Dear Editor,

I am writing with some urgency. Last week, I sent an open letter to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), First Bus and Bath and North East Somerset Council about the proposed cuts to the 172 bus service and submitted a detailed written statement to the WECA Scrutiny Committee. I have received no response to the letter or statement, and with the changes due to take effect on April 6, just days away, that silence is no longer just disappointing. It is alarming.

From April 6, two morning services on the 172 will be removed, pushing the first departure from Clutton towards Midsomer Norton and Bath from 07.56 to 08.59. The evening return from Bath will move over an hour earlier. For the residents who depend on this service, this is not a timetable adjustment. It is a cliff edge.

I have heard from a care worker who will be unable to get to work at a nursing home in Clutton on time. I have heard from parents whose sixth-form children are not guaranteed a place on the school bus and rely entirely on the 172 to reach their nearest school. I have heard from a mother of two who is epileptic and cannot drive, for whom the 172 is her independence, her ability to get her children to school, and her only means of reaching medical appointments. I have heard from workers who cannot get into Bath for a 9am start and have no option to change their hours. These are not edge cases. These are ordinary people facing an extraordinary disruption to their daily lives, and they deserve a response.

In my submission to the WECA Scrutiny Committee, I asked a series of questions that remain unanswered. What assessment was made of the impact of these changes on school children, sixth formers, students with additional needs, care workers and people with health conditions, before the decisions were taken?

How are these changes consistent with the goals of the Bus Service Improvement Plan? What consideration was given to the Equality Act implications of removing services upon which disabled people and those with medical conditions are wholly dependent? And will WECA commit to meaningful consultation with ward councillors and affected communities before future changes are made, rather than after? These are not unreasonable questions. They deserve answers.

What concerns me most is not just the immediate impact of these cuts, but what they represent in the longer term. If we allow this to continue unchallenged, we will not simply be left with fewer buses; we will be left with hollowed-out communities, as people are forced to move away to access the work, education, and healthcare that public transport can no longer provide. It will also embed a culture of car dependency in our area, which will take generations to reverse, directly undermining the environmental objectives we have all committed to. That is not a hypothetical risk. It is already happening.

Time is running out. The Easter weekend falls immediately before these changes take effect, meaning that any response must be received before Good Friday if there is to be any realistic chance of preventing the cuts. I have written to WECA and First Bus again, urging them to respond, to reverse these cuts, and to make clear what steps they are taking to address the impact of the changes on the affected communities. And I would urge every resident who depends on this service or who knows someone who does, to make their voice heard now, before it is too late.

Cllr Sam Ross Clutton & Farmborough Ward Bath and North East Somerset Council

Dear Editor,

Apparently one of the causes of late delivery of letters is that Royal Mail cannot recruit enough staff. We have well over 1.5-millions people unemployed and claiming benefits. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Adrian Jones

Farmborough

Dear Editor,

May I, through your letter page, say thank you to several young people who I asked if they would mind cleaning up the litter outside Poundland on Sunday afternoon March 22. They obliged willingly so many thanks it made my day.

Now may I ask the council to please have someone to clean the town up. With the sun shining everywhere looks in a mess and untidy.

The steps near the library still have last autumn’s leaves and lots of shop doorways are dirty plus, the pathway next to Dominoes is always dirty. If I were younger and fitter I would help to clean up the town. Don't pass the buck and say oh that's Highways responsibility or some other group. We pay enough council tax to expect the town to be inviting to visitors.

Thank you.

Margaret

Midsomer Norton

Dear Editor,

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the town council stopping funding to the Community Trust, but what hasn’t really been talked about is what that funding actually paid for.

The Midsomer Norton Fayre, the Christmas Lights and the Arts Festival don’t just happen by magic, they’ve been organised by the Community Trust and a group of volunteers who give up their time to make them happen. These are some of the biggest things in our town calendar, and they matter to people.

We’re now hearing that those volunteers won’t work with the town council, and instead the council wants to run events through a new events committee. Apparently this committee will meet four times a year to plan and deliver everything.

I find that hard to believe. Events don’t come together in four meetings a year, they take time, effort and people who actually get stuck in.

This is also the same Council that hasn’t managed to reopen the Town Hall in the last three years. So it’s not unreasonable to worry that they’re setting themselves up to fail, and that we could end up with no proper community events this year at all. Committees don’t organise events, people do.

Yours faithfully,

Rhian Teasdale

Charlton Road, Midsomer Norton