PROPOSALS to improve public transport for some of Darlington's most deprived areas have been revealed.
The borough council has received just over £1m from the Government's Urban Bus Challenge scheme to provide direct links between estates and the town's major areas of employment, health care and leisure facilities.
The two main areas to be targeted are Firthmoor and Red Hall, but new bus routes will also pass through the Central, Lascelles and Bank Top wards.
The council's bid for the cash stressed that the Firthmoor estate - where 40 per cent of households have low incomes - has no employment opportunities or health facilities and few local shops.
Proposed routes include a direct bus link to the Yarm Road Business Park, as well as the Morrisons store and private hospital at Morton Park.
A direct link cannot be provided between Firthmoor and the Memorial Hospital, but it may be possible to interchange between the two routes at Yarm Road.
Darlington's grant was the largest share of the £18m to be handed out nationally.
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