Network Warrington not listening!

Residents and Councillors in Thelwall are angry at Network Warrington's continuing refusal to listen to their concerns about safety on the No 6 bus route.

In September last year, the bus company shortened the route so it turned down All Saints Drive instead of continuing along Stockport Road, turning left down Lymm Road and then past the Pickering Arms. They did this to save money. For over a year, residents and councillors have been trying to get the company to think again but have got nowhere.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Ian Marks says, "When a new Chairman and Managing Director took over in the early summer, we hoped they might start listening but sadly they haven't, despite the MD saying 'we are listening to all our customers to ensure that we provide the service people expect'. It's got worse because in September they wrote to inform us 'there will be no further correspondence regarding this issue from us'. This is a quite unacceptable way to treat residents and councillors when we have never received satisfactory answers to our questions. I have now sent a 'Freedom of Information' request to them requesting information on safety, risk assessments and the re-routing decision".

Parish Councillor Cliff Taylor adds, "The primary issue is that of safety. I think the risks of using All Saints Drive are too great. Network Warrington may think otherwise but my view is shared by local residents, the Parish Council, the School and the Church. The problems with buses using this route are not going away."

All Saints Drive resident Les Pratt says, "I am sick to death of continual problems outside our homes and the company's refusal to do anything about it after fifteen months. On 4 November the road was blocked for about an hour when a bus arrived due to cars being parked on the road while the occupants attended the annual bonfire. We had the same problem last year so you would have thought they would have known there would be difficulties.

Funerals, weddings, school and community events frequently bring traffic to a standstill. Buses often cross pavements to avoid legitimately parked cars and contractors' vehicles. Visitors who do not know the area are aghast that buses actually use this road. Most of the buses have no or hardly any passengers which makes it worse."

Another local resident Bill Holledge adds, "The bus company has asked local people to give them 'advance warning of events' so they can re-route the service on these occasions. It is quite unreasonable for us to help them with day-to-day management. We have suggested they should seriously look at a permanent re-routing along Bell Lane but we have never had a satisfactory answer as to why this cannot be done. Apart from the chaos caused when buses cannot get through, there are other times when the road is clear when drivers significantly ignore the 20mph speed limit.

It is certainly not true that residents of All Saints Drive lobbied for the route to be changed to their road. Quite the opposite. The original petition signed by nearly 200 local people showed overwhelming opposition to the route with only one person being in favour. In all the thirty-four years I have lived here, we have never had problems before the buses came."

Cllr Marks concluded by saying, "Residents and councillors will not give up until we get some satisfaction from Network Warrington."