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The Village Bus Service
Important Information
There has been much discussion on social media during the winter months about buses not coming into the village, or the service being unreliable. It has been reported that sometimes bus drivers will refuse to drive into Bradwell despite the village being on their schedule, passengers having to walk from Hope.
The reasons for this reluctance to drive into Bradwell are mainly the difficulties posed by the route, which requires them to turn right into Brookside at Dale End, navigate Brookside and turn left at the traffic lights to head back down Netherside towards Hope. On numerous occasions the bus has encountered poorly parked vehicles on Brookside which make it impossible to pass, involving a potentially long search for the car driver and unacceptable delays for the bus. Earlier this year damage was caused to a building by a bus and Bridge Street has recently twice been closed at Manchester House. When the road is closed in situations like this you might think the bus company has been informed, but sadly this is often not the case and on one occasion a bus had to reverse the entire length of Brookside to escape.
This situation is unlikely to improve with the approach of summer, when hordes of walkers descend on the village and leave their cars in the most unlikely places, regularly blocking the bus. Finding the car owner is then doubly complicated as they can be miles away.
Residents need to be aware that there is every likelihood that the bus companies (who do have a schedule to keep) might well decide that they can no longer risk driving into the village. At the very least the bus might only come as far as Gore Lane and turn there.
Some years ago the Parish Council worked with Derbyshire County Council to propose a solution for the problem, turning the bus at Dale End so it no longer had to negotiate Brookside. County Council funds had been earmarked and a plan drawn up for making the changes needed. Unfortunately, at a village meeting this proposal was rejected by residents and the Parish Council agreed to abandon the plan. But in light of the ongoing issues we feel it is our duty to tell you that we believe the risks to your bus service are now much higher, especially in these times of austerity. We believe there is every possibility that your unreliable service could be lost altogether unless action is taken to resolve the Brookside issue.
Your Parish Council stands ready to help. If enough residents who rely on the bus service and who would like to see it continue can get themselves together and develop proposals for a solution, then Bradwell Parish Council will be happy to help you approach the responsible authorities to see if anything can be done. If you feel strongly about this and want to do something, send an e-mail message to the parish clerk ([email protected]) and responses will be coordinated.