A NEW network of bus services for the Harrogate area has been launched at the town's bus station.

The county council's Travelinks project follows a successful bid for £602,000 of Rural Bus Challenge funding, and will see buses running between Harrogate and Skipton and Pateley Bridge and Otley.

The six-day-a-week service will start on Monday and run approximately every two hours between Harrogate and Skipton, with other journeys running between Pateley Bridge and Otley connecting with the main service at an interchange at Kettlesing Head.

It is also hoped to improve the service by increasing the frequency and including Sunday journeys.

Celebrating the launch of the services, the county's executive member for environmental services, Councillor John Fort, said: "This project represents another innovative public transport scheme for residents and visitors to North Yorkshire.

"These services will provide much needed links between the main towns in the south west of the county and will also help to combat social exclusion by providing regular bus services to many rural communities, some of which have not had any form of transport service for many years."