Newcastle residents concerned bus route cuts will leave them isolated
Pressure is mounting for a U-turn on the highly contentious axeing of a bus route to a Newcastle housing estate.
Pressure is mounting for a U-turn on the highly contentious axeing of a bus route to a Newcastle housing estate.
From September 1, Go North East’s Q3 service will no longer serve most of the Newcastle Great Park – a move that has sparked a furious backlash from locals who fear they will be left cut off as a result.
More than 600 people have now signed a petition begging for a regular bus service to be restored that will connect the Great Park areas west of the A1 to Gosforth.
While new Stagecoach services will run to the estate instead, residents and local businesses have warned that the proposed 49 bus will be far less frequent and has now late evening or Sunday services at all.
The estate’s bus services are funded through section 106 funding payments made by developers and commissioned by the estate’s Transport Advisory Board, made up of representatives of the Newcastle Great Park Consortium, the city council, and Nexus, which claims to have “listened and responded to the needs of residents” with the switch to Stagecoach.
But, speaking at a consultation event about the shake-up of bus services last week, Great Park resident Margaret Collins said she worried about losing access to GP surgeries, restaurants, and other vital amenities in Gosforth.
The 77-year-old added that she was now faced with a choice between reluctantly using her car, staying at home, or moving house.
She said: “If Newcastle City Council is serious about cutting congestion and air pollution they need to demonstrate it.
“I moved here eight years ago and there was a bus into town every 15 minutes, all the way down to the Quayside. You didn’t need to know the timetable, you just set off.”
While the Q3 runs four times an hour, the 49 will be an hourly service for most of the day outside of school run times. It has no Sunday or late night buses and will only carry Great Park residents as far as Regent Centre at mid-afternoon on weekdays.
Lyn George, aged 78, predicted that Great Park residents would also be reluctant to use Stagecoach’s extended X47 bus through Kingston Park and criticised previous changes to the Q3 that saw it diverted through Jesmond, rather than going directly from Gosforth High Street into the city centre.
He added: “People won’t get the bus to Kingston Park. The reason people go there is for the big Tesco and they won’t be taking a full weekly shop on the bus.
“The changed the Q3 route after Covid to take it through Jesmond and that was the death knell for it. When I get it now, I get off at Regent Centre to change to a direct bus into the city centre. All we are asking for is for it to go back to the old route.”
Residents fighting against the bus route changes were forced to stand in pouring rain as they collected petitions on last week, after being asked to leave the Great Park Community Centre during the consultation event – where Stagecoach and Nexus officials were present, alongside local councillors.
One campaigner, who asked not to be named, complained that many people on the Great Park remain unaware of the changes and accused Newcastle City Council and the Great Park Consortium of presiding over an ongoing shortage of amenities on the estate – a long-running complaint of residents.
They said: “The least they should be doing, with the amount of money that they are taking off us in council tax and the estate service charge, is giving people here the bus service that we want and need.”
Another neighbour added: “People have moved to this estate expecting it to be an evolving community with evolving services. It took 18 years to get a Morrisons and now they are taking away the bus service to it.”
Extra morning and evening services on the new 49 have been added to its proposed timetable in response to local concerns, but worries remain about how staff will get to and from the Great Park’s Morrisons, pharmacy, and care home.
Pharmacy owner Jutinder Kaur warned: “There is no GP surgery on the Great Park and unless they get us one then people are really going to struggle for access to healthcare. It is hard for us to get staff in the first place let alone with the pressure of not having a bus route.
“If we have a reduced workforce then when we come into cold and flu season we will get really pressured and the demand will force us to work evenings and weekends, which is not sustainable for us. Ultimately it will be the vulnerable and the elderly who are massively affected by this.”
Local councillors have pleaded for a reversal of the bus shake-up too.
Liberal Democrat Thom Campion said that the existing plan to replace the Q3 “isn’t good enough”.
He added: “Great Park is a huge development where people are encouraged to take the healthy option, yet these changes will force people off of the bus and into their cars.
“The solution is simple, it’s what people have been asking for for years, a direct bus into the city centre via Gosforth. You would only need to spend ten minutes talking to residents to find out this is what they want.”
Labour’s Andrew Herridge called it a “very disappointing” move that would hurt both residents and Gosforth businesses.
He added: “We need a more frequent service to Gosforth High Street and one that runs later into the evening and on Sundays as well.”
A spokesperson for the Newcastle Great Park Transport Advisory Board said: “We have listened and responded to the needs of residents. As a result, they will soon be able to access two new bus services between Newcastle Great Park and Newcastle City Centre.
“The launch of these two bus routes will increase the overall frequency of services across the entirety of Newcastle Great Park. Upon completion of the central highway link in Cell A (Brunton Rise / The Maples), further areas of the development will be able to benefit from a bus service for the first time.”
Stagecoach said previously that the changes would result in “quicker journeys for customers travelling from Great Park to Newcastle City Centre, while also retaining capacity for important scholars links”.