A NEW walking route from Hook to a prominent nearby school is on the cards as Hampshire County Council considers an investment of a quarter of a million pounds.

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is considering options to make a one-off investment in what would be a footpath network, creating a safe walking route between Hook and Robert May’s School in Odiham.

This network includes existing footpaths in the Bartley Heath area near North Warnborough. While the Heath holds the status of being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the footpaths are classified as Rights of Way and one option being pursued is the development of the footpath that is a continuation of Holt Lane.

Executive lead member for children’s services at HCC, Councillor Keith Mans, said: “By improving existing footpaths, we would ensure that there is a very clear walking route, which would be usable in all weathers.

“The walking routes would continue to use the footbridge north of Junction 5 of the M3 to cross over the motorway.

“The cost for the upgrading work, and improvements to the crossing point on the A287 is estimated to be the region of £250,000.

“That is roughly equivalent to the current annual costs for us to transport students to Robert May’s School.

“With this one-off investment and the creation of a safe walking route, pupils living within three miles of Robert May’s School would no longer require home to school transport.”

In the meantime, as the decision is made, HCC will continue to fund school transport.

Cllr Mans added: “However, until such time as there is a safe walking route, we will continue to fund home to school transport for those pupils, free of charge.”

HCC has begun discussions with the school and local parish councils and has developed an information sheet about all the options under consideration for all parents with children at Robert May’s School.

The Department for Education’s guidance is that local authorities are only required to provide transport for children aged eight years and above, living three miles or more from their local school.

Many pupils from Hook who attend Robert May’s School live between two and three miles from the school. Therefore, the school transport that is currently in place for them, funded by the Local Authority, is provided because there is no safe walking route.

As part of the early work to evaluate the feasibility of the options, the use of the intended crossing point on the A287, as part of a safe walking route (on the eastern side of the roundabout – for Newlyns Farm Shop), is being thoroughly assessed, at the right time of day, with traffic counts and speeds to ensure that it meets the national Road Safety GB guidelines for the safety of walking routes to school.

Feasibility work is also underway to consider improvements that would aid crossing at that point.

More information will be available for locals at an information event that will be held at some point in Spring 2019, where HCC will present its plans. They will be shared with the school, staff and the Hook community and there will be the chance to ask further questions.

To view the information sheet, click here.