Councillor resigns over school bus axing

Conservative councillor Jon Weston has resigned from Cheshire East Council – following the cabinet’s controversial decision to axe free school buses.

Cllr Weston, who represented Bollington, had been campaigning with parents against the loss of the buses on safety grounds.

He is adamant it is unsafe for children to walk along the Middlewood Way from Bollington to Tytherington School.

Cllr Weston campaigned for residents and signed the cross party call-in which led to the cabinet’s original decision to axe the buses being scrutinised. The cabinet ignored the scrutiny commitee’s recommendation that the Middlewood Way at Bollington was unsafe.

Crewe Chronicle spoke to Council leader Rachel Bailey (Con), who said: “I appreciate the work that he has done. He contacted me yesterday afternoon via email and explained his reasons.”

“There are several reasons. He has his own business and he has always said about the challenge of balancing business and council work….and yes, absolutely, he’s disappointed with the decision that cabinet ultimately took after two and half hours in relation to available walking routes.

“I’m sorry to lose him and I’m sorry that, when cabinet have tough decisions before them when they’re looking at equity of policy in particular, that it’s a councillor that we lose because this policy[scrapping free buses and making children walk ‘safe’ routes] has been with this council for a long time and I actually feel it should have been enacted by our officers before.”

During the last meeting of the full council Cllr Weston was referred to a couple of times but no mention was made of the fact he had quit.

A number of councillors are asking why the council leader didn’t announce that Cllr Weston had resigned.