Minutes:
Councillor Maney introduced the
report and felt that it was a difficult decision to make, as the
Council had been funding the 11, 265, and 374 bus services for
approximately four years, which had served many communities. He
explained that previously these services had been funded by one-off
government grants, but would cost the Council approximately
£785,000 moving forwards, and this could increase to almost
£1mn after inflationary costs were considered. He felt that
this was unsustainable for the Council in the current financial
context, as providing buses was not a statutory service. He added
that the services were currently under-used and therefore, the
recommendation was to withdraw these buses. Councillor Maney
described how a detailed consultation over twelve months had been
undertaken, and a twelve-month extension to the services had been
granted. He summarised and stated that the team had considered
alternative options for the services, but none had been
deliverable.
Councillor Arnold thanked Councillor Maney and officers for their
hard work on the report, but felt that Fobbing had not been fully
represented in the consultation as consultation documents had not
been provided in the shops or Village Hall. She felt that Ward
Members should have been more included in the consultation, but
thanked officers for taking on-board comments from the submitted
petition and working to offer an alternative bus service. She
stated that she would continue working with officers and bus
providers on the future of bus provision to ensure all communities
were included. Councillor Johnson stated that he had spoken to
residents in his ward who would be impacted by the withdrawal of
the bus service, and he understood the upheaval this may cause some
residents. He felt that it was a large spend for the Council so
agreed with the recommendations, but he would continue to search
for a solution to bus provision in Orsett.
Councillor Maney confirmed that lots of work on the consultation
had been undertaken, and officers had tried to reach all audiences.
He added that consultation documents had been available on the
buses themselves and drivers had been instructed to hand these out
to service users. He stated that the consultation process would
continue to be reviewed to ensure all audiences are reached.
Councillor Maney added that Fobbing would have a new bus
arrangement as an option to loop other services had been available,
but this option was not workable for other communities. He
highlighted recommendation 4 which would ensure that Members and
officers would continue to review the borough’s transport
needs, and seek alternative options for bus services in more rural
communities. Councillor Arnold questioned if future planning
applications in these areas could contain provision for bus
services, and if these could be funded through S106 monies. She
felt that bus provision for rural communities linked into adult
social care, and other Council directorates. The Leader explained
that First Bus had recently taken over from Ensign in the borough,
and he would be meeting with the new owner to discuss bus routes
and services connecting the east and west of the borough. He
thanked the Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and
Scrutiny Committee for their views contained within the report and
for their continued challenge of Cabinet Members.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Approved the withdrawal of funding provision of the three
supported services the 11, 265 and 374.
2. Approved the procurement of off-peak day-time provision three
days a week to the community of Fobbing. This would involve
re-routing some existing commercial bus routes through Fobbing,
providing a link between Stanford-le-Hope and Basildon. This would
be for an initial 12-month period with a review of usage to be
undertaken before any extension.
3. Noted the net saving of £427,000 delivered by these
decisions.
4. Noted that the following communities will have no or limited
public transport provision linking them to the rest of the borough
– Bulphan, East Tilbury Village, Horndon-on-the-Hill, North
Stifford, West Tilbury, and western parts of Aveley. East Tilbury
and Linford would also lose all bus provision. While Members will
be mindful of the ongoing review being undertaken by the Planning,
Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet
directs Transportation Services to keep the public transport needs
of these communities under review and consider future options which
could address any unmet need, within the context of the
council’s financial situation.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the
report
This decision is subject to call-in
Supporting documents: