A ROW has erupted over a proposed bus depot in Kirkbymoorside, with residents fearing that flooding on an access road could leave their children stranded at school.

Stephenson's of Easingwold have applied to site an additional depot on the Kirkby Mills industrial estate, on the outskirts of Kirkbymoorside.

But nearby residents say the access road regularly floods, and are concerned that pupils would be stranded at school with no way of getting home. More than 20 residents have written to Ryedale District Council, strongly opposing the plans.

Roger Jackson, one of those lodging objections, said: "The main point that we are all concerned about is safety to young children.

"The nature of the flooding means that the access road is the first to get cut off, and we are concerned that the buses which are intending to use this depot are used on school runs.

"The flooding is flash flooding and it's more prevalent in the winter months.

"We could quite easily end up with a situation where primary and secondary school children are turning out of school in the dark and they are having to make their own way home, and in light of recent events that could be a very dangerous situation."

"This floods on a regular basis and it is well documented - it has already flooded twice this year."

But David Stephenson, the company's general manager, said he wanted to reassure people that the Kirkbymoorside depot was a sound move.

"I hear what they are saying and I understand those concerns, but I wish people would come and talk to us," he said.

"If flooding did happen and we knew that we were going to be completely stranded, then I hope that we would manage to have sufficient managerial nous to move the vehicles out of the

way.

"If it really did rise so fast, we would run buses from our depot in

Tholthorpe, near Easingwold."

Mr Stephenson, who employs more than 30 staff, said: "There are so many benefits of moving them out of that lay by - we don't want to upset people, but you have to look at the balanced facts of things."

He added: "The unfortunate thing is that we have to put the buses somewhere, and that can't be in an open field in the middle of nowhere."

Updated: 08:36 Monday, September 30, 2002