A COUNCIL which four months ago confirmed changes that will cost more than 100 children their free bus passes has “expressed regret” at the decision.

From September schoolchildren in Monmouthshire will only qualify for a free bus pass if they live more than three miles from their secondary school or two miles for primary school pupils.

The county council tightened its qualifying distances to bring them into line with the Welsh Government’s statutory distances and said a home to school transport bill of £7 million a year was unaffordable.

The decision was confirmed in October last year.

But at their July meeting councillors backed a motion by Conservative councillor for Portskewett, Lisa Dymock, that “regrets” its adoption of the statutory distances “will cause financial hardship and logistical difficulties for many Monmouthshire families”.

Several Labour councillors spoke in support of the motion and criticised how the decision had been implemented.

Labour’s Rachel Garrick said 13 children in her Caldicot Castle ward, who attend a local faith school, are impacted and claimed no parents were aware of an email from the council regarding it.

Bulwark and Thornwell member Sue Riley said she and her Labour ward colleague, Armand Watts, had raised their concerns about impact on low income families for the past two years.

The council’s consultation was also criticised while Conservative member for Mitchel Troy and Trellech, Richard John, said children in his ward will be expected to walk six miles to and from Monmouth Comprehensive.

Shirenewton Conservative Louise Brown outlined fears regarding the council’s “safe route” to Chepstow school, along the A48, and a number of incidents where pedestrians had been “clipped” by passing vehicles.

She said she will present a 220 signature petition to the council while St Arvans member Ann Webb said 300 have signed a petition concerned at the route to Chepstow and the Dell Primary.

It passes the racecourse which she said was also a concern: “People leaving can be quite jolly, whether they’ve lost or won, and it can be quite intimidating for parents and children.”

Former cabinet member for education, Cllr Martyn Groucutt, defended the original decision and said the council was being “ripped off” on some bus contracts, which operators can hand back at short notice.

He also said when he made the decision he had spoken to headteachers and none had raised school transport as a concern and that he was aware of the socio-economic position in Bulwark and Thornwell but said the headteacher at the primary hadn’t raised it as issue.

Current cabinet member for education Laura Wright said she was “entirely happy to support the motion” but defended the “unfortunately necessary” changes.

At the meeting it was also confirmed 51 primary pupils and 64 secondary pupils will lose their entitlement to free transport from September as a result of the changes and a further three pupils will no longer be entitled to a bus pass as a safe walking route to their school has been identified.

The council said final figures wouldn’t be known until application for this September had been made.