Gordon has been leading a campaign to keep the service running in support of local residents particularly the elderly and students many of whom are totally reliant on the service and who make up 74.7% of users.

In June the commercial bus service 9/9a was deregistered leaving Cookley and Caunsall passengers with the threat of losing a vital transport link to Kidderminster.

“Since my intervention in seeking an interim scheme I have been arguing strongly for the service to be continued in the longer term.
The current interim service is being monitored by County officers and results so far cannot be ignored”, says Gordon.

In consultation with Cookley and Caunsall residents Gordon attended meetings with Worcestershire County Council officers and the cabinet member responsible for highways and transport in October.

“I am delighted to report that the County Council has agreed to run the service until January 2018 and has informed me that it will continue to monitor the service.

The 9/9a service will be included in the Wyre Forest retendering process planned for October 2017.

This will allow the County Council to open a dialogue with a number of operators, which hopefully may lead to a sustainable service beginning in January 2018.

However, I must stress that County officials have not promised to continue the service beyond the beginning of 2018.

So, I will continue to keep campaigning until we get a cast iron guarantee for a permanent Cookley, Caunsall Kidderminster bus service. I will keep local residents posted on developments”, says Gordon.