A MOVE to halve the bus service linking Gunnislake and surrounding villages with Tavistock has been greeted with outrage by residents and councillors in the area.

Go Cornwall, which runs buses in Cornwall, is reducing the frequency of the Callington to Calstock 79 service from hourly to two hourly as part of a timetable review from April 10.

Cornwall Councillor for Calstock Dorothy Kirk is opposing the change and is seeking a meeting with Cornwall Council portfolio holder for transport Philip Desmonde to demand the decision be reversed.

‘From the point of view of many of us in Gunnislake this is pretty disastrous, given that most of our services on other side of the Tamar,’ she said.

‘Many of our children go to school in Tavistock. Can you imagine them standing outside the Catholic Church in Tavistock in the rain for two hours, waiting to catch the bus?

‘This service is a vital lifeline too for people going regularly to Derriford Hospital for treatment. People can’t afford taxis, this is a low income area. This is a really really necessary lifeline and to reduce it by half is ridiculous. We have had 250 houses built at St Ann’s Chapel and there are serious air quality issues in Gunnislake. This is going to make it worse.

‘I’m angry with the whole situation,’ she added.

‘This is failing our population. We are living in the 21st century and we shouldn’t be making these decisions on a purely commercial basis. It is unacceptable.’

Ross Hanley, who is chair of community organisation Gunnislake Community Matters, has also written to Cllr Desmonde at Cornwall Council to object.

Mr Hanley said: ‘It is going to make life very difficult for people travelling to Derrford Hospital, who are now facing a two-hour wait in Tavistock. If you think about the economics of the service, we have had 200 houses built in St Ann’s Chapel, 350 in Callington and 750 in Tavistock off Callington Road. We need to increase the frequency of the service, not reduce it.

‘These new houses generate an awful lot of council tax and we think that some of that could be used to subsidise the new route. It is not just Gunnislake, it is Calstock, Harrowbarrow, Metherell and St Ann’s Chapel that will be affected as well.’

Bus company Go Cornwall said in a statement: ‘We’re planning some changes in April to improve routes and provide more reliable services.

‘We’ve worked closely with Cornwall Council and other transport providers to reshape the network as we emerge from Covid, providing extra and more reliable services in the areas that need it most.’