Protests growing over bus cutbacks

Leven Valley Coaches announced last week that it could no longer afford to run its popular 32 and 33 Darlington service.

The service, which takes in areas of the town including Mowden, Albert Hill and Hundens Lane, will end on July 21.

People who use the bus service have been angered by the cutback, because they say it is often the only bus they can catch to go shopping and use other amenities.

A 70-signature petition has been presented to Darlington Borough Council transport officials.

A protest meeting is also being planned by residents of Albert Hill.

The service is partly subsidised by Darlington Borough Council, which is being blamed by residents for the withdrawal of the service.

Leven Valley says it is losing money because of the success of the authority's concessionary bus fare scheme, and it has also had money withheld by the council.

It has also been affected by competition from bigger bus operators, including Arriva.

One of the protestors, Carol Garbutt, of Grey Street, in Albert Hill, said: "Everyone is up in arms about this. When the bus goes we will be left high and dry, with no transport whatsoever.

"We have a lot of elderly people around here and this is the only transport for them."

Conservative councillor Bill Stenson, who represents the Mowden ward on the borough council, delivered the petition to the town hall.

He said: "We want the council to know about the level of protest and that people want the bus back."

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said that the authority had taken steps to provide a short-term replacement bus service, which would go into service on July 22.

Tenders had already been invited for a permanent replacement and would be discussed at a council cabinet meeting in August.

The spokeswoman said: "We fully understand the importance of this route to local residents. We are trying to protect the service and are looking at adding more resources into it to keep it operating."