Fears loss of bus service could isolate town

People living in a small rural town fear becoming isolated by the loss of its only bus service.

Shropshire Council has said the 745 bus that operates between Pontesbury, Bishop's Castle, Clun, Craven Arms and Ludlow is no longer cost effective and plans to scrap it in September.

The authority said the route was "amongst the highest subsidised routes per passenger," and promised to work with community transport providers "to explore more flexible and cost effective alternatives".

But some in Clun, which has a population of about 700m have said they will not be able to get out to shop or meet friends if the service goes and they have started a petition to save it.

The bus service currently operates on Mondays and Fridays and has been supported by Shropshire Council since the Covid-19 pandemic using central government revenue funding.

But last month, the council said the service would be withdrawn due to rising operating costs.

The councillor responsible for transport, Rob Wilson, said due to low passenger numbers it was costing £60 per passenger per journey.

Lou Hambley, who lives in Clun, said: "I use it every Monday and Friday to go to Ludlow to just get out and go shopping.

She said would be stuck without the bus and concluded: "I will have to move. I can't stay in a place where I can't get out."

A "save our bus" sign has been attached to the bus shelter off the high street and more than 100 people have signed a petition calling for the bus to continue.

"We've got a Spar but people can't do their full supermarket shop," said Deborah Fox - another resident.

"It's a rural bus, people rely on it. It will have a huge impact if it's not here and will be isolated."

She said other communities which rely on the bus, such as Bishop's Castle were also campaigning to keep the bus.

Robert Humphreys from Clun added: "This is the only bus here, and there are plenty of other parts of Shropshire where they pay the same council tax and have actually improved bus services. How can that be fair?"

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