Agenda item

A consultation is currently taking place with regards to bus services within the Pewsey community area and is due to close on 14 May.  Further details on the consultation are provided for the Boards consideration and response.

The Chairman addressed the Board confirming that there was a consultation currently taking place regarding bus services within the Pewsey community area.  Further details were provided within pages 35 to 36 of the agenda.

Noting that the consultation was due to finish on 14 May, the Chairman asked for the views of the Board to allow for a response to be provided on the consultation.  This included the following comments.

A consultation meeting had been held at Woodborough Social Club on 7 May by the Passenger Transport team to seek the views of local community representatives.

Pewsey Area Youth Council (PAYC) had discussed the proposed changes and had prepared a response which would also be submitted to the press.  This included:

·         That the proposed revised service would affect the service used by the youth of Wiltshire most, noting that the night bus service was significantly used by the youth of Pewsey to access other services, such as the SHAK.

·         That the emphasis on community led voluntary services to replace some of the current services would require reliable volunteers and that these should be in place before the existing service was replaced.

·         Confusion over whether the call centre was to be removed, noting that reference was made to a bookable service within future proposed services which had raised question over whether the cost saving of £70k was accurate.

·         The proposed Campus in the Pewsey area would be reliant on an effective bus service to ensure the community were able to benefit from the facilities it had to offer. Some of these services would be used in the evening.

Discussion took place on the usage of the 3 lines under review and the implications any cuts on each would have. This included concern on the night bus service which provided an important link to Devizes and leisure facilities (which were the potential site of the future Campus).

Line 3 was discussed and although recognised as being poorly used was also the only service that travelled East of Pewsey. 

Cllr Oatway expressed his concern over the potential removal of the night bus service and the implications this could have for the younger population of the community who used the service to access both the SHAK and existing leisure facilities in Pewsey. 

In noting the importance of the night bus, Cllr Oatway proposed that the Board express its desire for its retention which was fully supported by all Board members.

Attendees were concerned that a decision had already been made in relation to future services even though the consultation was still underway.  The Board were informed that it was understood an ITT (Invitation to Tender) had been issued and that this emphasised the concerns raised.  The attending Service Director was unaware of the ITT but would seek further clarity on the consultation process being undertaken by the Transport team which would be provided to the Chairman of the Board.

The Chairman concluded discussion and clarified the disappointment of the Board on the proposed reduction of services, encouraging all to take part in the consultation individually to express their individual views.

Decision:

The Board would submit the comments received to Ian White and request that they be considered as part of the consultation process, noting  that the Board formally expresses it’s wish for the night service bus to remain as part of the revised proposals.