Councillors have called on Cheshire East Council to create temporary cycle routes throughout the town which would allow pupils from Congleton's two high schools to cycle safely.

Cheshire East received £619,000 in active travel funding from the Government to put in temporary cycle lanes and infrastructure aimed at encouraging the uptake of walking and cycling particular, by making it safer.

Cllr Suzie Akers Smith, Cheshire East Council's walking and cycling champion, told last Thursday's virtual Congleton Town Council meeting of the community and environment committee that she would like to have temporary cycle routes in place by the start of the new school term in September.

She told the meeting that headteachers Jim Barlow and Ed O'Neil from Congleton High School and Eaton Bank Academy fully supported the proposal.

Cllr Akers Smith said: "The reason why I'm presenting suggestions for cycle routes is the government has given Cheshire East a lot of money to put in temporary measures and if we can make these temporary measures successful, then there is another ton of money coming forward to put the measures in place.

"It's a bit like try before you buy, instead of going through the longer process of consultation, we've now got the opportunity to try something and if it works, we can get the money to make it happen."

Cllr Kay Wesley stated that there was a case for urgency due to Covid-19 and both schools and children have been advised not to populate the school buses.

Cllr Wesley added: "This is a disaster for the schools particularly because they are facing having hundreds and hundreds of cars coming into school or having parents dropping their children off by car because they perceive that is the only safe way of getting them to school.

"So, the headteachers have specifically said can we open up cycle ways so children can get all the way from home to school."

The meeting was told that there are specific gaps in the cycle ways around the town, which are in the run up to the high schools.

The proposal from the town council's Integrated Transport Working Group was to ask Cheshire East to fill in those gaps so the town's young people can cycle from home all the way to school without having to cycle on a busy main road.

Cllr Suzy Firkin said it was a "very compelling" proposal and the Integrated Transport Working Group was keen to make "rapid progress".

Cllr Firkin said: "To me it absolutely reiterated conversations I had over a year when talking to the Local Education Partnership where even then before Covid-19 headteachers were desperate to try and put measures in place to improve the number of children who were cycling to school, improving levels of activity and the reducing volume of traffic around schools whilst making these cycle routes safe.

"With everything that has been going on with Covid-19, the risks associated with children going on buses, the insecurity parents feel about their children using public transport in general, I think this is a massive opportunity for us to do something that's really wanted and needed by the schools, parents and children in the area so I am heavily in support of this and I hope other councillors can see the benefit as well."

Cllr David Brown told the meeting he fully supported the proposal which he felt was "essential" with the restrictions placed on school buses.

He added: "If we can take advantage of this, the sooner we can get it done the better. There is only so much money and we need to be in first to make sure we get our share for Congleton."

If an agreement in principle was made by the town council, the Integrated Transport Working Group would work with Cheshire East and highway experts would be consulted to achieve the best possible solution.

Whilst Cllr Margaret Gartside agreed that the town's high schools should be the "priority" she suggested that the town council recognised that some of the older pupils at primary schools would in an "ideal world" want to cycle to school.

Cllr Akers Smith responded: "Some of the routes to the high schools do incorporate some of the primary schools and they will definitely be considered because I know the headteachers from Blackfirs and Quinta they would be really keen to reduce the number of vehicles.

"If some of the older children live within a radius of the school, they would be keen to use traffic free provision to get children cycling to school."

The proposal to support the need for Congleton schools to create safer routes for cycling and walking to school, and actively encourage Cheshire East Highways officers to explore ways this can be done safely in Congleton, drawing on the active travel funds where available and also consider including primary schools was approved.