Villagers 'delighted' as bus service reinstated

A bus route which was previously cancelled will now be reintroduced, to the delight of villagers.

The 300 bus route, linking villages between Lowdham and Newark, stopped running in August, when former operator Community Transport for Nottingham (CT4N) announced steps were being take to place the firm into administration.

Residents had campaigned for the route to be reinstated, saying some people had been "cut off".

Nottingham Minibuses and Coaches said it would take over the route with buses running from 7 September.

CT4N confirmed it was heading into administration, with most of its 76 members of staff made redundant, on 14 August

A number of routes run by CT4N have been replaced by other operators, and last month, East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward's office said the 300 was one of the services "in the process of being procured".

A spokesperson for the mayor's office confirmed the service would be operating two journeys in each direction between Lowdham, Southwell and Newark on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, helping residents access local services and shops.

Daphne Harbridge had taken the bus from Caythorpe to Southwell hours before it stopped running.

The 78-year-old said she only realised the bus was no longer running when she attempted to get home.

Without her husband who drives, Harbidge said she would be "cut off" along many others.

"I'm delighted as much for my fellow passengers, I would miss seeing them if the bus didn't run," she added.

"A whole crowd of us are catching the bus on Monday to welcome it back."

Sharon Murray, 70, from Bleasby, which is a village along the route, said she was "devastated" when the service was removed.

Murray and her wife relied on taxis to get them to doctors appointments, spending almost £200 on travel.

"We've campaigned so hard to get this bus back. We're over the moon," she said.

Murray said passengers had built a "lovely community" which would be lost without the service.

"You don't know how happy we are. We're so chuffed, we just don't want this to happen again to us," she added.

Additional reporting by Liam Barnes.

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