Council leader backs bus protest

The W3 runs between the Kingsway estate and the town centre in Wellingborough, and recent changes by the operator Centrebus have seen the service reduced to off peak hours.

Following a protest outside the council's offices last week, several Kingsway residents met Cllr Bell today to talk about their concerns. At the meeting the residents, including protesters Carol Atter and Brenda Garnham, explained the new operating hours of the bus service would see the first bus leaving at 9.35am and the last bus from town leaving at 2.35pm.

Mrs Atter said: "It's not fair that the Kingsway estate has been singled out in this way. Everyone else has a decent bus service, so why can't we? We're not asking for the moon, we just want the bus to operate during working hours. People come into town, do their shopping and then have to walk home. It's all up hill and I can't do it, especially not if I'm carrying my shopping. And it's even worse now that it's getting dark earlier. We need something to be done about it."

Mrs Garnham added: "There's been no communication about the changes. I saw one lady waiting at the bus stop to go and pick up her child from school. I had to tell her there was no bus, which meant her child ended up staying on their own at school because she couldn't get to them. We all accept that cuts have to be made, but why can't they keep the same amount of buses and spread them out throughout the day? It's not fair on people who work in the town, as they can't get home."

Cllr Bell listened to all their concerns and agreed that the service was unacceptable. He is writing to Centrebus to request a meeting about the operating hours, and to the county council to talk about their funding of the bus service. He has also agreed to get the matter discussed in Westminster by involving MP Peter Bone and asking him to raise it as a parliamentary question.

Cllr Bell said: "The running of the bus services isn't a matter for the borough council, but these are Wellingborough residents and it's my job to listen to them and take their views forward. I will set up the relevant meetings and take Mrs Atter and Mrs Garnham along with me, to see if we can get this sorted out. I can't make any promises, and I've warned them that this won't have a quick resolution and may need weeks of campaigning, but they have my support and I will try my very best to get the Kingsway residents the bus service they need."