A REVIEW of free transport to faith schools in Wrexham will not be pursued following a backlash from parents and education officials.

Wrexham Council put forward the suggestion of potentially removing the service in a bid to save around £302,000 as part of its budget consultation in the autumn.

The idea of examining the provision was welcomed by around half of the 1,123 people who responded.

However, there was also vocal opposition against the move which would have affected 406 pupils attending 17 different schools in the county.

It included criticism from the headteacher of St Joseph’s Catholic and Anglican High School, which is the only faith-based secondary school in the area.

The authority has now revealed it will not be carrying out a review following the feedback it received.

Council leader Mark Pritchard (Ind) said: “We’ve had a long discussion between the political groups within the alliance and we’ve decided we won’t be taking it forward. “A lot of people say, ‘they go out for consultation, they don’t listen, they do what they want to do and their minds are already made up’. I can assure you that isn’t the case.

“I’d like to thank everybody who took part in the consultation and made their points known.”

Chief executive Ian Bancroft said the council is faced with a budget gap of £9m next year.