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Kerbcraft funding threat

The Kerbcraft scheme is under threat in Edinburgh because of a lack of funding.

Edinburgh City Council wants to extend Kerbcraft, which was launched two years ago. However, funding runs out in March 2006 and there is currently no money in the council's budget to fund an extension. As such, transport officials are looking elsewhere for the £60,000 a year it needs to keep the scheme going.

The city council was one of only three Scottish authorities to secure funding to run a Kerbcraft pilot, through which pupils aged between five and seven at schools across the city have been taught safety skills.

Kerbcraft uses a practical approach, focusing on roadside training rather than being classroom-based. It is taught by trained volunteers, usually parents, with one adult working with two or three children during 30-minute sessions.

Edinburgh transport leader Andrew Burns says the Kerbcraft project has been 'hugely successful'. He credits the scheme with playing a part in the fact that there have been no children killed on the city's roads since 2003.

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive insisted that councils knew funding for Kerbcraft was only going to be made available for so many years. "There are currently no plans to extend this initiative," he added.

For the full story go to: http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1942772005