The Bradley Stoke Journal

Town Councillors have urged residents concerned by proposed changes to bus services in Bradley Stoke to attend tonight’s Southern Brooks Area Forum meeting in Filton.

Residents attending last week’s Town Council Planning Committee meeting were advised that the changes were a commercial decision by the operator, Wessex Connect, and not South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

Protests by bus users and Journal readers have already resulted in an amendment to the originally proposed route of the new peak-hours-only U8 service that replaces the hourly 71 service from 18th September. The new U8 service will now additionally pass through the south of Bradley Stoke, enabling that area to at least maintain a link with Bristol city centre at peak times.

The recent changes can be seen by comparing the (original) version 2 and (latest) version 4 issues of the U8 timetable on the UWE website, although Cllr Keith Cranney warns that “the situation is liable to change from day to day.”

Town Councillors agreed to “write to Wessex Connect raising concerns, on behalf of the residents of Bradley Stoke, with regard to the withdrawal of bus services from the town.”

The Southern Brooks Area Forum meeting takes place tonight (Tuesday 30th) at Filton Community Association, Elm Park, Filton BS34 7PS [map], starting at 7pm.

The main business of the Area Forum meeting will be to allocate the £26,607 of capital grant funding available to voluntary organisations in the Southern Brooks area, which includes Bradley Stoke, Filton, Frenchay, Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Winterbourne, for the 2011/2012 financial year.

Read about the Bradley Stoke groups that have applied for grants »

Bus route and timetable changes scheduled for mid-September look set to leave a large part of South Bradley Stoke without a direct daytime service to Bristol city centre.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has confirmed rumours that the 71 and 72 bus services operated by Wessex Connect are to be withdrawn from 18th September.

The hourly 71 service, which links North Bradley Stoke with Little Stoke, Filton and the city centre on weekdays is to be replaced by a new U8 service that operates at peak hours only.

The 72 service, also hourly during the day Monday to Friday and linking South Bradley Stoke with the city centre via Little Stoke and Filton, will be replaced by a new U7 service linking Cribbs Causeway and the University of the West of England (UWE) at Frenchay.

Users of the new U7 service wishing to travel to the city centre will have to change onto other routes at Parkway Station or UWE (in term time only).

Another new service, labelled U7A, will provide a small number of peak hour journeys between Aztec West, Parkway Station and UWE.

A number of readers have contacted The Journal to complain about the proposed changes, some of whom are known to have also contacted Bradley Stoke Town Council and SGC.

Read on for SGC’s statement on the latest bus service cuts »

Bus services have been partially restored to Bradley Stoke’s town centre this week, after a break of over twelve months during building works.

Services were suspended from April 2008, when construction of a new car park got underway, despite earlier plans to provide a temporary bus stop within the centre as building work progressed.

Bus passengers using the centre have since been obliged to walk to temporary stops in Savages Wood Road, which involved following a lengthy diversion along Bradley Stoke Way until the new Willow Brook Centre opened in October 2008.

With the recent completion of building works at the site, a new bus route through the centre has been opened up. Buses are now able to enter the complex via a slip road off Bradley Stoke way before progressing along the side of the mall building towards a new bus stop on the edge of the Town Square, opposite the soon-to-open Ladbrokes betting shop.

Remotely controlled barriers have been installed at both ends of the route through the centre.

The 73B service, operated by First Group, has now started using the new route on weekday and Saturday evenings and throughout the day on Sundays and Public Holidays. All of these journeys are said to be operated with financial support from South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

Wessex Connect, which operates the 71 & 72 services, says its buses will soon also begin using the new bus lane. These services run throughout the day on weekdays and Saturdays (but there is no service on Sundays and Bank Holidays).

Geoff Clarkson, Assistant Operations Manager at Wessex Connect, told The Journal:

We are awaiting final confirmation from SGC, at which point we will be operating through the new bus lane at the store.

The planning agreement for the new town centre development includes an obligation on the developer (Tesco Stores Limited) to pay a Public Transport Contribution of £250,000, to be used for the provision of a new bus service into the site. Payments are to be phased over five years and any monies not spent after 12 years will be repaid to the developer.

Related Link: Bus Services in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)