LEADING borough councillors have pressed ahead with plans on consultations which could lead to the axing of rural bus services in Thurrock.

News of the proposed cuts to three services which are subsidised by the council at a cost of £452,000, first surfaced in a report to Thurrock Council's planning, transport, regeneration and overview scrutiny committee which met earlier this month. They were reported on Nub News here.

The meeting a number of councillors expressed concerns about the cuts which would impact on communities in East and West Tilbury, Stanford-le-Hope, Socketts Heath, West Horndon, Linford and Bulphan. The services provide villagers and outlying residents with links to Thurrock, Basildon Hospital and Basildon Station as well as shops and other facilities.

At that meeting Cllr Lee Watson challenged the architect of the cuts, Navtej Tung, the council's strategic transport manager. She said: "A significant amount of these people are elderly or disabled. What would you change to ensure our elderly across our borough that are in villages that use the hospitals and we've got no form of bus network, what would you do ensure they get to those places?"

After a lengthy debate, councillors agreed to recommend a consultation process take place, which was endorsed by last night's (Wednesday, 13 July) meeting of the council's cabinet.

The three buses are:

• number 11 – seven buses in each direction on weekdays only between Purfleet and Basildon
• number 265 – twice daily on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between Grays and West Horndon
• number 374 – approximately eight buses on weekdays and five on Saturdays between Grays and Basildon

Cllr Ben Maney, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: "This consultation will help us find out what communities think of these services. We really want local people to engage with the consultation and speak to us so we can make informed decisions. 

"Passenger numbers on these services are still not back to pre-pandemic levels and we need to make sure that they are providing value for money."

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The consultation will last for 12 weeks and results will be presented to Cabinet in a follow-up report scheduled for December 2022.