Dad considers legal challenge over school route

A father from Lightwater says he is prepared to mount a legal challenge over a council's decision to withdraw free school transport after it identified a route for children to walk.

Jon Crane has raised concerns about safety on the proposed route to Collingwood College in Camberley, which includes parts of Lightwater Country Park, and said it was a "mud bath" which he would not walk himself.

In January a petition with 517 signatures called for the withdrawal of the bus from September to be paused.

Surrey County Council (SCC) said the route had been assessed "multiple times" and that its travel assistance policy was in line with national guidelines.

Crane told BBC Radio Surrey that the park had no lighting and that he was worried about his daughter's safety, especially during the dark winter months.

"From my own experience as a dogwalker, there's huge parts of that country park which become almost unwalkable because of the mud and because of the puddles and the floodings," he said.

"There's one particular stretch which SCC are expecting my daughter and others to walk along and it's a route which I won't walk myself, even when I'm wearing walking boots, simply because it is a mud bath."

Crane and other parents are also disputing the council's claim that the distance of the route is less than three miles and have questioned the way in which it was measured.

If a journey to school is more than three miles, then under the law families are entitled to transport.

Crane said he had written to the council saying he would seek a judicial review unless there were changes to the policy and assurances given to families, including a reinstatement of the bus until July 2027.

Helyn Clack, SCC cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said demand for home‑to‑school transport was increasing, putting pressure on budgets, and that £76.4m was spent in 2025/26 supporting around 10,000 children and young people.

"We take our responsibilities for school transport very seriously, but we must balance this with our duty to ensure we are only using public funds for those who meet the statutory criteria for free transport, or who have the greatest need," she said.

"Our travel assistance policy is in line with national guidelines and the Department for Education's school transport guidance.

"These guidelines consider the relationship between pedestrians and traffic, and assessments are undertaken assuming that the child will be accompanied by an appropriate adult if necessary."

Clack said the new walking route had been established in August 2025, after a new footbridge over the M3, connecting Lightwater to Bagshot, opened.

"This route has been assessed multiple times and remains an available walking route under these criteria," she added.

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