Removal of subsidies will be bad news
BRIDGEND County Borough Council (BCBC) is consulting with residents regarding a proposal to withdraw all subsidies from the last remaining local services covering Bridgend, Pencoed and Porthcawl.
The consultation was approved by BCBC cabinet following a proposal received from the Communities Directorate that completely failed to include a balanced risk analysis of the significant wider economic and social impacts on our towns should the proposal be implemented.
Make no mistake, this proposal is bad news for residents and threatens town centre retail economies. It is not rocket science to see that the negative consequences are more far reaching than just saving money.
How will residents of Nottage, Rest Bay, Happy Valley and Newton access the new Porthcawl Health Centre being built on the edge of Porthcawl? How will they access the shopping centres of Bridgend and Porthcawl? In Porthcawl alone more than 40,000 passenger journeys were made using the threatened services into Porthcawl.
Traders in both towns need “buy local” to survive? How will visitors travel on from main bus services bus stations?
Over the past four years the BCBC subsidy for bus services has been reduced by more than 70% whereas the funding provided by Welsh Government to reimburse the bus pass system has remained virtually constant.
BCBC enjoys an income of around £700,000 per year from our car parks. The only pay and display car parks are in Bridgend and Porthcawl, with roughly £350,000 income from each town. None in Pencoed and none in Maesteg. It is neither unreasonable nor morally wrong that roughly 20% of that could be used to offset the bus subsidy. Not everyone is “wellheeled enough” to either afford a car or not have restrictions because of age of health.
Please, please complete the on-line consultation and attend the public meeting being held at the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, 7pm on Thursday, March 22.
Councillor Mike Clarke