Flintshire bus passengers to be asked for views on future network ahead of 2028 franchising
Flintshire bus passengers are being asked to have their say on the county’s future bus network, after councillors backed plans to take a draft route map to public consultation this summer.
Flintshire County Council’s scrutiny committee gave its support on Tuesday to a base network of 34 bus routes, which Transport for Wales will use as the starting point for a series of public engagement events across the county.
In-person sessions are planned in Holywell, Flint and Mold in September, with targeted events at community groups from August.
Councillor David Richardson asked that Connah’s Quay be included in the engagement programme, saying it was Flintshire’s biggest town, with Buckley the second biggest.
Helen Telford, Flintshire County Council’s integrated transport unit manager, told the committee the Deeside and Connah’s Quay area would be covered through a separate strand of engagement focused on Investment Zone funding enhancements, which will come to the committee in a separate report next month.
The base network broadly reflects the routes Flintshire currently operates, with one proposed change: the section of the f18 and f19 services between Prestatyn and Rhyl is proposed for withdrawal.
Ms Telford said data showed most passengers on those services travelling from the east alight at Prestatyn, and that four departures an hour between Rhyl and Prestatyn remain on other services.
The current operator has agreed the Prestatyn to Rhyl section of the f18 and f19 is no longer needed, she said.
At the meeting, councillors raised concerns about poor bus provision in rural and growing parts of the county.
Councillor Roy Wakelam, who represents Pen-y-ffordd, said his ward had grown by almost 25% and now had around 5,000 residents but a single bus route, the 29, with passengers unable to reach Mold before 10am or return after 4pm.
Councillor David Healey raised the need for better connections from communities including Pen-y-ffordd to Chester, and called for rural south Flintshire to benefit from the franchising programme.
Councillor Chris Bithell raised the issue of outdated and missing timetable information at bus stops across Flintshire, and asked whether shift patterns at the Deeside Enterprise Zone had been taken into account in planning service enhancements.
Ms Telford said a bus stop audit was under way and that plans for real-time information, including QR codes at stops, were in development.
Katie Wilby, Chief Officer for Streetscene and Transportation, told the committee Flintshire puts in just over £500,000 a year in bus subsidies, topped up by Welsh Government grants.
She said the council had no legal duty to provide that subsidy, and that cutting it could affect the funding Flintshire receives toward the franchised network in future.
“It is one of the budgets that is looked at each year,” she said.
The base network is one of three options under consideration.
An Investment Zone funding position would use money from the North Wales Investment Zone to improve on the base provision, while an aspirational position sets out a more ambitious network that would need additional funding to deliver.
The consultation covers only the base network, as that is what current funding can support.
Full bus franchising for North Wales is targeted for 2028, with South West Wales going first in 2027.
Approval of the base network for consultation purposes does not constitute approval of a final franchised network, the committee was told.
The online element of the consultation will use the Remix interactive mapping tool, which allows residents to view the proposed routes.
The map can be viewed at eu.remix.com.
Further decisions on the final network design, procurement and implementation will require additional Cabinet approval before franchising takes effect.
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
