The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A vital bus service linking South Holland with Norfolk has a secure future.
When Stagecoach in King’s Lynn announced it was closing, there were fears the 505 service to Spalding would go.
An online petition was started and MP John Hayes joined calls for the service to be saved.
The 505 links Spalding, Long Sutton and a number of villages to King’s Lynn.
It is used not only by commuters, but schoolchildren and college students.
But Stagecoach has now confirmed that it is to continue the service.
The number of buses will be reduced from three an hour to two when the new timetable comes into effect.
Stagecoach is also to retain the Long Sutton to Wisbech route 50.
A raft of other routes currently operated by the company in West Norfolk will be changing provider.
The popular Coasthopper service around North West Norfolk will be split between Lynx and Sanders Coaches.
Fears over the future of the 505 were sparked when Stagecoach announced it was reviewing all of its Norfolk services.
An online petition was launched by a Long Sutton businessman who said the service was a ‘lifeblood’ for the area.
Anthony Bowen, who runs the Three Counties Deli and coffee shop in Long Sutton, said the service was vital and started the petition last month when the news first broke.
Stagecoach East took over the routes from the former Norfolk Green franchise and was running 50 vehicles a day with a staff of 120 out of King’s Lynn.
But the company said the current economic climate made the Lynn depot unsustainable.
