BUS services in east Cheshire are set to come under scrutiny after borough chiefs recommended a review last week.

At a meeting on Tuesday, February 7, members of Cheshire East Council’s cabinet voted to recommend a review of the borough’s bus services to full council.

A survey on bus services was launched among passengers in January, and the council now intends to hold a public consultation for eight to 10 weeks from May.

The review would be the first held by CEC since GHA Coaches went bust last year, and the council hopes to implement any policies drawn up following the consultation at the start of the 2018-19 financial year.

Cllr David Brown, CEC cabinet member for highways, said: “It’s a long time since we settled down and did a bus service review.

“Looking at the support that we put into buses and highlighted by the fact that one of the bus suppliers went into receivership last summer, it’s time we take a proper look and re-evaluate what our bus services provide and the connectivity that we are going to get through that.

“It’s important with our demographic that we have enough connectivity to get people to the shops and get that social connection.”

At the meeting, Labour member Cllr Sam Corcoran and Middlewich First member Cllr Bernice Walmsley both asked the cabinet for any surveys to be extended from current bus passengers to include those who don’t use the services.

Cllr Brown agreed that the views of all residents would be required for the consultation, while Cllr Janet Clowes, CEC cabinet member for integration, emphasised the need to hear the views of rural residents.

“I was at a rural networks conference last autumn and one of the key things was transport solutions, and some of these were very innovative,” she said.

“Getting that information will help us find solutions, and I would not want to go through this process without acknowledging that there are ideas to help best meet the needs of rural communities.”