Tory cuts threaten Shropshire's rural buses

Shropshire Lib Dems' shadow lead for communities, culture, leisure and tourism says bus services in the county are under threat because of cuts in government funding.

Nigel Hartin, the councillor for Clun, told the Shropshire Star:

“The central plank to government's 'levelling up' strategy was called the 'Bus Back Better' strategy published last year. It promised £3bn in funding to transform bus services across the country.

"However, a Department of Transport letter recently leaked to the press shows that this pot has now been shrunk by more than 50 per cent by the Treasury to £1.4bn.

"This letter makes clear the lack of funding by saying 'prioritisation is inevitable, given the scale of ambition across the country greatly exceeds the amount'."

He said bids for government money under 'Bus Back Better' are likely to exceed £9bn.

As an earlier post here suggested, if there are cuts in Shropshire's rural services then the 553 from Bishop's Castle to Shrewsbury is unlikely to survive.