Despite strong and repeated representations from Saddleworth Liberal Democrats, Transport for Greater Manchester have gone ahead with bus cuts to subsidised bus services in Saddleworth. The 353, 354 & 355 have been scrapped and partially replaced by 356 Saddleworth Rambler which no longer serves Greenfield Station. Instead it is rerouted from Uppermill along Bridge Street, Carr Lane, Queensway, Wellington Road, Chew Valley Road, Shaw Hall Bank Road, Church Road and High Grove Road to Mossley Road and then to Top Mossley and Ashton
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth North Garth Harkness said: “Important areas will now have no service, and the new links are poor. I raised concerns about this but I was given reassurances that it would not be as bad as we thought. Instead it is worse as the new service won’t go to the train station – one of it’s key purposes.
“The original Saddleworth Rambler has proven highly successful and I am proud to have been part of the project which introduced it. But that came out of a detailed piece of work around transport needs in Saddleworth.
“There has been a lot of talk about Greater Manchester taking control of the buses again. They already do on these routes and they have decimated them.”
Former Council leader and transport professor Dr Richard Knowles added: “Hundreds of people living in three large areas of Delph and Uppermill will lose all their bus services: Palinwood Road/Delph Lane area in Delph, Wellmeadow estate/Church Road and Grove Road/Rush Hill Road areas of Uppermill.
“The TfGM Committee report that was presented when they approved these bus cuts made no mention of 356 Saddleworth Rambler no longer serving Greenfield Station or the huge number of residents who would lose all of their bus services.”
The Oldham/Denshaw 407 bus service is also being replaced by the 356 which will operate from Oldham to Ashton via Denshaw, Delph, Dobcross, Diggle, Uppermill, edge of Greenfield, Friezland and Top Mossley.