OAPs’ isolation fears as village’s bus link could go
IT HAS no shop, no GP surgery, no post office, no school, and even the local football team has disbanded.
There is a pub, but that’s about it. Now the village with almost nothing could be set to lose one of its only links with the outside world.
Elderly Coelbren residents have spoken of their fear the village will be virtually “cut off” unless the Seven Sisters bus service is kept.
The service, operated by First Travel Cymru, was withdrawn in 2016.
It was subsequently re-instated, but is due to be withdrawn again on May 26.
There is, however, a bus service from Brecon to Swansea operated by
AH, there you are! And about time too. You’ve helped us to complete a task set to our paper, to tell as many people as possible that Taskmaster is back tonight, and we’re feeling pretty special right now.
So you may have found pictures of celebrities scattered through this paper and followed the instructions to turn to this page. Well done.
It doesn’t matter whose picture it was - Alice Levine, Asim Chaudhry, Liza Tarbuck, Russell Howard, or Tim Vine – the point is you’re here.
The question is, why were their faces scattered around our paper today? The answer is, they’re in the brand new series of Dave’s hit series, Taskmaster. Could they do the bidding of the New Adventure Travel that stops at Coelbren.
Merle Griffiths, a retiree who has lived in Coelbren all her life, has criticised the way villagers’ concerns have been handled.
“We feel left out. For those without a car, if the bus service goes it’s a cutoff. We’ve got nothing left,” she said.
A First Travel spokesman said the Taskmaster, Greg Davies, resplendent in his throne, aided by his Igor-like assistant, Alex Horne? Could they, for instance, perform a stunt with a wheelbarrow, discover the length of a piece of string, or find something in common with someone called Carol?
That is a multi-part question, and sadly we can’t tell you the answer. If we told you, you wouldn’t have to watch the show, and the whole point of this task is to make you watch Taskmaster on Dave tonight at 9pm. decision was taken because it was “unable to operate the service reliably without adding additional resources”.
“We have been working with the local authority to find a solution, but we were unable to do so and we had no option but to withdraw this section of the service,” added the spokesman.
A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot council said: “On December 19, 2017, Neath Port Talbot council received a letter from the operator giving five months’ notice for the Coelbren section of the Seven Sisters to Banwen bus route.
“The council was not consulted on this decision.
“Officers from Neath Port Talbot council, Powys council and Bus Users UK have met the operator to try to find a way forward.”
Around 520 people live in Coelbren, many of whom are elderly.
According to experts a combination of old age and lack of accessible amenities can entrench social isolation.
In the past decade Coelbren’s school, post office, and most recently its GP surgery have all closed. The surgery closed last year after a replacement for a retiring senior partner could not be found. Mother of three Caroline Williams used to work at the post office, which shut in 2015. The old post office building still stands empty – something that does not surprise Ms Williams.
“I can’t think that anyone would want to buy it now they’ve removed pretty much everything in this village,” she said.
“Coelbren is seen as being the back end of nowhere.”
Bus Users Cymru held a drop-in surgery about the proposed withdrawal at Coelbren Welfare Hall recently. Their comments will be passed on to county and national transport officials – but as things stand, the service is still scheduled to be withdrawn.