Joy as lollipop lady at Peterborough primary school saved following campaign by parents
Parents and councillors who fought to save the lollipop lady at Eye Primary School have been rewarded for their efforts.
Peterborough City Council has announced that long-serving lollipop lady Lisa Bryan will be able to remain in her post for the upcoming 2025/26 school year after initially being told that her job has fallen victim to cuts.
Lisa was initially made redundant, with no additional safety measures planned to replace her along Eyebury Road.
The city council then announced that a temporary crossing would be installed until a new permanent zebra crossing could be installed. The new zebra crossing is not expected until at least an unspecified date in 2026 as it will be funded by Section106 funding from Allison Homes as part of the new development of 265 homes it will be building in Eye.
Now though, however, the council has announced that Lisa will instead be able to remain post for the year ahead of the zebra crossing’s construction.
Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward councillor Steve Allen said: “Lisa is still willing to do the job and the residents like her doing it and we are all very pleased about this decision.
"We were always opposed to the removal of a crossing lady because it is a very dangerous road. We are happy to have secured Lisa’s future in the short term. It is the sensible decision."
Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward councillors Mark Ormston, Steve Allen and Rylan Ray had previously supported the parents’ campaign and used their community funds to keep lollipop lady Ms Bryan in her role until the end of the 2024/25 school year.
In September, the city council’s cabinet will consider a petition to reinstate school crossing patrols at a further three Peterborough primary schools; Old Fletton, Newark Hill and Werrington.
These three schools were also told that the council had to cut their crossing patrols in a bid to balance its budget.
A spokesperson for PCC said: “The patroller at Eye Primary School has agreed to stay on until a permanent crossing is installed and she will be on site at the start of the new school term.
"The other affected schools currently have crossings in place and we are also looking at introducing additional mitigation measures around Newark and Werrington Primary Schools.”