Two new bus services due to take to the road have been further delayed causing more frustration for residents.

The number 1 and 2 being operated by Stagecoach North East in east Cleveland were slated for launch at the end of March.

But this week the company said it had still not received clearance by the Traffic Commissioner’s office, which licences new routes, and the services continued to be postponed.

The 1 and 2 is a partnership between the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) and Redcar and Cleveland Council to connect Brotton, Carlin How, Skelton, Lingdale, Liverton Mines, Loftus, Moorsholm and Skinningrove with East Cleveland Hospital, Saltburn Railway Station and the Skelton Retail Park.

The council requested the services to fill gaps in provision and they are being subsidised by TVCA on a one-year trial basis with Stagecoach previously winning the tender to operate them.

One user on Twitter, responding to the update from Stagecoach, said: “Is the traffic controller on a long holiday?”

Former councillor Cliff Foggo, who lives in Skelton and left the local authority in May, having been a former cabinet member for highways and transport, suggested there had been opposition from another commercial operator to the services.

He said: “As a resident I think it is disgraceful that they have held back on the authorisation of the new bus services.

“All the councillors in East Cleveland are up in arms and can’t get any information.”

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The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted the Traffic Commissioner to request a statement explaining the delay.

Bus services in largely rural East Cleveland are already in a state of flux with Arriva North East proposing various service reductions in its timetables from July 9 following a dispute over concessionary fare funding with TVCA, about which concerns have been raised.

Council leader Alec Brown recently said he was deeply upset and concerned about the changes – described by Arriva as a “very last resort” – which would have a detrimental impact on residents and limit access to essential services and opportunities.