'Hammer blow' for residents as Shropshire and Telford councils miss out on bus funding

Both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin councils have voiced their disappointment after being unsuccessful in bids for 'Bus Back Better' funding from the government, worth £98m and £41m respectively.

The decision comes just days after Arriva announced sweeping changes across the county, including some routes being axed, as a result of reduced demand.

Councillor Cecilia Motley, Conservative Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture, Leisure & Tourism and Transport at Shropshire Council, said the authority is “as a complete loss” as to why it has been overlooked.

She said: “We have now received confirmation from government that our Bus Back Better bid has been unsuccessful.

“We are devastated by this decision as we were told by the Department for Transport that we had submitted a very strong bid, which the DfT encouraged and we believe answered all the bidding criteria. We are at a complete loss as to why we have been completely overlooked.

“We will, of course, be working with our MPs to seek clarification from the government as to why our bid has been ignored and what we could have done differently.

“I am very sorry for our residents, as for many of them this was not about improving bus services, but about continuing to provide a service or introducing one. We will continue to work with our officers to produce the very best bus strategy we can without this vital government funding.”

Telford & Wrekin Council’s Labour Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Enforcement & Transport, Councillor Richard Overton said: “We have long prioritised funding, protecting evening and weekend services for longer than many other councils. A fair share of national funding is essential to maintain and improve our services – we can only do so much.

“At the Government’s request, we put forward a plan for improvements totalling £41m in an incredibly challenging timeframe to include more frequent services, reduced fares, new vehicles and better support on the street. Yet we feel that Government has let us down by not doing its part.

“Bus services should have a role in levelling up, enabling people to access work, education and training and we are incredibly disappointed to have received nothing – particularly after the time and energy invested in the bid. This falls flat on action to support communities without access to cars or prefer bus travel as a more sustainable method of travel.

“The lack of Government investment means it may be difficult to continue to maintain the current level of service let alone make improvements to services, despite showing bus travel is on the rise.

“This funding formed part of a longer term investment plan and we feel the announcements are short-sighted and contradictory to the Government’s desire to level-up bus services nationally.

“Yet again Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire will miss out on investment as the Government prioritises others, it is deeply disappointing.”

Shropshire Council’s Lib Dem opposition shadow lead for communities, culture, leisure & tourism, Councillor Nigel Hartin, said the failure to secure any money would be a hammer blow to residents.

He said: “This is desperate news for people up and down the county who rely on bus services."

“It’s ironic that this apparent decision by the Government follows hard on the heels of the announcement last week by Arriva to axe or revise many routes across Shropshire from April 23.”

He added: “What we need now is to work towards getting a partnership going between county MPs, Shropshire Council, larger town and parish councils and bus passenger user groups so that we can learn from best practice in other areas to see what might work here in Shropshire.”

“The bottom line is that being denied this investment will be a hammer blow to communities across Shropshire, especially in our already incredibly poorly-served rural areas. We have gone from talk of levelling-up and new investment to talk of deep cuts to lifeline services – it just isn’t good enough from Shropshire’s Conservatives.”