THE managing director of a community company that failed to win funding to run a volunteer bus service for villages around Darlington has attacked the council’s decision.

Darlington Rural Transport Limited (Dart) was formed with the aim of setting up a community transport service for the rural area to the north-east of Darlington after subsidies for village services were withdrawn in December.

The Dart made a bid to Darlington Borough Council for funding to set up the service and an £18,000 annual subsidy to keep it operating, but was turned down on the grounds that it was not sustainable.

Alastair Mackenzie, managing director of the Dart, has written to residents in Sadberge outlining the situation and has challenged the authority to find a way to run a bus service in the area without a subsidy.

He said: “We understand that the council's main reason for refusing to provide the necessary funding is that the proposed minibus service would not be sustainable without an on-going subsidy.

“The council appears to believe that it is possible to find a financially sustainable solution if “the service specification better meets the needs of the local community”.

“Having done a thorough analysis of the options, we are satisfied that it is not possible to run a bus service for the rural villages to the north-east of Darlington without a subsidy.

"If Darlington Borough Council believes that it is possible to set up and operate a sustainable bus service without an on-going subsidy then we invite them to go ahead and do so.”

Darlington Borough Council has pledged to work with Dart, the parish councils and other community organisations to explore ways of reducing the reliance on a subsidy and provide a broader service to meet the needs of more local people.