative routes really unless you drive them here, which not all parents are able to do.
00:50HCC have given us a, what they deem a safe route, which is over three miles long from where we
00:56live.
00:57And it's, in my opinion, it's not safe. There's no proper walkways. There's no lighting.
01:03You have to go on grass verges. It's not accessible.
01:06Kent County Council is the authority responsible for highways and education.
01:12They say the walking route has been assessed twice and found to be safe.
01:18But local counsellors say that's not enough.
01:21I genuinely believe if we don't do this quickly, a child will be injured, potentially killed,
01:27or even potentially abducted looking at the walking route because I do not genuinely believe the walking route is safe.
01:32Many parents have been forced to pick up pupils themselves. A real challenge for those with disabilities.
01:41We're totally stuck. I can't pick him up in an emergency. And I would love to go and pick him
01:47up in school sometimes.
01:49And I would love to be able to take him to school. It's just one of those things that is,
01:54it's such a waste.
01:56We've been fighting it for five years now and not getting anywhere and it's awful.
02:00A petition by parents for a paid school bus has reached more than 1,000 signatures so far.
02:08But Kent County Council says buses are run by private operators.
02:13That funding for public transport was supposed to have been provided by the developers but has not yet materialised.
02:22So while school may be out for the summer, there's no sign of parents here resting until they get what
02:29they want.
02:30Oli Lieder at Gelmington Green.
02:32Oli Lieder at Gelmington Green.
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