Closing Larkhall lane ‘has put lives of pupils at risk’

Dec 3 2009 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

TENANTS this week claimed children’s lives are being put in danger after a popular Larkhall lane was blocked off.

Hundreds of school children from the Strutherhill area have used the pathway behind houses in Glen Avenue to walk to Larkhall Academy for the past 30 years. However, the lane was shut off when the new £18m Academy opened in August.

Children now have to walk through the busy main street to get to school.

Bob Murray, chairman of Strutherhill Tenants and Residents Association, said the lane was closed off without telling people who live in the area.

“We want the lane reopened so that the children can walk to the new Academy,” he said.

“We were told that the route from Glen Avenue to the school would be kept open.

“The schoolchildren have to walk around the main street to get to the new Academy and this poses safety issues with traffic.

“People used the lane as a shortcut to go to the leisure centre and the main street.

“Hundreds of kids from the Strutherhill area used this route to walk to school.

“It’s a danger to them to have to walk through the main street, particularly if the ASDA proposals are given the go-ahead.

“This lane was also used in the walks at Morgan Glen.

“It’s a bit daft that is has now been closed off after Morgan Glen was given Nature Reserve status.

“People didn’t realise the lane was closed off until they went there and were met by a fence. The move has alienated people in Strutherhill.

“We have lost our shop, we have lost our community hall and now we have lost access to our lane.

“We want it reopened so people who have been using it for years still have access it to it.”

A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the matter and are seeking to address the issue.”