Latest news with #Hampshire County Council
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Campaigners rally together in bid to save 'vital' bus service
Campaigners in Chandler's Ford are pushing to save a vital bus service that is due to be cut by Hampshire County Council. Residents in Knightwood and Valley Park are fighting to prevent the loss of the 46 bus, the last remaining public transport link in their area, which is set to be withdrawn on Friday, August 29. The campaign follows a successful deputation by Hampshire resident Susan Dorsett to a full county council meeting in May, where she presented a petition with 1,676 signatures calling for the restoration of multiple cut routes. Ms Dorsett said: "Fellow campaigners and I say they will not rest until the councils and transport providers have included us in extensive consultations and put in place both emergency and long-term, regular, reliable, frequent public transport reconnecting our communities with the daily services, people, and destinations we would like to access. "Failure is not an option. "Public transport is a necessity for daily life and ought not to only be accessible to town and city dwellers on profit-making bus routes. "We need to reduce the number of cars on our roads; the congestion in our town and city centres, and the environmental damage. "We are aware of the Bus Service Improvement Plan monies and other funding which the government has allocated to HCC specifically to prevent the loss of routes such as ours. "We trust that HCC will now reprioritise some of these monies as the government intended, to help fund our vital bus services." READ MORE: Itchen Bridge lined with suicide prevention campaigners Councillor Lulu Bowerman, Hampshire County Council's head of passenger transport, agreed to meet with Ms Dorsett in Knightwood and Valley Park after the May deputation. Susan Dorsett (Image: Submitted) The meeting will take place on Wednesday, with campaigners set to present four key proposals and additional solutions developed over the summer. A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: 'The council continues to face significant and well documented financial pressures. "In autumn 2024, we reviewed savings proposals across 13 service areas, including passenger transport, to help balance our 2025/26 budget. "Following public consultation, the Authority agreed to withdraw discretionary funding for local bus services that are not commercially viable, including the no. 46 service from North Baddesley to Winchester. "We recognise the importance of local bus services to communities such as Knightwood and Valley Park which is why we continue to explore and promote alternative transport options that may be available.'
BBC News
05-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Hampshire County Council scraps recycling centres phone system
A council will scrap telephone bookings and payments for people wanting to use household waste recycling March next year, all Hampshire County Council bookings must be made through a digital system, which will not allow telephone said the decision was made due to concerns about the high cost of the service, as well as the effectiveness and speed of responses within the current change will have a negative impact on vulnerable residents, particularly the elderly, disabled and those living in rural areas with limited internet access, the council acknowledged. It has proposed measures to mitigate the impact, including creating an accessible website and providing support for people with special communication with vans and trailers must obtain a digital permit issued by the new service to replace their printed has been awarded a four-year contract worth £200,000 for the and Southampton city councils, which share recycling centre services, are expected to contribute to about 10% of the decision report said: "Provision of telephone support for a digital permit system is not supported by the corporate digital first approach to communications and would incur significant cost to develop. "As such, no telephone support for the digital permit system will be provided."Currently, the county council provides 24 recycling centres across Hampshire for bulky household and garden waste. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
