THE axing of a vital bus link in Wotton has been branded a “bloody disgrace” as people in their 80s are “confined to their own homes”.

The number 84/85 bus service – which was given a last-minute three-month extension in June – was ultimately axed on September 1.

Wotton-under-Edge’s 84 and 85 bus route used to run to and from Yate, across the border between Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.

Part of the service was replaced with a new WESTlocal Y8 two-hourly flexible service.

However, the service runs from Yate but stretches only as far as the nearby villages of Wickwar and Hawkesbury Upton.

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) had offered an increase of 100 per cent in the funding they provided to the 84/85 route to save the link to Wotton.

But bus chiefs at Shire Hall say they have been ignored when requesting a meeting with their counterparts at the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

People "confined to their homes"

County Councillor Linda Cohen (LD), who represents Wotton-under-Edge, says the situation is a “bloody disgrace”.

She has been contacted by many affected constituents, some of which can no longer attend college in Bristol because they cannot make the necessary connections.

While elderly residents who used the bus to get into town have been left isolated.

“It’s a bloody disgrace,” she said.

“I had a meeting with the most elderly residents in Wotton to forensically look at how they use the bus.

“For a lot of them now, because the bus went around the outskirts of Wotton which is quite hilly, they physically cannot get into Wotton anymore.

“Some of them are confined to their homes now. That’s a disaster for them, for us and the country.

“The knock on costs are huge. It has stopped them being self-sufficient. We want people to look after their health, we want people to be independent.

“We want people to earn their living, become educated and contribute to society and we are not doing the simple things like providing a bus service.”

County Councillor Linda Cohen (LD), who represents Wotton-under-Edge, says the situation is a “bloody disgrace”

She was led to believe that West of England mayor Dan Norris had “made noises” about possibly considering a contribution to extend the number 40 bus.

“This was something he said after the scrutiny meeting last Friday,” she said.

“Probably in confidence, but I’m past the point of caring, he didn’t say it to me, he said it to somebody else.

“The suggestion was if GCC took responsibility for that and they picked it up and put a tender out for the extension, WECA would contribute towards it.

“Subsequently, an officer at WECA said there is no movement and it’s the end of the line. Various Labour MPs were trying to push Dan Norris and say look this is not good generally.

“When you’re dealing with parishes and towns that are on the edge of the county, it doesn’t matter which county it is in.

“At some point you are going to have to have a conversation with your opposite number.

“Loads of South Gloucestershire residents use our GPs, in fact they represent a third of patients who use our GPs in Wotton.

“They use our services but we don’t seem to matter when it comes to buses.

“As long as they’ve got enough for South Gloucestershire it doesn’t seem to matter what happens to Wotton.”

Cllr Cohen has pledged to carry on fighting to get the bus link reinstated in the town.

“I am not going to sit there and see someone in their 80s be confined to their living room for the rest of their lives.

“If Dan Norris had to spend the rest of his life sitting and looking out of his window, and not even being able to look out of his window because someone put a damn great hedge in front of it and you are living in social housing where you aren’t allowed to chop it down yourself, how would he feel about that?

“I recognise money is not infinite and I know there isn’t very much of it around at the moment but actually stopping people from paying their taxes and getting an education so they can contribute to society is insane.”

The 84/85 bus which was axed, used to connect communities between Wotton and Yate

"The loss of this service is down to WECA" says GCC 

Education and bus transport cabinet member Philip Robinson (C, Mitcheldean) wrote to Mr Norris about the predicament residents in Wotton find themselves in following WECA’s withdrawal of the service.

In an email sent on September 19 he reiterated the County Council’s keenness for the service to be revived and offered a 100 per cent enhancement on Shire Hall’s financial contribution to the bus link.

“We started contributing to the 84/85 in 2023 to ensure the service wasn’t axed. We then repeatedly increased our contribution,” he said.

“My last offer was to no less than double our financial support, but still the WECA Mayor, Dan Norris, wouldn’t budge.

“Let me be very clear, the loss of this service is down to WECA, not GCC, not SGC, but WECA alone.

“My view now is that WECA never had the slightest intention of keeping the service.

“GCC currently spends around £670,000 each year supporting bus services in and around Wotton so it’s just plain wrong to argue that GCC is not playing its part.

“What GCC cannot and will not do is pay for an entire cross-border service when the neighbouring authority (in this case WECA) refuses to pay.”

The West of England Combined Authority has not responded to a request for comment.