Fears over 'catastrophic' change to bus service

People in a Cornish village have said a decision to change where their local bus stops is a "catastrophe".

Buses will no longer stop by the harbour in Mousehole as part of major changes to routes around Cornwall following a decision by First Bus to pull all its services across the county.

Go Cornwall, who are providing a new service from Sunday, insisted it needed to put on a bigger bus to cater for extra passengers and make the route more profitable - but it was unsafe for them to use the village's narrow streets to access the harbour.

Opponents said it would mean older residents and people with mobility issues having to walk 350 yards uphill to get to where the bus would now stop.

Sylvia Pezzack, 83, who lives in Mousehole, said she had mobility issues and needed to catch the bus to go to the shops and attend appointments.

"The bus stop at the moment is ideal to me. I have got a permanent back problem. To go to the new bus stop is going to totally isolate me," she added.

"It's going to take me 10 minutes to get there and I live at [one] end of the village. Those at the other end, it's going to take them even longer."

Resident Gillian Noble, 70, said she had concerns local traders could be impacted by the changes.

"If you're coming [to Mousehole] to go on the beach, you're not going to carry your stuff all that way.

"Our businesses rely on tourists coming in that don't want to bring their cars because there's nowhere to park in Mousehole," she added.

More than 2,500 people have signed a petition opposing the changes, with hopes the decision could be reconsidered.

Bill Johnson, 69, who also lives in Mousehole, said: "It's going to be catastrophic for the village. Let's hope that common sense will prevail.

"It's going to be life-changing for so many people."

Richard Stevens, managing director of Go Cornwall, said the bus stop needed to be further out of the village as the service would use larger buses in future, which would be unsuitable for the village's narrow roads.

He said: "There's a safety element to it, but the main reason is the size of the vehicles that can operate in Mousehole limits the size of the bus that can operate on the whole route.

"If that route is going to pay for itself, it's got to have the capacity to service the whole route. It's no good if the bus leaving Mousehole is full up and people at Newlyn can't get on."

Cornwall Council said it did not subsidise the route and the decision was down to the operator.

Councillor Dan Rogerson, cabinet member for transport, said: "I really welcome the fact Go Cornwall see there is not just a need, but a commercial case.

"They have looked at the ways in which they can do that more efficiently. We want to make sure the routes will be there for the long term."

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