Better buses plan is set to go ahead
CHESHIRE East will drive ahead with scaled-back plans to improve bus services despite the government putting the brakes on some schemes by refusing grant funding.
The council had put together an ambitious bus service improvement programme (BSIP) in the hope of securing funding as part of the government’s national ‘bus back better’ strategy.
Councillor Craig Browne, chair of the highways and transport committee, told a meeting the council was very disappointed not to receive the cash.
He said: “Our BSIP was ambitious in response to the government’s call to develop a plan that transformed bus services across the borough.
“We are still intending to press ahead with as many of the actions outlined in the BSIP as we can without additional funding, such as the programme of bus shelter replacements, bus stop replacements, and the establishment of a passenger charter, but clearly those actions are going to be rolled out more slowly and in a lesser numbers.”
The committee voted to press ahead with its plans to set up an enhanced partnership.
This would see representatives from the council, bus operators, user groups, emergency services and business groups collectively plan for public transport provision.
Coun Browne said the Department for
Transport (DfT) had made it clear future funding, including the retention of Covid recovery grant funding will be dependent on having enhanced partnership arrangement in place.
He added: “So not to proceed isn’t really an option.”
Coun Janet Clowes said those local authorities that had received government funding were urban conurbations, which had a well-established public transport infrastructure ‘in the way that shire counties like Cheshire East do not because of our rural aspect’.
She said she hoped there would be a second round of funding.
Cheshire East has one of the lowest rates of people using buses in the country.
Committee vice chair Laura Crane proposed the recommendations, which included approving that the finalised draft enhanced partnership plan and scheme documents be submitted to the DfT before the end of April.
The committee voted in favour.