COUNCILLORS say they are “horrified” by the impending withdrawal of bus services which is set to leave some of the Forest’s most isolated communities cut off this winter.

Stagecoach West has announced that six Forest bus services will be withdrawn from November 20, prompting an outcry of concern about the impact on jobs, education and vulnerable people across the district.

Gloucestershire County Council, which subsidies the services, says it is “dismayed” by the cuts and has reported Stagecoach to the Traffic Commissioner for “poor service”.

The company has served notice to withdraw the 25 Mitcheldean, Cinderford and Coleford service, the 710 in Cinderford town, the 748 Westbury to Blaisdon, the 755 in Lydney town and the 761 Beachley, Sedbury and Chepstow service.

The notice says some sections of the 25 route will be replaced by a new 24 service which will no longer connect the Forest with Chepstow, running instead between Gloucester, Cinderford and Coleford.

Stagecoach says it is making the cuts - with more to follow a week later in Gloucester and Cheltenham - to “minimise the impact” of both the pandemic and a national drivers’ shortage on other services in the county.

But councillors say the cuts to rural routes are disproportionate in comparison to those in urban areas, and accuse the company of disregarding the needs of its most vulnerable customers.

County council cabinet member for transport Phillip Robinson - whose Mitcheldean ward is one of the affected areas - said that while reinstating lost routes with different providers is now a priority for the council, finding alternatives in a difficult market will be “far from easy”.

He said: “I am hugely disappointed that Stagecoach have placed commercial interests over the needs of many of their customers in rural communities.

“We have attempted to work with the company for a long time to try and ensure that this did not happen, but the day we feared has sadly come.

“Reinstating the cancelled routes with new providers is a priority for us but this is a very challenging and difficult market and while we will make every effort to find alternatives this will be a far from easy path.

“We have also taken the very serious decision to report Stagecoach to the Traffic Commissioner. We will provide regular updates to residents on our progress.”

Leader of Forest of Dean District Council Tim Gwilliam expressed “dismay” and “horror” upon hearing the news last week.

He said the authority would be asking “serious questions” of the county council about how it plans to respond.

“The effects of this on residents in the Forest of Dean will be nothing short of catastrophic”, Cllr Gwilliam said.

“This will impact anyone who uses these services, be that for getting to work, education or medical appointments.

“It seems that yet again rural areas are taking a disproportionate hit compared to urban areas.

“Impacts for our area and residents are much greater than in an urban area, where alternative transport options may be available.

“Because of the devastating impacts on our residents, we will be writing to the County Council who hold responsibility for transport to ask some serious questions about what they are going to do about the situation.

“We want to know what they are going to do to mitigate the impacts of these cuts.

“In particular we will be asking them to investigate the potential for local operators to step in and take over routes as they once did.

“Furthermore, why the ‘demand responsive’ bus service options trial for the Forest has been delayed and specifically why these cuts come now ahead of that initiative that could have produced an alternative model for public transport services.”

District councillor for Tidenham Nick Evans says Stagecoach has chosen to “abandon” his community by cutting services linking his ward with local towns.

He said: “It’s disgusting that despite offers of help and discussion to avert this crisis, Stagecoach have not come to the table and ploughed on with their decision to cut off my community.

“Even after receiving considerable subsidies from taxpayers over recent years, Stagecoach have decided to abandon people who rely on these services which seem to disproportionately effect the South of the Forest. 

“l’ve already been in touch with Gloucestershire County Council to see what can be done to reconnect Sedbury, Tutshill, Beachley and Woolaston with our towns, including speaking to Welsh operators.

“They have reassured me that this is being considered as part of an urgent engagement process that will conclude in early November.”

County councillor for Cinderford Graham Morgan said cuts to town services in Cinderford and Lydney will impact some of the most isolated residents.

“They just don’t think about people”, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“It’s bloody disgusting. They’ve hit the most vulnerable in society. Cinderford is on a hillside, anyone who has a job to walk is going to be isolated.

“The whole thing has been a total disgrace since they deregulated it years ago under Thatcher.”

And county chairman Alan Preest, who is also a district and Lydney town councillor, described the situation as “a mess”.

He said: “It was always going to happen. Stagecoach have been bullyboys over the years.

“They pushed out the local operators and there we are in a mess now.

“We have got to take our hats off to organisations like Dial-A-Ride in Lydney who are trying their best to make up for this.”

But managing director of Stagecoach West Rachel Geliamassi hit back at councillors last week, saying the council could have put the routes out for tender in August but has “dragged its feet”.

A GCC spokesperson refuted that claim as “factually incorrect”, saying they cannot be retendered before current contracts are terminated.

Ms Geliamassi said: “We are very disappointed that Gloucestershire County Council has effectively tried to wash its hands of its share of responsibility for delivering public transport to local communities in the region.

“We have tried to engage with the local authority for months to work in partnership to make the best of a very difficult set of challenges largely outside our control.

“We have been open and honest with council officers and elected representatives about the scale of the problem and have given them as much notice as possible to allow them to consider solutions.”