Arriva launched their new bus service connecting a major retail park in Stockton this week.

The bus operator launched its new service 16 providing links to Teesside Park from Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby on Sunday (January 28).

The new service will run up to every 30 minutes.

The operator said the route has been planned over the last 12 months and was put together following customer feedback and work with the owners of the retail park.

Richard McGowan, Arriva North East’s head of commercial said: “Teesside Park is a major retail and leisure park in the Tees Valley, which is popular and is growing.

“We’ve spent a lot of time developing and planning the 16 service, using data about how many people visit the park and direct feedback from our customers.

“We’re excited to launch it and we hope our customers find it convenient too. We’re confident we’ve done the right thing for our passengers and the right thing for our network.

“We could not have made this happen without the great partnership working we’ve done with Teesside Park, so they’ve helped us massively in developing this key route.”

Teesside Park made a funding contribution to the new Arriva route.

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Catherine Furlong, centre director at Teesside Park, said: “We’ve been working hard to secure better public transport links to Teesside Park and know the increased service will make a massive difference to the residents of Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby.

“It’s fantastic to work in partnership with Arriva to introduce the new service.

"It is now easier than ever to get to Teesside Park and we look forward to welcoming new visitors who may have previously found it more difficult to access the centre, especially at a time when we’ve got so many exciting changes underway.”