29 November 2021
Carbrooke School Bus

Rural areas are different – often requiring innovative solutions to very tricky challenges. But is it really okay for primary school children to walk three miles to school via muddy footpaths and a dangerous road?

That’s why Cllr Claire Bowes, Cllr Helen Crane and I have picked up the issue of the Carbrooke School Bus service again – having met on site in the weeks before the pandemic to walk the route again and discuss the current, unsafe situation with Parish Council representatives and staff from the primary school.

The pandemic stymied efforts to raise this very difficult issue then, but having seen another spike in correspondence and calls from concerned parents and staff since September, we are actively raising this again.

Not only are parents and school staff justifiably worried about the safety of the children (and their families) that use the walking route (which replaced the school bus back in 2015), local residents are equally concerned about the vast number of vehicles that descend upon the main village twice a day and cause chaos.

That’s why, with local councillors, I have formally written to the Leader of Norfolk County Council again to ask that we put the matter firmly back on the agenda, and on Friday we held a site visit with the various key parties (including an NCC representative) to see what solutions might be available.

Rest assured, I intend to follow this up with Cllr Bowes, Cllr Crane and the local community – and I look forward to providing further updates in due course.

To learn more about our site visit last year, please click here

George Freeman MP at Carbrooke Primary School
George Freeman MP at Carbrooke Primary School
Carbrooke CofE School sign