PARENTS are driving their children to school after they were denied free transport and told to walk instead.

As a result of the withdrawal of their free bus passes secondary school pupils have been expected to walk up to six miles to school and back, while primary pupils as young as five face a four mile round trip.

It’s thought around 30 children have been impacted by the decision to no longer provide home to school transport, to Chepstow, for children living in Pwllmeyric and Mathern who could have to walk more than an hour each way, every school day.

An appeal against the decision had reinstated seats on the school bus for youngsters in St Arvans after an independent assessment found the council’s proposed walking route along the busy A466 Wye Valley Link Road was unsafe.

But the same process ruled the path alongside the A48 for pupils walking from Mathern and Pwllmeyric was safe and as a result the council wouldn’t overturn its decision to withdraw free home to school transport after it upped the qualifying distance.

That is despite the council having agreed, in 2023, the route along the A48 wasn’t considered safe when a family whose children have now been denied the free travel successfully appealed its withdrawal at that time.

The council has said alternative crossing points have since been identified.

Among concerns raised by youngsters and their parents are road safety, their personal safety and the impact of traffic fumes from the busy road and having to walk past the heavily congested Highbeech roundabout on the edge of Chepstow.

Secondary school pupil Chloe said she had felt unwell after walking the route to school: “Sometimes I find it hard to breathe on Pwllmeyric Hill because of the traffic fumes made worse by having to navigate the road carrying very heavy bags.”

School friend Sophie said: “The path gets really overgrown in some places and you can’t walk past without having to walk on the road and the A48 is just so busy.”

Dad Mark Turner, of Pwllmeyric, said the council hasn’t followed Welsh Government guidance and taken account of children’s views and disputed there are safe crossing points on the road, which he said is notorious for speeding.

The council agreed last year it would bring its home to school transport policy in line with the Welsh Government’s statutory distances.

As a result from this September it has only offered free transport to primary pupils who live two miles or more from their school and three miles for secondary pupils, unless there is no safe walking route.

Previously the council provided free transport for primary pupils living 1.5 miles away and two miles for older pupils but made the change to try and save £700,000 from its annual £7 million school transport budget.

However a financial report, from September, stated the change has failed to deliver the expected savings as some walking routes were judged unsafe and free transport reinstated.

Mr Turner said: “Parents are disgusted Monmouthshire County Council seems to be prioritising the budget over children’s safety issues and are calling on the council to reverse the decision immediately and reinstate the school buses to guarantee their children’s safe passage to school.”

A spokesman for Monmouthshire council said: “The walking routes have been independently assessed by road safety experts, and they have been deemed available. Parents and councillors have been sent the information.

“Alternative crossing locations have been determined by the route risk assessments and are now being utilised.”