Borderhoppa funding bid welcomed

Council leaders have welcomed a bid for funding for 2008/9 from the Borderhoppa community bus service, which is now being assessed. Following a meeting in November to discuss community transport, councillors and officers had been waiting for a bid, but none had emerged. Councillor Derek Blake, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and the Built Environment, whose portfolio covers community transport schemes, said: "We were all concerned as to why Borderhoppa had not come forward with a bid for funding. We had been generous in the past and had protected funding up to the end of this March, despite the arrival of the Government's concessionary fares scheme, which complicated matters. "Last week, I said that if Borderhoppa came forward with a funding application, we would look at it immediately. We have now received an application, which we welcome, and we are already assessing it. A decision will be made in the near future." Bordahoppa is funded by South Norfolk Council at the 2006/7 level with an allowance for inflation. That amounts to £12,500 in this year.

The new national concessionary bus fares scheme starting on 1st April allows residents over 60 or with qualifying disabilities to travel free on local buses anywhere in England within certain time restrictions.

This will cost the council over £1m in 2008/9 and is a significant additional benefit to approximately 20,000 residents.

But the new fares legislation does not cover community transport schemes, and so in Norfolk, it was agreed that these schemes should approach councils separately for grant funding.

South Norfolk Council's Scrutiny Committee considered this issue on 7 November 2007 and listened carefully to the representations of Bordahoppa, who were advised to make applications for 2008/9 funding if they had future concerns.

Related pages

• Latest news