Westfield

Bus cuts: Sarah Owen, the Labour candidate for MP in Hastings and Rye, and ESCC Councillor John Hodges were the speakers at today’s public meeting to discuss proposals that ESCC should make major cuts to the county’s subsidised bus services - 60% of which are in rural East Sussex. They stressed that a bus service is a service to the community, and undertook to do everything in their power to fight the proposed reductions. For Westfield, the following is proposed; Buses 340 and 341 - currently hourly to be cut to every two hours off-peak. Bus 342 - will see one journey a day cut. The Dial-A-Ride service will be cut from five days to two days. To make your views known please contact Sarah Owen; you can find out details about a petition against the changes at www.sarahowen.org.uk/BusCuts. You can also type Don’t Stop Our Bus into Facebook. You can contact Cllr John Hodges at [email protected]. Please complete the ESCC consultation to make your views known. Did you know that as well as cuts, fare increases of 30% could be introduced? Please also make your views known to MP Amber Rudd at Creative Media Centre, 45 Robertson Street, Hastings TN34 1HL or tel. 01424 205435.

Bus Shelter: The long awaited bus shelter has now been erected opposite the shop. We may need it more than ever; have you made your views known about the proposed cuts to our bus service? The ESCC consultation is at https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/economy-transport-environment/organisationsbuschanges . If you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ the campaign page ‘Don’t Stop Our Bus’. There are also copies of the petition ‘Don’t Stop Our Bus’ around the village.

Blood Unit: The Mobile Blood Unit made its last visit to Westfield on August 6. The service to villages is being withdrawn, and in future donors will need to go to the Hastings Centre or Battle.