COUNCILLOR Tony Dean’s comments in the Knutsford Guardian suggests he is putting the Conservative Party policy of spending cuts and austerity before logic or the needs of the Knutsford residents.

He made two factually inaccurate claims.

The first one was that all services in Knutsford are subsided, yet weekday daytime services on the 300 route are operated commercially.

The second was bus routes get subsides because ‘no-one uses them’.

In some places (especially London) heavily-loaded bus services get subsided so that fares can be keep low enough to attract people to use public transport and reduce the amount of cars on the road.

The Knutsford to Macclesfield bus service is unacceptable.

It does not fulfil the needs of those who live in Chelford, Macclesfield or nearby villages and work normal office hours in Knutsford.

It also means those attending hospital appointments may have to wait up to two hours for a bus home after their appointment.

It also doesn’t allow those who work normal office hours to visit friends or relatives staying in the hospital during the hospital’s evening visiting hours.

There’s a bus leaving Leighton Hospital at 8.30pm for Middlewich, Holmes Chapel and Congleton and another leaving at 8.51pm for Nantwich, both of which are funded by Cheshire East council.

Yet the last bus from Macclesfield Hospital to Chelford and Knutsford leaves at 7.58pm.

Bus services in the former Macclesfield council area were lagging behind those in the former Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich council areas when Cheshire East council was formed.

Our councillors need to fight for our bus services to be brought up to the superior level in other parts of Cheshire East, not allow bus services to be cut back.

Jen D’ Angelo Knutsford