ONE woman’s campaign to reinstate a vital transport link in a quiet Radnorshire village is gradually making some noise since she started it a couple of months ago.

Helen Skipworth said previously that the lack of a bus service in Whitton, linking the village to nearby Knighton and Presteigne, is slowly “killing” the rural Radnorshire community. Whitton lost its bus service six years ago following Powys County Council cuts. The termination of the T58/T41/T59 services around Knighton, Llangunllo and Felindre in October 2015 coincided with the closure of Whitton Primary School two months later in December.

Since then, Helen says, Whitton has been transformed into a “ghost town” – with younger families either leaving the village or deterred from moving to it, which has in turn left an increasingly elderly population more vulnerable, exacerbated by the isolation brought on by Covid-19.

Helen started a petition, which has gained close to 100 signatures. More importantly, she was backed by her local MP, Brecon and Radnorshire representative Fay Jones, as well as Conservative colleague James Evans, the area’s Member of the Senedd, and her county councillor. The National Federation of Women’s Institutes is also supporting the petition, while Helen gained more traction when members from the local authority’s transport department came out for a site visit earlier this month.

County Times: MS James Evans signs the petition in December MS James Evans signs the petition in December

“Thanks to the support and publicity we’ve had so far, I feel we are getting interest in solving the problem of transport to Presteigne and Knighton from Whitton,” said Helen.

The 74-year-old sadly lost her husband in 2020, while she lives with Parkinson's disease. She is not always well enough to manage driving and often relies on the kindness of her neighbours. The issues of the last few years worry her and many others among the older generation, leaving them feeling cut off from society. She says the disappearance of public transport has left some residents living alone with no form of transport.

“I appreciate the local commitment of the 96 people who signed our petition for a rural bus service in Whitton. The petition was presented to John Forsey, representing Powys County Council’s transport department, on Wednesday, January 6.

“We had a site meeting near the original bus stop, along with our county councillor Hywel Lewis.

“John Forsey assured us that he is considering innovative ways to enable locals to access transport to Knighton and Presteigne in the future.

“Accessible public transport can be a lifeline for people of all ages and is a priority issue.

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“In December, our Senedd Member James Evans came to Whitton to add his signature to the petition. James will be pressing for more support from Powys County Council as well as the Welsh Government.”

Despite the loss of the Knighton service six years ago, the Welsh Government has more recently committed to investing in public transport across the country as it looks to fight the effects of climate change.

In March last year it introduced its ‘Llwybr Newydd – New Path’ project, a strategy that commits to reducing transport emissions. It included more than £115 million being allocated to local authorities in Wales to spend on transport projects.

“The Welsh Labour government's active travel plan and their Wales Strategy 2021 all talk about the need for more of us to travel by public transport to reduce our carbon footprint,” added Helen.

“However, we are not seeing that translated into reality here in Mid Wales. The Welsh Government need to provide the funding for the local authority to turn this into reality.

County Times: Helen Skipworth with her petition Helen Skipworth with her petition

“According to Juie Morgan, the minister for social services, the Welsh Government is committed to providing an integrated public transport network that is safe, reliable punctual and accessible, and that meets the needs of the travelling public.”

A spokesperson for Powys County Council previously said that it undertook a full public consultation in 2015 regarding reconfiguring publicly supported bus routes within the county. The aim was to make a £500,000 saving on the £5 million annual running costs of the service.

At the time it was reported that the Knighton route was used by 3,156 passengers and was run at a cost of £53,472 per year.

Other services axed included the T57 in and around the Elan Valley into Llandrindod Wells; the 45/45B/46/46B services supplying Rhayader, Llandrindod and Builth; the T75/T81/T83/T84 service around Llanidloes and Bwlch y Ffridd and Aberbechan, Cedewain and Llandyssil; the 80 service between Trecastle and Llandovery and the 84 service (Monday to Friday) between Llanfair Caereinion and Newtown.