Broughton & Old Dalby Parish Council

Email below sent to all County Councillors, Melton Borough Council, Centre Bus & Alicia Kearns

Dear All,

Nether Broughton and Old Dalby Parish Council are extremely concerned over the effect that withdrawal of the No. 19 bus service between Melton and Nottingham will have on the residents of our Parish. The bus serves three separate communities in the Parish, Nether Broughton, Old Dalby and Queensway, as well as large business parks sited on the former REME base between Queensway and Old Dalby. Nether Broughton lies directly on the bus route with Queensway and the business parks within easy walking distance. Although Old Dalby is a about 2 miles from the bus route, residents are known to drive to Nether Broughton and park to catch the bus to either Nottingham or Melton, reducing car journeys as we are urged to do.

Almost immediately after the closure was announced, we had residents contact us urging the Parish Council to support their representations to keep the service running. Communications told of residents who rely on the No. 19 service to access work, hospitals, shops, opticians and many other services in Nottingham or Melton. Without the No. 19 service, there will be no direct link on public transport to Nottingham for the most vulnerable. Our medical practice at Long Clawson offers referrals to Nottingham as well as Leicester and many opt for Nottingham, based on the shorter distance and hence journey times. For those without cars needing to access hospitals in Nottingham, the No. 19 bus service is essential. Without this service, access to city hospitals will be impractical.

Whilst we will still have a second bus service (No. 23) in the direction of Melton, it is a less direct route which takes much longer and its primary purpose is to link villages with the medical practice at Long Clawson. The journey time to Melton is not viable for people needing to get to work or other time sensitive needs in Melton.

Importantly, two of the representations we received were from disabled residents who cannot drive themselves and for whom the No 19 bus is essential for both work, access to medical services and access to shops and other services. These are the people who will be directly and severely affected and not just those who might be "inconvenienced."

We appreciate that the service is underused but the decision to scrap it is also very short sighted. In the last 5 years, planning permissions for just over 200 new houses have been granted in the Parish, representing a growth of around 25%! The majority of these homes have yet to be built. The planning applications all cited the transport links provided by the bus service, with one developer going as far as providing all new residents with transport packs to discourage private car use and encourage use of public transport as per government policy. The first houses on this development are just being sold and without the No. 19 bus, the packs are almost worthless.

In addition, we have seen significant growth of the business parks on the former REME site over the last 5 years, also been driven in part by the expected increase in the number of residential homes and also by the bus links to Melton and Nottingham cited by the developers as "excellent public transport links". Scrapping the No 19 bus will be environmentally damaging by increasing reliance on cars.

Finally, we were surprised and disappointed that the timing of the announcement gives residents little time to adjust their travel arrangements. We do not recall any consultation either with residents, local organisations or Parish Councils. Did Centrebus investigate future potential need for the service from analysis of future housing along the route? Have Centrebus approached local communities, including Parish Councils, seeking help with promoting bus use so that the service could be saved for the most needy and vulnerable?

In conclusion, Nether Broughton and Old Dalby Parish Council urges that Centrebus and Local Authorities work together and immediately suspend the decision to axe the service while they explore all options to save this bus route. We appreciate it is underused at present but there is significant building of family homes underway, as outlined above, and additionally if the route is axed, those most vulnerable and unable to find alternative transport means will be those most affected.

Kind regards

Response From: Centrebus Help
Sent: 22 March 2022 14:22
To: Clerk Nether Broughton and Old Dalby
Subject: RE: Number 19 Bus Melton Mowbray / Nottingham

Dear Sue Evans,

Due to low passenger numbers the 19 doesn't cover its operating costs. We therefore made both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire aware that we can't continue to operate the service on a commercial basis. Regrettably, the route will stop operating on the 10th April unless either Authority wishes to subsidise the route to keep it running.

We would therefore direct you towards the local authority with your enquiry. If either -or both - authorities wish to partially subsidise the service we will certainly continue to operate it. I hope you understand that as a commercial business we cannot continue to run a service at a loss.

Kind Regards,

Customer Service Team

CENTREBUS LTD your local bus service provider

PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND REVENUE

* 43 Wenlock Way, Leicester, LE4 9HU

Tue 22/03/2022 14:33

Email sent 22/3/22 pleading with all to get together to resolve this situation.

Dear County Councilors / Borough Councilors / Alicia Kearns / Centrebus

Please see the email I have received today from Centrebus in response to my email.

Please, Please can I urge you to start negotiations with Centrebus as soon as possible regarding this matter - it is less than 19 days until this bus route is axed - this will have a very bad effect on all the local villages along the A606, we need you to start negotiations as a matter of urgency.

Sue Evans

Clerk to the Parish Council of

Broughton & Old Dalby

Telephone : 07923 22477 » Less