24/1/2012 - Lakes school road is on the path to improvement

The access road to The Lakes School in Troutbeck Bridge has been adopted by Cumbria County Council.

Councillors on the county council's South Lakeland Local Committee asked for an investigation into the ownership of the road following pleas from the school, residents and county and district councillors in the area.

Until now the road was part of land managed by the school. However, over time the road surface deteriorated to a point where the school was not able to afford the cost of repair works.

County Councillors received a report at South Lakeland Local Committee meeting this month which stated that the road will now be managed by the council.

Talks are now underway to plan works to bring the road up to an ‘as new’ condition including much-needed repairs to the road surface. The county council’s highways staff will also work with the Environment Agency to plan drainage works in order to reduce the risk of flooding in future.

Repair work has been carried out in the past, but more structural maintenance is needed to bring the road up to good condition in the long term and ensure a safe and comfortable journey for those travelling to and from the school and homes on the road.

Cllr Jo Stephenson, County Councillor for Windermere said: “Adopting the road means that the school can now concentrate its time and money on educating our children and young people rather than organising road repairs.

"Now the road has been formally adopted, the repairs we will make will help ensure that it can remain in a good condition in the long term and reduce the risk of flooding and the need for temporary patching work.”

The full Local Committee paper regarding this decision is available on the county council website at http://councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk/documents/s11337/Item%2010%20-%2012k%20Report%20SL%2020120120%20final.pdf

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