Residents living along a well-used and busy road connecting Midsomer Norton with Radstock, Peasedown St John and Bath have called for a permanent bus service.
Radstock Road, which sits on the A362, is one of the busiest commuter routes around the district with thousands of vehicles travelling along it each day.
The route does see infrequent use by the 414/424 service connecting Frome with Midsomer Norton, which is operated by FromeBus, but nothing else.
Residents across the town recently shared their views on public transport in a survey carried out by Community Connectors – an organisation that is working with a range of partners to find out what local people think about services, and to empower them to make a difference in their own community.
Project Manager Nathan Hartley said: “There are bus stops positioned along the Radstock Road part of the A362, but few buses in sight.”
Our Community Connectors initiative is all about listening to local people, understanding what their priorities are for the area in which they live, and giving them the tools and resources to bring about change.”
Nathan has written to B&NES Council’s Transport Department and WECA, the West of England Combined Authority, to ask about the possibility of reinstalling a bus service along this route.
Volunteers from Community Connectors are currently delivering a petition to the 400 homes along Radstock Road, and neighbouring sideroads. Each household is being given a petition slip, with details of how of it can be returned.
“We also want to give people a voice! Too often we’re told that the views of local people don’t matter, well here in Midsomer Norton they certainly do!” said Nathan.
In March, almost 3,000 households in Midsomer Norton received their first newsletter from Nathan Hartley and his team, asking for their thoughts and feedback on a range of local issues. Over the next 12 months – more door-to-door surveys, pop-up events and street surgeries will be held. All of which are designed to listen to and collate the views of people living in the town.
For more information, and to get involved with Midsomer Norton’s new community engagement project, email: nathanhartley@midsomernorton.org.uk
Residents can also be kept updated about the campaign to introduce a regular bus service along Radstock Road by getting in touch and requesting to be added to the mailing list.
