The bus companies and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive are currently out to consultation on a widespread set of changes to bus routes and times, which could come into effect from February.
The proposals are difficult to follow so we have attempted to summarise what is proposed for our area below, based on what has been shared with councillors.
| Service | Operator | Route description | Summary of change | Reason for change |
| 10, 10a | First | Rotherham – Maltby – Doncaster | Revised to run between Doncaster and Maltby; in Maltby buses will run through to Rotherham, Meadowhall and Sheffield as service X10 (see below). Note that Markfield Drive (Sunnyside) will not be served by the 10/10a/X10. Service 4 and 113 will serve Markfield Drive. Additional journeys to Rotherham Hospital are provided at peak times on the 110. | Improved X1/X10 service up to every 7/8 minutes providing better access to employment and education with connections (same bus) to service 10/10a. |
| 13 | First | Rotherham – Bramley | This service will no longer run and is replaced by new service 113 (see below). | Service replaced by service 113 and providing a Ravenfield to Wickersley link at the request of ward councillors and MP. |
| 110 | First | Maltby – Rotherham Hospital – Rotherham | Early morning journeys replacing services 10/10a between Maltby and Rotherham | To provide early morning journeys to Rotherham Hospital for workers. |
| 113 | First | Rotherham – Wickersley – Ravenfield Common | New service on Mondays to Saturdays running every hour (every 30 minutes at certain times) serving Broom Valley, Rotherham General Hospital, Wickersley, Flanderwell, Woodlaithes and Ravenfield Common | Service replacing service 13 and providing a Ravenfield to Wickersley link at the request of ward councillors and MP. Also replaces service 34 in Broom Valley. |
| X1 | First | Sheffield – Meadowhall – Rotherham – Maltby SteelLink | Changes to the times; during the daytime on Mondays to Fridays buses will run every 15 minutes and be coordinated with the new X10 to provide a bus every 7/8 minutes; see also changes to service X10 (below) | Improved X1/X10 service up to every 7/8 minutes providing better access to employment and education with connections (same bus) to service 10/10a. |
| X3 | First | Sheffield – Meadowhall – Woodlaithes | This service will no longer run and will be replaced by buses on service X10 (see below) which will serve Woodlaithes at commuter times on Mondays to Fridays. | Revised service on the new X10. |
| X10 | First | Sheffield – Meadowhall – Rotherham – Maltby SteelLink | Additional buses introduced during the daytime on Mondays to Saturdays. In Herringthorpe buses will run along Badsley Moor Lane and Moor Lane South [note: we think they mean Middle Lane South] partly replacing service 114 (see above). In Flanderwell buses will run directly along Fleming Way; Markfield Drive will be served by service 4 and new service 113 (see above). Buses will serve Woodlaithes at commuter times on Mondays to Fridays, partly replacing service X3 (see above). See also changes to service X1 (above). | Improved X1/X10 service up to every 7/8 minutes providing better access to employment and education with connections (same bus) to service 10/10a. |
The good news would seem to be that there is a proposal for a much more regular link between Wickersley and Ravenfield Common (perhaps once an hour), which was much reduced when First ceased operating the number 4 service some time ago.
Overall, there would be more buses to Meadowhall – including a regular (every fifteen minutes) service along Fleming Way and Flanderwell Lane. Users in Flanderwell and Sunnyside should see more buses overall. Connectivity through to Doncaster is rather unclear from the information available – it would appear that buses will change route into the number 10 at Maltby at some times, although what that means for people buying individual fares is also unclear. Whether such a long route all the way from Sheffield / Meadowhall to Doncaster would prove reliable, or suffer the same punctuality problems as the X1 sometimes does may give pause for thought.
There are proposed to be fewer X1 services (four an hour rather than six or seven). The proposals argue that this is more an compensated for by the new X10 – to some extent inevitably it depends where you live as to whether this seems a benefit or not – but it’s also worth noting that the X10 will take longer if it does divert off Wickersley Road and along Middle Lane South and Badsley Moor Lane.
It has been indicated that only half of the new X1/X10 services will run all the way through to Sheffield from Meadowhall.
The number of buses from our area to the hospital is proposed to be halved – down from two an hour at the moment during the day to just one an hour, which is a concern to us.
The proposals are open to public consultation until Sunday 9th December and we would encourage you to submit any views directly by clicking here. We will be looking to make our own submission, so if you do have views or are making comments please do let us know.
Nov 18
8
Marking Remembrance Sunday
As Britain marks the centenary of the ending of the First World War, we are supporting the ‘There But Not There‘ campaign. The campaign honours the hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers – the ‘Tommies’ – who died during the conflict.
Using our ward budget and working with Wickersley Parish we have purchased 28 of the ‘Tommy’ silhouettes which have been placed in schools, shops and other locations across our area. They represent the 28 local men who died during the First World War whose names are inscribed on Wickersley war memorial. Cllr Sue Ellis is pictured above with one of the Tommies.
You can find details of the men over on our council neighbourhoods blog.
Rotherham Council has also placed two of the large Tommies outside the town hall.
St Albans Church will lead a special service at the War memorial on Morthen Road on Sunday at 12 noon.
Cllr Chris Read, as Leader of the Council, and John Healey MP will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in Clifton Park at 11am on Sunday (click here for details of the parade and church service).
OK, OK, there’s no need to panic just yet. But as the dark nights draw in and the days get chillier it’s time to start planning for proper winter weather.
Did you know that anyone can register as a snow warden, and volunteer to help keep pavements in their area cleared if and when it snows? The council will provide a snow shovel, hi-vis jacket, gloves, bags of grit – and training – to anyone who is able to commit to doing their bit. It may be that you can help with elderly neighbours, or keeping bus stop clear, or just do the space outside your house.
Cllr Emma Hoddinott, said: “We’d love to hear from anyone who wants to join our growing number of Love Where You Live volunteers and become a snow warden. You can apply online now and the council provide all the equipment and information you need.”
To find out more or register now, click here.
The council is in the process of setting out its budget plans for the next two years.
By 2021, Tory cuts will mean that the council has had to reduce its spending by more than £200 million a year. More than 2,000 jobs will have been lost, with Rotherham amongst the hardest hit parts of the country. The cuts come as demand for social care continues to rise.
Worse, the government still doesn’t know how councils will be funded after 2020.
Effectively losing half of its budget inevitably forces councillors to make difficult decisions about how services are provided.
If you would like to find out more about how RMBC is dealing with the budget challenge, Cllr Chris Read is leading a number of informal drop in events – one of which will take place at Wickersley Library between 4pm and 6pm on Monday 12th November.
You can also find more information about the proposals under consideration and give your feedback to the council’s consultation by going to rotherham.gov.uk/budget.
HS2 Ltd have published more information about the likely impact of the development on our area in the form of a Draft Environmental Statement.
You can find the full 226 page document as a PDF (6 MB) by clicking here and supporting 88 page “map book” (59MB PDF) by clicking here.
In the document, HS2 continue to assert that there will be only a small number of property demolitions required in our area – they say two commercial properties and five other buildings between Bramley and Ulley. The report also sets out in more detail some of the things previously reported, including changes to numerous footpaths in the Wickersley / Bramley area, alterations to the far end of Morthern Road and the extension of the M18 roundabout to make space for the railway.
It reports requirements for significant amounts of work to take place to provide embankment and “cutting” to put the line on a more level surface, as well as “accoustic screening” to reduce the noise impact on the area.
Large “satellite compounds” are planned for building works, perhaps most notably on the fields between Bramley Grange and the M18, but also (outside our ward) off Slacks Lane, and towards the far end of Morthern Road. A significant area of land between the M18 and Hellaby Industrial Estate is planned to be a “temporary material stockpile”.
And for the first time, HS2 have provided details of how long and when they think the works will take place; in Bramley this covers nearly five years between the last quarter of 2024 and the end of 2029.
There is the oportunity to ask questions and put points to HS2 at Hellaby Hall on Tuesday 30th October any time between 2pm and 8pm (click here for info about this on the HS2 website).
We continue to oppose the proposed route, which will clearly have a substantial adverse impact on our area without bringing any of the economic and transport benefits that other areas will enjoy.
UPDATE: You can comment on the draft documents as part of the consultation online by going to https://ipsos.uk/environment2bp. We also have a small number of hard copies of the consultation documents available.