Midcheshire Independent Issue 197

FREE YOUR LOCAL GOOD NEWS-PAPER Follow us on Facebook: yourlocalinde ISSUE 197 • OCTOBER2026 YOUR LOCAL FREE MID CHESHIRE COVERING NANTWICH, NORTHWICH, WINSFORD, MIDDLEWICH, KNUTSFORD AND SURROUNDING AREAS EST 1980 MEASURING AND FITTING SERVICE DELIVERY ALL AREAS ALL LEADING CARPET BRANDS AVAILABLE AT DISCOUNT PRICES UNDERLAYS AND CARPET ACCESSORIES IN STOCK OUR NEW ADDRESS IS: 2 HIGHTOWN, MIDDLEWICH CW10 9AN Open Mon - Tues 10am-5.30pm, Wed closed, Thurs, Fri & Sat 10am-5.30pm, Sun Closed www.manchesterhousecarpets.co.uk • Email: hello@manchesterhousecarpets.co.uk Telephone: 01606 557884 Manchester House Carpets Discount Store A SURVEY of Willaston parents over the axing of a free school bus toMalbank has demonstrated the level of anger over Cheshire East Council’s decision. More than 120 parents answered the survey put together by parent Sarah Jones and MP Connor Naismith to gauge the level of concern. Parents and teachers at Malbank School were told funding for the Mikro bus from Willaston would be cancelled from September following the installation of a toucan crossing at the Pea- cock roundabout. That left pupils facing a near three-mile walk each way to Malbank School, which many have claimed is unsafe and unfair. Families say they were not adequately consulted about the change and are now facing annual fees of over £900 for a place on the Mikro school bus. The survey showed just 26% of families are planning on paying for that bus. Existing public buses operated by Stagecoach and D&G follow a similar route at a lower cost of £340 a year, but services are already oversubscribed and the tim- ings do not align with the school day. In the survey, 97.3% of parents and students confirmed student safety was a barrier to walking to Malbank and only 12.3% of respondents would walk – or let their child walk – to school following the removal of the funded bus. There was obvious demand for the public bus offering to be expanded to accommo- date students. 61.6% of respondents said they would be willing to pay £340 a year for a public bus pass if capacity for school chil- dren could be guaranteed, but only 26% were willing to pay for the Mikro bus. 67.1% of respondents said they will be driving their child to school, daily or in combina- tion with other forms of trans- port, from September 2026. Many parents (58.3%) said the removal of the funded bus would have impacted their decision on the choice of school for their children and 97.3% of respondents said they had not been fairly consulted about the change to bus services. Mr Naismith has arranged a meeting with Cheshire East Council for parents and Mr Harrison to discuss these AXED SCHOOL BUS ANGER Pupils now face three-mile walk Angry students, staff, parents and councillors outside Malbank School. (Image: Supplied) findings and request that the council renegotiates better transport options for students. A copy of the survey has also been sent to the public bus operators to inform con- versations around increas- ing capacity along the route to accommodate students at Malbank. Mr Naismith MP said: “With the new school year underway, parents have been met with confusion and dis- ruption over the transport options available to students living inWillaston. This is not the best start for children who are missing a reliable route to school. “The wider implications of cancelling the funded bus are clear from this survey. “More traffic on the roads, substantial costs for parents, changes to school choices, concerns around pedes- trian safety. “I will be putting this evi- dence to key stakeholders to ask what more can be done to ensure that students have an affordable and sustainable route to school.” John Harrison, headteacher at Malbank School and Sixth Form, said: “Good public policy measures success not simply by what it saves, but by what it costs. “In pursuit of a compara- tively small financial saving, this decision has generated widespread concerns about pupil safety, placed additional burdens on working families during a cost-of-living crisis, increased traffic congestion and environmental impact, and undermined confidence in long-term school choice. “These outcomes were ne i t he r u ne x p e c t e d nor unforeseeable. “They were highlighted as soon as news of this decision first landed, and it is deeply disappointing that so many of those warnings have now come to pass.”