COUNCILLORS have “badly let down” children walking to school along a hazardous road.

That’s the claim of Colne Valley councillor Nicola Turner.

The LibDem is upset that the Conservative-run Kirklees Cabinet hasn’t taken action on Chapel Hill in Linthwaite.

Clr Turner said: “The lack of a footpath and the increase in traffic have made this increasingly hazardous for parents and children walking to Linthwaite Clough Junior and Infant School.”

Several possible solutions emerged after Kirklees Highways officers visited the site ten months ago.

Clr Turner said: “A new footpath could be constructed using land by the Methodist Church Tennis Club, new signs warning drivers could be erected, the 60mph limit at the top of Upper Clough Road could be reduced and white lining introduced. Everyone’s expectations were raised.”

But she said parents and children had been let down.

Clr Turner said: “It has come as a massive disappointment to learn that nothing has yet been agreed. We are now at the start of yet another school year and nothing has been done.

“If this is a specific example of how a Conservative-run administration acts then we are being badly let down.”

And she added that planned repair work in the area could actually make the situation worse.

Clr Turner said: “We’re now advised that Upper Clough Road is to be resurfaced in the near future. In itself this is well overdue as the road is one of the worst in Kirklees.

“But it will have the effect of speeding up traffic before measures to make the walk to school safe have been finalised.”

Five hundred residents signed a petition last year calling for improved road safety around Linthwaite’s schools.

But Clr Martyn Bolt, Cabinet member responsible for roads, explained that the council received many petitions.

He said: “Councillors have over-loaded the process and each petition requires investigation by a small number of officers. The more petitions councillors generate, the longer the backlog is.

“Sometimes it’s easier for councillors to go directly to Highways officers.”

Clr Bolt added that Colne Valley Area Committee could look into the matter.

He said: “There is a devolved budget which could be used.”