The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Clearance by stealth’: End of village service
Residents in Kinross-shire villages fear being isolated after plans are announced
Kinross-shire communities could be stripped of all public transport ties in what a watchdog group is calling a modern “clearance by stealth”.
Communities in western Kinrossshire could be left without any public transport links if Stagecoach’s plans to scrap its number 23 service are confirmed.
Removing the Stirling to St Andrews route would leave the villages of Crook of Devon, Rumbling Bridge, Drum and Balado without any public transport connections.
Should Stagecoach’s plans, which were open for public consultation until today, be approved, Muckhart in Clackmannanshire and Gateside in Fife would also be devoid of public transport.
Fossoway and District Community Council say this is the latest blow being experienced by communities along the A977.
Last year, councillors voted to close Blairingone Primary School, one of only two primary schools in the border area between Perthshire and Clackmannanshire.
Villagers were dealt another blow when Bank of Scotland bosses announced it was closing its Kinross branch, meaning anybody living along the road would have to travel to Perth, Cowdenbeath or Alloa for banking.
Community Council chairwoman Trudy Duffy-Wigman said: “Scotland has a history of clearances. This is clearance by stealth.
“Our last bank is going and the bus service. The bus never went at any sensible time and changes were set up to let it fail. However, not having the service means that the communities of Fossoway and Muckhart are now completely deprived of any form of public transport.
“There has been no attempt to connect with the communities that are suffering because of this decision.”
Among those affected are Crook of Devon couple Michael and Carole Haigh. Carole relies on the bus for getting to work in Dundee.
She said: “There are a lot of elderly people here without cars who relied on it to get to the pharmacies.
“People rely on the bus to connect with Dunfermline, Perth and Dundee. Students from St Andrews also use it to attend the local polo club here and it was also used by Dollar Academy students.”
A spokesman for Stagecoach East Scotland said: “We’re proposing to withdraw service 23 as it was underperforming prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and increasing costs mean that it operates at a significant loss, resulting in us no longer being able to commercially run this service.”