More than 300 at bus cuts meeting

More than 300 people attended a public meeting to discuss plans which could see out-of-county transport for school children in Wrexham cut.

Wrexham council recently voted for a consultation on a policy to provide free transport to the nearest suitable school.

Critics claim it would axe transport for children in Chirk who attend Dinas Bran Secondary School in Denbighshire.

Some parents have warned they may send their children to school in England.

The meeting at Chirk on Tuesday heard warnings that some parents could send their children to Rhyn Park school in Shropshire - the nearest school for which they could qualify for free transport.

Some opponents to the plans have previously protested outside Wrexham's Guildhall.

In September, the council's executive board voted six to four in favour of consulting on the policy with "relevant parties".

At the time, a council spokeswoman said the proposed policy did not necessarily mean children attending Dinas Bran, in Llangollen, would be affected, because transport would still be provided if it happened to be the "nearest suitable school".

Martyn Jones, MP for Clwyd South, has previously written to the council to express his "total dissatisfaction" for the plans.

He wrote: "I do believe that local people should have the right to choose which school their child goes to and that the local council should respect that decision once the parents have made it.

"It is not for Wrexham council to interfere with what has always been a family decision."

Glenys Cotterell is a governor at the school and said that if implemented, the decision would affect a large proportion of pupils.

"It's 67% [that] is the figure that would be affected," she said. "Half the staff would be redundant.

"For the past 35 years, children have been coming from the Chirk area.

"There's been uproar. The children have been protesting but no-one's listening to them.

"It's a major impact for the school."

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Ysgol Dinas Bran
Wrexham County Borough Council
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