In a letter to The Journal, Melvyn Johnson, Chairman of the Midsomer Norton & Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust, asks readers to help 'save our communtiy bus!'

I write to you in my capacity as Chairman of the above Trust. The Community Trust, registered as a charity, runs a minibus in the Midsomer Norton and Radstock areas, primarily for the elderly or disadvantaged groups of people, taking them to their clubs, cafes, garden centres, lunch venues and sporting events. This is imperative for their wellbeing.

The minibus, now in its 55th year, is run by a Committee of volunteers and driven solely by volunteers. The Trust is managed by a minimum of three Trustees. We are seeking voluntary clerical help following a number of Committee members resigning post Covid. Primarily we need a person/organisation with the ability to draw up and monitor a maintenance policy/regime, undertake recruitment, training and management of drivers and to conduct risk assessments, implement control measures and monitor their effectiveness in reducing risk. Also they should be willing to monitor and maintain our Health and Safety policies, GDPR and other aspects of operating a minibus under our Section 19 permit, the permit under which we are allowed to operate. A person with some transport knowledge and experience would be ideal.

We would wish that the person undertaking these tasks would become a Committee member and interact with our Co-ordinator, Maintenance Co-ordinator and Secretary/Treasurer to ensure the smooth running of the minibus.

We are a small, friendly Committee of six at the present time and meet four or five times a year in Farrington Gurney.

If you think anyone in your organisation, or your organisation itself, could be of assistance in keeping the services we provide to the community of Midsomer Norton and Radstock and surrounding villages we would love to hear from you. Without help this community service will cease on 30th June 2023. You could be the one to save it!

If we are unsuccessful then, sadly, the minibus service will come to an end.

We will no longer be able to support the most vulnerable in our society as the minibus is their only means of being mobile to attend their social events.

I can be contacted either by email ([email protected] or telephone number: 01761 452585). Please feel free to call, however much or little, you are able to help. The Trust would love to hear from you.

Yours beseechingly,

Melvyn Johnson