Sandford Safety First - School Transport Campaign

09/03/2026

Thank you Màiri McAllan MSP for Clydesdale for bringing everyone together today and for continuing to support the families in Sandford.

It was a really positive discussion with a range of stakeholders around the table, including local community representatives, transport providers and campaign members. The key message from parents remains clear, children should not be expected to walk along a national speed limit road with narrow paths, poor lighting and blind bends simply to access their education.

We were however disappointed that South Lanarkshire Council did not attend despite being invited, as their input is clearly important in helping find a safe and workable solution for the children and families affected.

We remain committed to working collaboratively with all partners to find a safe and sustainable solution for pupils travelling between Sandford and Strathaven Academy, while also exploring opportunities to improve wider public transport connectivity for the village.

The Sandford community is incredibly grateful for the continued support from our local MSP, councillors and those organisations willing to engage constructively.

The campaign continues. 🚌

🚌 Today I convened a roundtable meeting in Sandford alongside the Sandford Safety First - School Transport Campaign, community council reps and Climate Action Strathaven.

I also invited local bus companies whose input I’m grateful for.

It is completely unacceptable that South Lanarkshire Council expect pupils from Sandford to walk along a national speed limit route, with narrow paths, no lighting and blind bends just to get to school, following their decision to cut bus provision.

As local MSP I have been proud to stand alongside parents in Sandford campaigning to protect their school bus routes and to seek ways of improving the general public transport provisions in the area. I will continue to seek solutions as your MSP.

06/03/2026

Sandford Safety Campaign – Community Update

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates over the past couple of months. I know many people in the community have been asking how things are progressing and I appreciate your patience.

Although things may have seemed quiet publicly, please be assured that work has been continuing behind the scenes. We have been actively exploring alternative options and looking at ways we can support the children and families affected.

We continue to engage with key partners and are grateful for the ongoing support from our local MSP and Councillors as we work towards a positive way forward.

In the meantime, our petition remains open and every signature still helps highlight the strength of feeling within the community.

If you haven’t already signed or shared it, please consider doing so.

📌 Petition:

https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

Thank you again for your continued support, it really does make a difference.

Reinstate Safe School Transport for Sandford Pupils

19/01/2026

📻 Clyde 1 News Update – Tomorrow Morning

The latest on the Sandford–Strathaven bus and walking route issue will be featured on Clyde 1 news bulletins every hour, on the hour, from 6am tomorrow morning.

I’ve spoken with Callum McQuade, Senior News Reporter at Clyde 1, about:

• South Lanarkshire Council’s admission that routes deemed “safe” are not gritted or maintained in winter
• The impact this has on children expected to walk to school
• Why families are now having to explore bus options due to the lack of action from SLC

Thanks to Clyde 1 for giving this issue airtime. Please tune in and share, the more people who hear this, the harder it is to ignore.

📍 Clyde 1
⏰ Every hour from 6am

15/01/2026

📄 FOI evidence shared & formal escalation made

Following receipt and review of a recent Freedom of Information response relating to the Blackwood / Kirkmuirhill → Lesmahagow High School route, we can confirm that this information has now been formally raised with both Roads and Education services at South Lanarkshire Council.

For transparency and accountability, emails have also been sent to our local MP, MSP and councillors, setting out the findings and their direct relevance to the Sandford → Strathaven route.

The FOI documents clearly show that:

- a route previously deemed acceptable was later reassessed,
- Roads concluded the route was NOT suitable, with no safe alternative available, and
- key risks included fast-moving traffic, restricted visibility, and road geometry / blind approaches, particularly affecting children on their journey home.

Internal council correspondence explicitly recognised that when combined with parental safety concerns, these findings meant that school transport should continue to be provided — and the decision was reversed.

This matters because the risks identified in Blackwood closely mirror those repeatedly raised by parents regarding the Sandford → Strathaven route, including:

- fast-moving traffic,
- blind bends and restricted sightlines,
- limited safe crossing points,
- poor lighting and increased winter risk, and
- a lack of meaningful mitigation.

We are not asking for special treatment, only consistency, transparency, and the same evidence-led approach that has been applied elsewhere.

📌 If you haven’t already, please add your name to the petition to support safer routes for our children:
👉 https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

We will continue to press for:
✔ a full, up-to-date reassessment
✔ parity of decision-making
✔ children’s safety to be put first

Further updates will follow.

14/01/2026

🚨 UPDATE: Council admits “safe” school routes are NOT maintained in winter 🚨

South Lanarkshire Council has now issued its final Stage 2 complaint response, and it confirms what we have feared all along.

In writing, the Council states that:

- Routes can be deemed “safe” for children to walk
- Transport can be withdrawn on that basis
- Those same routes do not require winter gritting
- Ice, frost and winter conditions do not make a route unsafe
- Parents are expected to manage the risk themselves

Even after a Council motion was passed in December calling for better maintenance of safe walking routes, the Council confirms:

➡️ There will be no change to winter gritting policy
➡️ No additional mitigation for children walking in winter
➡️ No further action

Let that sink in.

A route can be officially “safe”, yet knowingly left untreated, icy and hazardous during the school year, and children are still expected to walk it.

This is no longer a misunderstanding or poor communication. It is a deliberate policy position.

We are now escalating this beyond the Council and continuing to pursue safer alternatives, including engagement with local bus operators.

Calling something “safe” does not make it safe.
And repeating policy does not remove responsibility.

🖊️ Sign and share the petition

https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

📢 Keep the pressure on

Reinstate Safe School Transport for Sandford Pupils

09/01/2026

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/parents-slam-south-lanarkshire-council-response-to-concerns-over-winter-school-walk?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=article_share

Campaigners in Sandford reached out to South Lanarkshire Council regarding their children's school route amid worsening weather conditions.

08/01/2026

🚸 UPDATE: Same Answers. Same Ignored Risks. 🚸

We’ve now seen the latest response from South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) to MSP Brian Whittle regarding the Sandford → Strathaven Academy walking route.

Unfortunately, it is the same regurgitated response we have received time and time again.

Nothing new.
No engagement with the specific risks raised.
No acknowledgement of the reality children face every school day.

Once again, SLC tells us:

👉 Routes are assessed only in “normal conditions”
👉 Street lighting is excluded from assessments
👉 Winter hazards and untreated footpaths are a parental responsibility
👉 Parents must “determine appropriate action” when conditions are unsafe

This response could have been copied and pasted from previous correspondence — because it adds nothing and answers none of the real concerns.

Let’s be clear:

Winter darkness, ice and untreated footways are not “extreme” or unusual conditions.
They are entirely predictable for large parts of the school year in Scotland.

So we are left asking the same unanswered question:

❓ How do SLC expect children to get to school when a route is officially deemed acceptable, but is routinely unsafe under the very conditions children must travel in?

Not every family has access to a car.
Not every parent can alter work patterns.
And repeatedly telling parents to “decide for themselves” does not remove the Council’s duty to properly assess risk.

This campaign has never been about demanding impossible levels of gritting or resources.
It is about honesty, realism, and accountability in how school walking routes are assessed.

Brian Whittle MSP has made clear he is not content with this response and will pursue other avenues. We welcome that and will continue pushing for:

✔️ Assessments based on real school-time conditions
✔️ Recognition of winter and lighting as safety factors
✔️ An end to dismissive, boiler-plate responses

We will keep challenging this until SLC stop repeating the same lines and start addressing the actual risks faced by children.

🖊️ Sign and share the petition

https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

📢 Keep the pressure on

Reinstate Safe School Transport for Sandford Pupils

04/01/2026

⚠️ School Return – Cold Weather & Transport Safety Update ⚠️

With schools returning tomorrow, parents and pupils should be aware that very low temperatures are forecast overnight, and there is currently no gritting in place on parts of the walking routes.

Please take extra care if you’re out and about:

- ❄️ Ice and frost likely, particularly on pavements, verges and untreated roads
- 👟 Wear suitable footwear and allow extra time for journeys
- 🚸 Children should walk cautiously and stay alert at all times

We also want to be clear that pressure will continue to be applied regarding school transport arrangements. Where children are expected to walk these routes daily, safe access and appropriate transport must be in place, particularly during winter conditions.

We are awaiting responses from the council and the SPSO. Due to the festive period, council offices have been closed, which has delayed formal replies—but this does not lessen the urgency of the situation.

We will continue to challenge the council, push for clarity on transport provision, and demand that child safety is properly prioritised. Thank you to all parents for your patience and for continuing to raise concerns.

👉 Please support and share our petition here:

https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

Every signature helps strengthen the case for safer routes and appropriate transport provision for our children.

Please look out for one another, and we will provide further updates as soon as we receive them.

22/12/2025

UPDATE: Council Response Received – Next Steps

Following the Council meeting on 10 December 2025 and the passing of the motion on Safe Walking Routes, we have now received a formal Stage 1 response from South Lanarkshire Council regarding the Sandford–Strathaven walking route.

The response confirms that, despite the motion being passed and safety concerns being acknowledged in the chamber, there will be no change to winter maintenance arrangements for school walking routes.

In summary, Mr David Hinshelwood has confirmed that:

- Most footways used by schoolchildren are not routinely gritted or treated in winter,

- Walking routes to school are only treated in limited circumstances or during prolonged severe weather
- The current winter maintenance policy remains unchanged,

- Children are still expected to walk these routes daily following the removal of school transport.

This response makes it clear that although the Council has recognised safety concerns in principle, no practical measures have been put in place to reduce the risks children face when walking in icy, flooded or dark conditions.

⸻

What Actions Are Now Being Taken

In light of this response:

- The complaint is being escalated to the next stage within South Lanarkshire Council,

- The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has been formally updated with this new information,

- MPs, MSPs and local councillors are being briefed on the Council’s confirmed position,

- Further evidence, including photos and videos of the route in winter conditions, continues to be gathered.

This response strengthens the case that the Sandford–Strathaven route is being treated as “safe” while knowingly receiving no winter protection, despite children having no alternative following transport cuts.

⸻

Why This Matters

The Council has now clearly stated that:

- Transport has been removed,

- Walking routes will not be made safer in winter,

- Responsibility is being managed through policy rather than risk reduction.

This is exactly why the petition remains so important. Recognition alone does not keep children safe, action does.

⸻

What You Can Do
- Please continue to share the petition - https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

- Report and document unsafe conditions,

- Raise concerns with elected representatives,

- Support calls for a full reassessment of the route and reinstatement of transport where walking is unsafe.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support this campaign. We will keep pushing until a safe and fair solution is in place for all affected pupils.

17/12/2025

🚸 Sandford–Strathaven School Route: Update & Serious Concerns 🚸

We want to update parents and supporters on where things currently stand, and why confidence in South Lanarkshire Council’s handling of this issue is now extremely low.

Firstly, we welcome and thank Brian Whittle MSP and Màiri McAllan MSP for their continued support. A joint letter has now been sent to South Lanarkshire Council raising serious concerns about the safety and suitability of the Sandford–Strathaven Academy walking route, following a site visit with parents. The letter clearly states that “these are no conditions in which to expect children to travel to school”.

Last Wednesday, South Lanarkshire Council accepted a motion, brought by Cllr Elise Frame and seconded by Cllr Katy Loudon, committing the Council to a year-round, preventative approach to maintaining Safe Walking Routes, including winter maintenance.

Yet just days later, on 16 December, the Sandford–Strathaven route was not gritted at all, despite icy conditions along the entire path. The Photo taken that morning shows widespread frost and ice on a route that children are expected to use daily and this was the case for the entirety of the path.

This is poor.
It undermines the credibility of the Council.
And it leaves parents with no confidence that safety commitments made in Council chambers are being upheld in practice.

Because of this failure, details have now been formally sent to South Lanarkshire Council, with MPs, MSPs and local Councillors copied for transparency and accountability.

A Stage 1 complaint has been formally acknowledged by South Lanarkshire Council, with confirmation that a response will be provided within five working days. We will share that response publicly when it is received.

When transport entitlements are removed and children are directed onto a “Safe Walking Route”, the Council has a responsibility to ensure that route is genuinely safe, not just on paper, but on the ground.

This is no longer about words, reassurances or motions being agreed. It is about action.

👉 If you haven’t already, please sign and share the petition:
https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

We will continue to press this issue until there is clear evidence that:
- the route is being properly maintained,
- winter conditions are being treated seriously, and
- pupil safety is genuinely being prioritised.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support this campaign. Please keep sharing — it genuinely makes a difference.

12/12/2025

UPDATE: South Lanarkshire Council Meeting – 10 December 2025

At the recent Council meeting, a motion on the safety of walking routes to school was brought forward by Cllr Elise Frame and seconded by Cllr Katy Loudon. This motion was raised directly in response to the ongoing concerns from families across South Lanarkshire, especially in areas where pupils have recently lost school transport due to distance changes.

During the discussion, councillors highlighted major safety issues on several routes, including the Sandford to Strathaven Academy path. Concerns raised included flooding, black ice, inadequate winter treatment, path defects, and risks posed by the adjacent road. It was made clear that these conditions are not suitable for children, particularly during the winter months.

The motion was passed, which means the Council has now formally recognised:

- That many designated walking routes are not currently safe
- That parents’ and carers’ concerns are legitimate
- That proper maintenance must be year-round, not reactive
- That Education, Roads and Grounds teams must work more closely to address issues

However, this motion does not reinstate free school transport. The removal remains in force, meaning pupils—including those in Sandford—are still expected to walk routes that councillors themselves acknowledged are unsafe in adverse weather.

This outcome confirms two important points:

- The route conditions are recognised at Council level as problematic.
- Further pressure is needed to secure a full reassessment of the Sandford–Strathaven route and to push for transport reinstatement where walking is demonstrably unsafe.

Thank you to Cllr Elise Frame and to everyone continuing to support the petition. Please keep sharing, reporting unsafe conditions, and raising concerns. Your voices are making a difference, and we will continue pushing for a safe, fair solution for all affected pupils.

✍🏻 Petition: https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

On Wednesday 10th December, I proposed a motion that would see the council better maintain the safe walking routes to schools.

This would ensure the education department would work collaboratively with our roads and grounds teams to ensure the safe walking routes are indeed safe.

This would mean:
any defects on pavements would be rectified more quickly,
ongoing maintenance and removal of overgrown vegetation,
preventative measures during winter including gritting.

I am happy to report that this received full backing from councillors and will now be put into place.

See more details, including my speech, on my website
www.eliseframe.net