An important service , and in some cases a lifeline will be cut in the Brazley and Old Lords Estates of Horwich . The 518 Bus Service operated by Diamond is being scrapped at the end of October . The bus currently travels through the estates and is being replaced by an off peak service which does not travel along the same route leaving some people isolated and unable to reach their place of work , school or doctors appointments , there is not even a connection to Middlebrook ! Members of Brazley Residents Association have been fighting hard to save the 518 Bus but sadly to no avail … The only alternative residents are being given at the moment is a mini bus service run by a local taxi company , but this doesn ' t help the elderly who cannot use their statutory bus passes … It really is a tragedy when we have a wonderful new Leisure Centre and Health facility being built in Horwich and the most vulnerable members of our community are unable to get to them . Local resident and Horwich Councillor Kath Schofield explained the dilemma for the residents . “ After the collapse of Maytree Buses the residents of Brazley and Old Lords Estates have complained about the current 518 Bus Service via Middlebrook to Leigh and we were disappointed that none of the buses went to Bolton town centre and at a recent Brazley Residents Association meeting it was announced that Diamond who currently serve the area would be withdrawing their service at the end of October .” The news about the scrapping of the Bus was obviously a shock and angered many residents Some felt so strongly that they contacted Chris Green MP for Bolton West who met with them to hear how they will be affected by the changes proposed by the bus operator running the 518 services . Chris Green MP said , “ This route is essential for many people , particularly the elderly , who rely on it every day to get to shops and doctors or to see family and friends . I ' m urging the operator to look at this again , removing this service , especially on the run up to winter , will have a huge impact on so many people around Bolton West and Atherton .” Living inBL are backing the fight to ' Save our Bus ' and have investigated the reasons behind the loss of this service . We contacted the service provider Diamond and after a number of calls we spoke with an Operations Manager , who did not

wish to be named , he explained - ' it all comes down to business the service is no longer viable , it costs £ 90,000 per year to operate the bus service and we only get a £ 40,000 subsidy from Transport for Greater Manchester ( TfGM ) that leaves a shortfall of £ 50,000 .' With that we contacted TfGM to ask if there was anything they could do to stop the scrapping of the 518 Bus . Mr Nick Roberts , Head of Services and Commercial Development at TfGM explained , “ Transport for Greater Manchester previously paid a subsidy for the 518 to serve estates in Horwich and the decision by Diamond to withdraw the 518 ' s Monday to Friday daytime service has meant that we have had to provide an alternative weekday off-peak service . The new 577 to Bolton will now serve most of the areas the 518 did to try and ensure areas are not left without a bus service . While the Monday to Friday daytime 518 will be withdrawn from 31st October , the 517 service will continue to operate between Leigh and Middlebrook . Services which are currently subsidised by TfGM will remain unchanged , including the Saturday 517 and 518 and the early morning , evening and Sunday 516 services . We understand the concerns of passengers who regularly used these services and TfGM are currently looking into options to enable travel through to Middlebrook Retail Park . TfGM will continue to use its limited budget to subsidise services that bus operators will not provide , however , in the current economic climate it ' s increasingly challenging to provide all the links that people need .” We decided to try Diamond again to check if there had been any developments and we spoke with Mr John Asquith , Regional Operations Manager , who was very sympathetic and helpful , he told us , “ The section of route on service 518 between Horwich and Middlebrook is currently provided with financial assistance from TfGM . Provision of bus services in Horwich by the major groups is very competitive along the main roads to Bolton . There are 18 journeys per hour , with adult fares as low as £ 1.50 return or discounted period returns . This makes it very difficult for smaller companies like Diamond to compete . Having analysed the passenger and revenue data Diamond believe it can no longer continue with the current ' subsidy '

arrangement , and therefore gave notice to TfGM that when the current Monday to Friday contract expires on Friday 28th October it would only be operating the ' commercial ' ( without subsidy ) part of the service 518 route and would operate all journeys as 517 between Leigh and Middlebrook . The current morning and afternoon school journeys to and from Rivington & Blackrod High School will continue to be provided on a commercial basis . Two alternatives open to TfGM were to persuade either Arriva or First Group to divert a service 575 journey ( s ) via Brazley Estate and Victoria Road or seek an ' affordable ' subsidised solution . The latter was achieved and Service 577 will provide five off-peak journeys per day to ensure those with mobility issues can continue to use their ' local ' bus service . It is noted that the current Saturday TfGM contracted arrangement will remain in their current format until cessation on 29th January 2017 . Therefore , service 518 between Middlebrook and Horwich via Brazley will continue to operate on a Saturday which may cause some confusion to customers . Equally , service 517 will continue to operate to Horwich and Blackrod on Saturdays . TfGM contracted Service 516 journeys early morning and evening remain unchanged . Sadly we can ' t report on a complete ' U-Turn ' but it does seem that the Bus Services are listening to everyone and if we all get on board we can hopefully ' Save our Bus ’

Since the end of the Rio Olympics everyone in Bolton has been waiting for the homecoming of our golden hero Jason Kenny and he will be giving the us a festive treat when he switches on Bolton ' s Christmas lights on 17th November . The local lad who won three gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio is the latest addition to a long line of celebrities who have switched on the Christmas lights in Victoria Square . His return to Bolton for the switch-on will also be the first chance for everyone and to show their pride in the six times gold medal winner and congratulate him on his achievements .

Jason , who was born in Farnworth and attended Mount St Joseph ' s school , now holds six Olympic gold medals , the most ever for a British Olympian , and equalling his mentor Sir Chris Hoy . Jason will be joined by Laura Trott his fellow Olympian and the most decorated female British Olympian who he recently married and his mum and dad for the lights switch on . The Christmas lights switch on will start at 5pm on Thursday 17th November with Jason counting down to the big switch-on at 7pm . The Leader of Bolton Council , Councillor Cliff Morris , said , " We ' re really pleased to be able to welcome Jason , Laura and Jason ' s mum and dad to Bolton ' s Christmas Lights switch-on and are thrilled that he has agreed to flick the switch for us this year . Jason is a local lad who has really put Bolton on the map and we ' re all incredibly proud of what he has achieved . We can ' t wait to congratulate him on his success . Starting with the lights switch-on , we will have something for all the family in the run up to Christmas , including plenty of festive entertainment and attractions in the town centre .” For more information on the build-up and action at Bolton ' s Christmas light switch-on , follow the Bolton Council on Twitter @ Boltoncouncil and get involved using # BoltonXmasLights www . visitbolton . com / winterfestival

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