'Everyone is worried about it going': Residents anxious after Daventry to Long Buckby bus is cut

Stagecoach announced the ending of the D4 bus from January 6 as part of a shake-up to a number of its routes and timings which will come into effect in January.

There will be a peak hour service but Lindsay Barker, of Greenhill Road in Long Buckby, is worried that a reduced service will mean people will be forced to spend a day in Daventry waiting for a return bus.

The alternatives for off-peak bus users are to take taxis, which are more costly or take a bus to Northampton to catch another bus to Daventry - journeys that could take up to one hour each.

"I use the bus to get to medical appointments so it's going to be hard," said 38-year-old Ms Barker, who uses the daytime services two to three times a week.

"There's no Post Office here any more, we've got a few shops but people like to get out of the village.

"They don't want to be trapped, they want to go and see their friends."

The decision to cut the D4 service was made after Stagecoach carried out a major review of its network in September.

"Over this period detailed analysis has taken place to review passenger numbers on each route and ways of tackling services which are not commercially viable," a statement from Stagecoach reads.

The route was partly subsidised by Northamptonshire County Council using funding from the Monksmoor development.

However, that cash was withdrawn as part of the authority's budget cuts announced earlier this year.

The parish or district councils could fill the funding gap but if they don't, there will only be a peak hour service.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: "Using Section 106 funding from the Monksmoor development, the county council has been subsidising two extra return journeys in both the morning and evening peaks on the D4 service on Monday to Friday, which Stagecoach has been operating

“Stagecoach has decided to withdraw service D4 in its entirety.

“We will now be going out to tender to find an operator to continue to run the morning and evening peak journeys subsidised by the Monksmoor development.”

Another withdrawn route is the number 84 which serves West Haddon, Crick, Daventry, Weedon, Greens Norton and UTC Silverstone.

"Everyone is worried about it going," added Ms Barker.

"People go to Daventry most of the week - they're worried about how they are going to get there and back."

Other changes to Stagecoach services in Daventry District are as follows:

Service: D1 / D2Northampton - Daventry – DIRFT – Rugby – Central ParkTimetable revisedThe 16:00 Rugby High School to Daventry journey will run as route 63 between Rugby High School and Rugby town centre.The bus continues to Daventry as service D1 via Boundary Road / Eastlands and Hillmorton Deerings Road.The 22:10 service D1 from Rugby Gateway to Rugby Town Centre has been withdrawn and the 22:30 departure from Brownsover revised to start from Rugby Gateway at 22:20 to allow shift workers enough time to pass through security at the end of their shiftService: D3Daventry - Grange Estate - Steffan Hill Circular.Evening journeys retimedService: D4Daventry - Long Buckby.Route D4 is withdrawnNorthamptonshire County Council are reviewing their options on this tendered service.

Service: 86Future: Coventry - Binley Woods - Long Lawford - Rugby - Hillmorton - DIRFTService: 96Current: Coventry - Rugby - Hillmorton - DIRFT - West Haddon - Long Buckby - NorthamptonFuture: Rugby - Hillmorton - DIRFT - West Haddon - Long Buckby - NorthamptonService 86 will be reinstated and will run half hourly from Coventry to Rugby via Binley Woods, Wolston and Long Lawford with journeys continuing hourly to Hillmorton and DIRFT via Featherbed Lane and Watts LaneService 96 will become hourly between Rugby to NorthamptonRoute 86 and 96 will combine to provide a half hourly service between Rugby Town Centre and DIRFT III via Featherbed Lane and Watts LaneRoute 96 will no longer serve Long Buckby Railway stationOn Mondays to Fridays the 14:40 departure on service 96 from Northampton will be rerouted to run direct between Harlestone and West Haddon missing out East Haddon and Long Buckby and will run via Ashlawn School at 15:43 arriving Rugby Town Centre at 15:52

Service: 84West Haddon - Crick - Daventry - Weedon - Greens Norton - UTC SilverstoneService withdrawn

Service: 96Rugby - Hillmorton - DIRFT - West Haddon - Long Buckby - NorthamptonService 96 will become an hourly Rugby to Northampton only serviceBuses will no longer run to Long Buckby Rail Station Forecourt

Service: D3Northampton - Kislingbury - Weedon - Daventry - Grange EstateThe 06:45 Daventry - Grange Estate circular and 06:44 Nether Heyford to Northampton journeys are withdrawnThe 07:01 from Lower Weedon to Northampton retimed to depart 06:56 and operate up to five minutes earlier throughoutAn additional journey introduced from Daventry at 23:58 on Mondays to Saturdays to replace the 23:37 service D1 from Daventry to Northampton

Service: X7Milton Keynes - Roade - Northampton - Brixworth - Market Harborough - Kibworth - LeicesterOn Mondays to Saturdays service X7 will run hourly between Leicester - Market Harborough - Brixworth - Northampton - Milton Keynes. Additional journeys will run between Leicester and Market Harborough & between Brixworth and Northampton to provide two buses an hour on these sections of route during most of the day.The X6 and X7 combine to provide two buses an hour between Northampton, Grange Park and Milton Keynes.On a Sunday the current hourly service X7 will continue to run as now