Changes to transport arrangements for special needs pupils will lead to a dramatic increase in vehicles on the streets of Medway and disrupt the lives of vulnerable young people.

That’s the message from worried parents and school staff after the council announced changes which will lead to scrapping minibus routes and forcing pupils to find alternative ways to get to school.

Fears are particularly high at Bradfields Academy in Churchill Avenue, Chatham, which caters specifically for children with special education and complex learning needs, and many parents have written to oppose the changes.

Among them is Heather Mason, who will have to drive her 14-year-old son Aonghus to school daily.

“For the school, instead of having one minibus they’ll have 14 cars driving up,” she said.

“About 300 children go to the school and a lot of them get a minibus.

“It’s not a very wide road. Come September the number of vehicles will rise dramatically and the entrance isn’t designed to cope with that.

“We’ve all rejected the proposal and we’re waiting for the council to come up with an alternative.”

Aside from the practical difficulties, she said the environmental impact would be huge and the social benefit of getting the bus was immeasurable.

“When the rest of the world is trying to cut down on pollution you’ve got Medway Council saying let’s create more pollution,” added Heather, who is landlady of Man of Kent pub in John Street, Rochester.

“There will be cars waiting, engines being turned off and on, it will be horrific.

“I’m a single parent and I’m the main bread winner. Having Aonghus picked up and dropped off means I can carry on being the bread winner, and it means Aonghus can come home with his friends.”

A statement on Bradfields Academy’s website said the school was aware of “the significant impact changes in Medway’s transport policy will have on families” and the number of vehicles around the school was likely to increase.

It said the changes had been “sudden” and the impact was hard to predict, but added: “We are certain, however, that the physical layout of the site and Churchill Avenue will not be changing and therefore the new arrangements will not be easy to accommodate.”

Cllr Clive Johnson, Labour spokesman for children and young people, was due to meet with parents and Medway’s director of children and adults’ services.

He said: “Labour councillors have been contacted by parents, carers and community groups concerned about changes to the Special Education Needs transport in Medway.

“These changes are worrying and have the potential to cause problems for young people, their families and their schools.”

Cllr Andrew Mackness (Con), portfolio holder for children’s services, said he was “totally disinterested in the populist view” and that the spokesman for the Labour party was only interested in opposing policy.

He added: “The policy is going through a process of implementation.

“All the members are working to make sure the policy is implemented and I think the SEN transport policy we’re going through the process of implementing is very sensible.

“It’s about making sure that young people get the right transport to help them develop through their school life. The suggestion that it will put more traffic on the road is not particularly well thought through.

“I can’t talk about individual cases. I think every single case will be looked at on a case-by-case basis in line with policy and a decision will be made on that basis.

“In most cases there may well be parental preference and the decisions that the officers take on the basis of policy may well differ from that - and that is unfortunate. A lot of parents would like their children picked up at a specific time and taxied to school but that’s not something that is easily affordable and that’s why we have a transport policy that reviews the needs of every child fairly.”