Agenda item

A petition signed by 951 local residents is to be presented by the Lead Petitioner, Cllr. M. Mullaney of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council in the following terms:

“We the undersigned urge the County Council and bus companies to reverse the cuts to the bus services covering the Barlestone and Newbold Verdon areas. These are vital services to people living in the rural area.”

A petition submitted signed by 951 local residents was presented to the Commission by Michael Mullaney, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Councillor, requesting that the Council revisit the recent changes to the and 153 bus service through (from Market Bosworth to Leicester) and the withdrawal of the 152 service (from Coalville to Leicester).

A briefing note of the Director of Environment and Transport summarising the situation relating to the petition was considered by the Commission. A copy of this report, marked ‘B’, is filed with these minutes.

With the consent of the Chairman, Cllr Mullaney addressed the Commission and explained that, as Market Bosworth was one of the County’s tourist areas, it would be adversely affected by the withdrawal of a Sunday service. He hoped that a reasonable solution could be reached with Arriva to continue to provide a service.

The Director made the following points:

·                    Arriva’s depot in Coalville had been downgraded to an outstation in Ellistown, which would operate from Monday to Saturday only. Buses would now have to be brought from other depots in order to operate a Sunday service. It was Arriva’s view that the “dead mileage” in bringing buses from other stations would make a Sunday service cost prohibitive to operate;

·                    A Scrutiny Panel had recently commenced a review of bus service policy. It would be looking at whether the Council should subsidise services such as those affected. The Panel would be formulating a new policy for the network which was expected to emerge in the New Year;

·                    The Department for Transport had decided that the concessionary travel reimbursement paid to bus operators would be reduced by 10-20%. There was concern that bus operators would be unable to absorb such losses and this would have a further impact on services;

·                    The issue had been discussed with other bus companies operating in the area. However, there were a limited number of providers of services;

·                    The County Council had agreed to make a saving of £500,000 on the supported bus network in 2012/13 and a further saving of £500,000 in 2013/14.

With the consent of the Chairman, the local member for Desford, Markfield and Thornton, Mr. D. A. Sprason CC addressed the Commission and raised the following principal points:

·                    It was felt that the petitioners could have done more to work with the Desford Parish Council, who had previously been in contact with Arriva about the reduction in service;

·                    The financial position of the County Council was recognised, though it was felt that there may be other avenues that could be investigated in order to subsidise the services to the level needed, including engagement with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council;

·                    He was happy for the petition to be submitted to the Review Panel for consideration as part of its Review.

The Commission expressed concern that the County Council might be seen as responsible for Arriva’s withdrawal of services. Furthermore, it was becoming apparent that Arriva and other companies might have become reliant on the Council’s concessionary travel reimbursement in order to support services. It was recognised that there was significant level of local feeling, particularly in respect of the withdrawal of the Sunday service.

RESOLVED:

(a)               That the information in the report be noted;

(b)               That it be noted that the policy for support of Local Bus Services is to be the subject of a forthcoming Scrutiny Review Panel and that the financial support for the provision of evening and Sunday services will be considered as part of that Review;

(c)               That it be noted that the specific issue of the reduction of the 152 and 153 services will be assessed against the policy that emerges from the Scrutiny Review;

(d)               That the Director of Environment and Transport be asked to write to Arriva, with copies to the affected Parish Councils, reflecting the strength of feeling of the petitioners in regard to the loss of a Sunday service.