PARISH councillors clashed over paying for a replacement lollipop man out of parishioners’ pockets.
Coun Stan Pajak (Eastcott) suggested South Swindon Parish Council pay the estimated £3,290 staffing costs out of parish funds.
He said the popular petition, signed by more than a thousand residents and parents, showed there was clear demand for a replacement for former Eastcott Road lollipop man John Walters.
But others urged caution, fearing the potential precedent set by taking on a responsibility that currently sits with the borough council.
Coun Nadine Watts said: “I really am sympathetic to this cause, but I am conscious as a parish council we are not the highways authority.”
Coun John Firmin added: “I don’t want to give up on it, but I think we need to think quite carefully about what we do.”
Parish councillors backed a suggestion from Coun Patrick Herring that the clerks investigate if developer cash from the expected redevelopment of the Stagecoach bus depot on Eastcott Road could be used to fund improvements to a crossing along the busy road.
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