Here’s a round-up of some of the backbench questions at this month’s full council meeting.
Bus services need more joined-up thinking
In a follow-up to previous questions asked in the council chamber on the future of bus services in the county, Cllr. Ian Williams (Ind, Oldcastle) asked what measures were being taken to protect existing bus routes and stave off further cuts to services.
In the written answer, he wasn’t given any assurances that bus routes could be protected, threatening footfall in Bridgend.
He went on to say that given that money has been, or will be, spent in Maesteg and Porthcawl on regeneration, what BCBC intended to do to improve Bridgend town centre’s daytime economy?
Cllr. Williams didn’t believe the proposed new Bridgend College campus was enough by itself and depedestrianisation should be on the agenda again.
In a follow-up, Cllr. Ross Penhale-Thomas (Ind, Maesteg West) said the withdrawal of an early morning Cymmer bus would cause serious issues for locals. There was a lack of joined-up thinking across the whole of Wales on public transport.
What discussions were taking place with the Welsh Government on a long-term bus service plan?
Depedestrianisation “not a silver bullet”; Cymmer bus “had only one passenger” on average
Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning & Regeneration, Cllr. Rhys Goode (Lab, Nantymoel), was pleased with developments in Maesteg and Porthcawl but more could always be done to support Bridgend. Many properties are privately owned which makes it more difficult to plan regeneration.
He thought depedestrianisation “wasn’t the silver bullet people think it would be”, though daytime access and improved “placemaking” would be looked at again with county councillors and Bridgend Town Council.
Cabinet Member for Climate Change & the Environment, Cllr. John Spanswick (Lab, Brackla West Central), repeated what was said in a previous meeting that all bus services in the county are subsidised to a degree and the council has no legal obligation to provide them.
The Welsh Government intends to bring in a bus franchising system which will partially re-regulate bus services (I’m looking at this in more detail over at State of Wales).
He then revealed a stark figure that the withdrawn Cymmer bus that Cllr. Penhale-Thomas mentioned had, on average, 0.9 passengers per journey. Yet the council was paying up to £80,000 a year to support it meaning “it was cheaper to run a taxi”.
