Eleventh-hour motion put forward in attempt to save axe-threatened Hucknall bus services

Coun Dave Shaw and Coun Lee Waters have put down a Notice of Motion into County Hall calling for the decision by Trentbarton to axe evening and Sunday services to be reversed.

The motion formally calls for Nottinghamshire Council to reinstate the bus subsidy of £75,000 for a minimum of six months.

Coun Shaw, who represents Hucknall West and will be proposing the motion, said: “At the start of April, Hucknall’s evening and Sunday Connect services are set to disappear, leaving large estates in the town without a vital lifeline.

"We have therefore submitted a motion that will save this service and reverse the bus service reductions on the Connect service.

"This represents a last chance saloon for many people who rely on this vital service.

"Trentbarton has confirmed that it will continue to run this service in its entirety for six months if it receives a subsidy of £75,000.”

“The motion calls for the funding to be reinstated for six months and then review the decision after six months based on usage.

"They say the bus has been unreliable for some time but things have improved.”

The motion will go to a vote at the full council meeting on Thursday, March 30 just days before the reduction in services is scheduled to kick in on Monday, April 3.

Coun Waters, himself a bus user, said: “We are confident the bus service improvements will lead to more people using it.

"We are only discussing this because the Conservatives axed the funding.

"The Conservatives at County Council are either serious about their recent statement that it is their ambition for every part of Nottinghamshire to have access to public transport or they’re not.

"The people of Hucknall will be delighted if these bus service reductions are reversed.”

The Connect service had been threatened with being cut back last year until the council stepped in to support it with additional funding.

Trentbarton says low passenger numbers make the current full service commercially unviable to run, but many residents of the Hucknall estates say the service cuts would be disastrous for them.