A TEN-YEAR battle to create a safe walking route for children to and from Threshfield Primary School has gone back to the drawing board.

News that proposals put forward by the county council have been rejected by the national park is particularly disappointing for headteacher Helen Jarvis.

She lives with the daily fear that one of her charges could be injured along the fast road.

The latest proposals were put forward by the county council as part of its general programme to improve the safety of home-to-school walking routes.

And although the highways department does not necessarily require planning permission to carry out work within the boundaries of a road, it has an underlying duty to work with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in areas which are sensitive to development.

The council's proposals were to create a 1,200mm wide buff-coloured strip along the edge of the road from the school entrance to where it joins the B6265.

In addition there were be warning signs and lines on the surface of the road and two orange flashing warning lights.

After consultation with the council, the national park said that although it appreciated the importance of a safe walking route, with the needs of the children a priority, it felt less intrusive and safer options could be examined.

It also noted that the scheme itself did not appear to provide for children coming from the Linton direction and felt there could be future pressure to replicate the scheme to the Linton Falls area in the future.

"While the authority thanks the council for the opportunity to comment on the scheme, it feels there could be better solutions and is willing to work with the county council to resolve the matter," a spokesman said.

It is the latest set-back for worried parents and governors who are getting to their wits' end.

A scheme of their own which they devised - with the co-operation of a local landowner - to negotiate a field edge path has been fraught with problems and has not reached a satisfactory conclusion.

Headteacher Mrs Jarvis said she was "bitterly disappointed" by the park's decision.

"We have been trying for as long as I have been here to create a safe walking route for the children.

"There are 100 children at the school now and they have to walk along a road with no pavement and a speed limit of 60mph.

"Even the parents feel they cannot walk their children to school because it is too dangerous and instead are forced to use their cars," Mrs Jarvis said.

She added that these same parents had begun their own safe route by adopting a voluntary one-way system to school.

They go through Threshfield, past Upper Wharfedale School, along the top and down to the school. When they leave they go the other way and the result is a lot less traffic at dropping off and picking up times.

"It is working extremely well and the parents deserve praise for their initiative," said Mrs Jarvis.