Parents fight council's plans to axe crossing patrollers at schools across North Ayrshire

Furious parents are urging North Ayrshire Council to back-track on plans to axe crossing patrollers at schools across the community.

It was one of the cuts voted through by councillors in the budget, at a cost of a mere £92,000, with selected crossings targeted, but parents are battling to force a u-turn.

And a petition has been drawn up by West Kilbride Primary Parent Council members, attracting 912 signatures since its launch last Tuesday.

The group learned only on Friday that their crossing was one of the ones which is being cut.

Emma Clark chair of West Kilbride Primary Council said: “I have three children at West Kilbride Primary and one at Ardrossan Academy.

“This decision by councillors will have a huge effect on the community as there is so much irresponsible and illegal parking and over the past three years we have been fighting for that.

“I don’t think that parking attendants are ticketing anyone for offences as if they did they would recoup the cost of the crossing.

“We have two crossings to make to the school and neither have pedestrian crossings, so it is not a safe route.

“I just don’t know what will happen. Some parents let their kids go themselves to school as with crossing patrollers, they trust it is going to be safe.

“Archie patrols West Kilbride Main street, part of the bus route and Joe stands on Hunterston Road across from the school.

“These patrollers are invaluable and have stopped a good number of accidents happening over the years.

“The council say they consulted road traffic agencies but I doubt they have been there at 8.45am to see the volume of traffic and if they know the actual impact it is going to have when they are removed.

“The majority of our councillors have voted to stop school crossing patrols as part of the NAC budget cuts from April.

“We spent ages campaigning and filled in a consultation form. We met with Education Director Andrew McClelland and no-one said it was a good idea, yet they have gone ahead and voted for it.

“It is a shocking decision by councillors – people would gladly pay for say a brown bin collection instead .

“Is it worth risking a child’s life to save a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things?”

The petition reads: “The crossing patrols not only provide a vital service, ensuring that children can get to and from school safely but the patrollers are part of our school community.

“If the crossing patrols are removed our school children and their families will not have a safe route to walk to and from school in addition to avoiding illegally and irresponsibly parked cars.

“It seems no alternative measures are being put in place to ensure pedestrian safety. We urge North Ayrshire Council and the councillors to reconsider this cut and to find a way to maintain crossing patrols for the well-being of our community. “

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “As part of the 2025-26 budget a budget proposal was put forward for a reduction to the school crossing patrol service – the proposal was accepted by Council on February 26

“The new provision for School Crossing Patrols will now be based on an assessed need for a supported crossing.

“An external assessment was undertaken using national guidelines to assess the pedestrian and vehicle volumes as well as a review by our Roads team. A decision on sites which will continue to have crossing patrollers was made based on the outcomes of the assessment process.”