It has been another busy and important week for the Sandford Safety campaign, and we want to share where we are:
✅ Petition Acknowledged by South Lanarkshire Council
We can confirm that our petition, with 998 signatures, has been officially received and acknowledged by South Lanarkshire Council. They now have 10 days to validate it, after which it will move forward within their formal process. This is a significant step — your voices are now officially lodged and must be considered.
📰 Press Coverage – Carluke Gazette & Daily Record
This week we appeared in both the Carluke Gazette and the Daily Record / Lanarkshire Live, raising national and local awareness of our campaign. The articles highlighted:
Parents demanding transparency over the Council’s “safety survey.”
Concerns that children’s safety is being traded for cost-cutting.
The dangers of the Sandford–Strathaven route: narrow paths, no crossings, unlit stretches, and HGV traffic.
Our call for the Council to release details of how, when, and under what conditions their assessments were carried out.
📌 Council Response
The Council has confirmed the route has been subject to a further assessment, but no details have been shared on when this was done, or under what conditions. We will continue to push for transparency and are awaiting the outcome, alongside responses to our FOI request (submitted 22/08, due 20/09).
🤝 Political Support
Cllr Elise Frame has confirmed her ongoing support, making clear this is “not a safe or suitable route” and offering to assist further within the Council.
Màiri McAllan MSP has confirmed she is awaiting the Council’s response and will update us as soon as this arrives.
📋 Community Action
Thank you to everyone who has filled out the Google survey and submitted FOI requests — these will help us build a stronger evidence base to challenge the Council. If you haven’t yet, the links are available on our Facebook page. Every single contribution helps.
🙏 Our Thanks
We have come so far in just two weeks. Nearly 1,000 people have signed, shared, written, and spoken up. The voices of Sandford and our wider community are being heard loud and clear.
We will continue to push through media, political channels, and directly with the Council until safe, fair school transport is reinstated for ALL Sandford pupils.
✍️ Please keep sharing the petition so we can break the 1,000 mark:
change.org/SandfordSafety
#SandfordSafety #SafeKidsNotUnsafeRoutes #TransparencyNow