'Lifeline' bus service to Harborough has been restored after shocked villagers complained when it 'suddenly disappeared'

Furious villagers have slammed a decision to shelve a vital early morning bus to Market Harborough before it was suddenly restored.

Cllr Rob McNeill, 50, said the move to temporarily axe the no44 Centrebus service from Foxton had shocked families in the Harborough district village.

The angry parish councillor is now calling for villagers to be properly consulted in future in an attempt to keep local people fully informed.

“Our early morning 44 to Market Harborough was cancelled out of nowhere a few weeks ago.

“This is the only bus that gets kids to schools like Welland Park Academy on time because they don’t have a dedicated bus laid on.

“It’s also crucial for people who go to work in Market Harborough,” said Rob.

“Older and vulnerable people who like to take advantage of shops’ priority time slots early on a morning also jump on that bus.

“So we were stunned when the 44, which leaves here about 7.50am, was suddenly stopped.

“The next service goes at about 9.50am – so that’s just not an option.”

The dad-of-one said they were obviously pleased that the early 44 had been brought back.

“It’s clearly a great relief.

“But this scenario cannot be allowed to happen again.

“Villagers and our parish council were not consulted at all,” said Rob, who works in software marketing.

“It’s astonishing that our lifeline bus could be removed without any consultation what so ever.

“It’s totally undemocratic.

“Both the county council and Centrebus have to learn from this – and drastically improve their communications.

“We have a very strong community spirit here in Foxton.

“We have all looked after our neighbours and friends in the village through the Covid-19 lockdown for the last six months.

“And we will continue to stick together to combat threats to our vital services such as our bus to Market Harborough.”

Cllr Trevor Pendleton, Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “During lockdown, in line with the Government’s public health guidance to stay home and avoid travelling on public transport, many bus operators took the decision to limit the frequency of their services.

“We have worked with operators and Department for Transport to continue to financially support subsidised services such as the 44.

“As travel needs and Government advice has changed, bus services are being reinstated to meet passenger demand.”

He added: “We worked with Centrebus to ensure that services at school journey times were operating again in time for the start of the school year.

“Our advice remains to check with individual operators before travelling by public transport.”