We started 2024 with a discussion with the Ageing Well Partnership on the implications of the latest iteration of the borough council’s Local Plan, with specific reference to the transport proposals included in that plan (Section 10). At that time 7900 new homes were proposed to be built in the borough over the next 5 years and we were concerned about a whole range of issues around infrastructure generally, highway infrastructure, proposals for bus and train services and other issues to service a rapidly growing population (now at around 176,000). The recently elected new government has now directed the borough council that a significant increase is to be made to the number of houses to be included with yet more implications for that infrastructure. We now expect the next – and final – version of the plan to be put forward in March 2025 and that will be a significant volume of work for the group if we are to review and comment fully on it in preparation for the statutory public inquiry.
We began 2023 with discussing the then new bus services introduced by the borough council. These were subsequently expanded with more routes during 2023, all operated on behalf of the council by Chaserider / Select Bus, except one new service again directly funded by the borough council, but this time operated by Arriva, as it replaced a number of other services previously operated by that company. 2024 has seen continuing discussions about these and particularly the 101 service constantly being obstructed by parked cars and thus prevented from serving Arleston.
Turning to the Arriva bus network, Arriva introduced substantial changes to their timetables both in April and again in September to cater both for the new school term and to try to improve timekeeping generally. Despite these changes they have told us that they still do continue to struggle at times to maintain the service frequencies on some routes due to the number of roadworks, temporary traffic lights and road closures with route diversions in the borough. In Stafford the 5/5A bus service was rerouted to a new terminus to help with this.
We have also looked at whether the service operator or the borough council are responsible for informing passengers when road works and closures require buses to be diverted from their normal routes, and sought to get more timetables at bus stops but with only very limited success.
As for the trains, these seemed to be a never ending daily disaster throughout 2024 as for 2023, with trains arriving so full that it was physically impossible to get on them, a situation reported to extend to connections beyond Shrewsbury on TfW towards both South Wales and Manchester. TfW also had problems with vehicle maintenance and a number having to be withdrawn for repair. There was also a significant land slip near Oakengates leading to a temporary sesation of services and then the accident between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth leading to services terminating in Wolverhampton because of a shortage of vehicles. The Transport for Wales services are run directly by the devolved Welsh government and we have no electoral voice with them of course. West Midlands Railway are run under a franchise agreement with the English Government.
We also learned that while many of the new trains coming into service through out the country are shorter by one or two or more carriages they are nevertheless purported by the operators to have more passenger capacity but this is because there is more standing room and not more seating!
It has been our practice to object on our member’s behalf to any borough council proposals for speed humps in roads, but I am afraid that for this year I have not been able to keep up with the legal notices as published in order to do this, because the official automatic notification of highway and planning proposals by the borough council to my inbox has ceased working and I have not been able to get this rectified. As a result a number of schemes will have gone ahead without our input.
We have also discussed the issues surrounding new Electric Vehicles and both the public and private charging facilities for these as part of the infrastructure for the Borough. This is something to be raised in comments on the borough council’s Local Structure Plan Review when produced.
There was for a time also an issue in part of the borough with noxious smells arising from the Red Hill landfill site which we did discuss with the local parish council and which was duly taken up and dealt with by the Environment Agency.
During the course of the year we recruited 2 new members to our group but sadly we have also lost 3 longstanding valuable members due to ill health. Also our long standing and able secretary is leaving the group after our next meeting. If we are to continue effectively, particularly with commenting on the forthcoming Local Plan review we need more volunteer members urgently.
Ken Buttress, Chairman, Environment and Transport Action Group.