Dave Crow
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December and January bus service
* There are no planned changes to bus services in December *
Bus Services revised over Christmas & New Year
Please note that bus and rail services will be revised over the Christmas & New Year period.
For further information contact Traveline (calls cost 12 per minute plus your phone company’s access charge). Alternatively, plan your journey using the Journey Planner at www.traveline.info
* Bus Service Changes For January 2024 *
LANCASTER SERVICES
Service 6 Morecambe – Westgate
Service 6A Morecambe – Westgate – Lancaster
Service 6B/6C Morecambe – Westgate – Bare – Morecambe
From 15 January 2024, utilising funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus Scheme, Stagecoach, in partnership with Lancashire County Council, will revise the route and timetable as follows:
Service 6A will continue to operate between Morecambe, Westgate and Lancaster.
Service 6 will continue to operate between Morecambe and Westgate
New Services 6B/6C will be introduced merging certain Service 6 journeys and Service 33 to offer a Morecambe area circular service. The new services will link across all the outer areas of Morecambe, Bare and Westgate, incorporating Service 33.
Service 6B will operate anti-clockwise from Morecambe and Westgate, extending through Branksome to cover the Service 33 route through Bare back to Morecambe.
Service 6C will operate the same route but in clockwise direction from Morecambe, serving Bare before continuing to Branksome and Westgate back to Morecambe.
New Services 6B/6C will each run generally every hour Monday to Saturday, offering more journeys for Bare as well as linking to those shopping and leisure opportunities off Westgate.
Service 33 Morecambe – Bare Circular
From 15 January 2024 this service will be withdrawn and amalgamated within new Services 6B/6C, as detailed above.
RIBBLE VALLEY SERVICES
Service 22 Clitheroe – Whalley – Blackburn – Royal Blackburn Hospital – Shadsworth
From 7 January 2024, The Blackburn Bus Company will revise the timetable, with minor adjustments to some evening journeys to improve reliability.
BLACKPOOL, FYLDE & WYRE SERVICES
Blackpool Transport Service Amendments (Blackpool Transport Leaflets)
From 7 January 2024, Blackpool Transport will introduce a major revision of their network, with changes to running times, changes to route numbers and frequencies but all roads that currently have a bus on now will continue to be served. There is an increased amount of interworking to improve efficiency and help with the future introduction of electric buses.
Service 1 Fleetwood – Cleveleys – Blackpool
Service 1A Cleveleys – Blackpool – St.Annes
Service 1 will temporarily drop the seasonal Cleveleys to St Annes extension, now named the service 1A, during the winter. Service 1 will continue to run hourly between Fleetwood and its new final stop at Blackpool North Pier. Together, the will make a 30-minute frequency through the summer.
Service 3 Cleveleys – Blackpool – Mereside
Service 3A Cleveleys Park – Cleveleys – Blackpool – Mereside
Service 3 will now not travel to Cleveleys Park, starting its journey at Cleveleys Crescent. The new Service 3A will be covering this area and then continue to Mereside along what is currently the service 4 route. Between Service 3 and 3A, there will be services running up to every 15-minutes, operating between Cleveleys, Bispham, Blackpool and Mereside. The service 3 will finish earlier than it does now but the 3A will continue into the evenings.
Service 5 Poulton – Victoria Hospital – Blackpool – Halfway House
Service 5A Staining – Victoria Hospital – Blackpool – Halfway House
Service 5B Blackpool Zoo – Victoria Hospital – Blackpool – Halfway House
Service 5C Knott End – Poulton – Victoria Hospital – Blackpool
This new group of services are the most significant route changes, enhancing connectivity and clearer choices. It provides an increased frequency, more journey options and expanded links between Blackpool and the wider Fylde Coast.
Service 5 will operate from Halfway House to Victoria Hospital as current, before extending along, and replacing, the former Service 2 route to Poulton up to every 30 minutes, giving a Poulton to Blackpool/South Shore link.
New Service 5A will connect South Shore to Staining, following the usual Service 5 route from Halfway House to Blackpool Town Centre, then replacing the old Service 15 route to Staining operating up to every 60 minutes.
New Service 5B will be a new link from South Shore to Blackpool Town Centre and the Zoo, running from Halfway House to Victoria Hospital, before heading to the Zoo up to every 60mins.
Service 5C will replace Service 2C from Blackpool to Knott End. As part of the Service 5 group, it will provide a unified route to Victoria Hospital, offering increased frequency and options running up to every 40 minutes to Knott End. This change in frequency from 30 minutes to 40 minutes is aimed to significantly improve reliability along the route without impacting peak-time journeys.
Together, this new Service 5 group will operate up to every 15 minutes between Halfway House, through Blackpool Town Centre, to Victoria Hospital.
Service 6 Grange Park – Blackpool – Mereside
Service 6 will be enhanced with more frequent departures running up to every 20 minutes. The route will be extended, connecting to the DWP offices at Peel Park more frequently and also an hourly extension to Whitehills Business Park.
Services 7/7A Cleveleys – Blackpool
Service 7 will be revised to operate between Cleveleys and Blackpool, concluding its journey in Blackpool Town Centre and offering a smooth transition to new Service 11A (see below) for those venturing to Lytham. There will be no requirement to change bus or buy a new ticket, the service will continue for the next leg of the journey.
New Service 7A will replace Service 9 and continues to operate between Cleveleys and Blackpool via Bispham and Layton.
Together, this new Service 7 group will operate up to at least every 15 minutes between Cleveleys and Blackpool and continuing up to every 30 minutes to Lytham, as Service 11A.
Service 11 Lytham – St.Annes – Blackpool
Service 11A Lytham – St.Annes – Blackpool
Service 11B Lytham – St.Annes – Blackpool
Service 11 will operate its regular route, with a revised timetable for more efficiency, running up to every 30 minutes. The new times will improve interworking along busier areas, with other services such as the Service 11 group, for a more predictable and reliable network.
New Service 11A will replace Service 7 between Blackpool and Lytham, and seamlessly continue to be linked with Service 7 (see below) for travel between Cleveleys and Blackpool. Service 11A will operate the previous Service 7 route up to Starr Gate, and then extending onto Lytham, just like Service 11 every 30 minutes. This means more travel options and the regular convenience of staying on one bus for the entire journey.
The 11 and 11A give an increased combined frequency from Blackpool to Lytham of up every 15 minutes.
New Service 11B will be renumbered from Service 17 and become part of the new Service 11 group. This service will follow the same route as previous Service 17, with a slight adjustment in the timetable for better efficiency, now departing up to every 40 minutes.
Together, this new Service 11 group will operate between Blackpool Town Centre and Lytham St.Annes, with a combined frequency of at least every 12 minutes.
Service 14 Fleetwood – Thornton – Carleton – Blackpool
The timetable will be revised following customer feedback, adjusting times to improve service reliability. Additionally, the frequency during Monday to Friday peak, school and college times will be enhanced to up to every 15 minutes.
Service 18 BLACKPOOL – MERESIDE via South Shore, Airport
The timetable will be revised, adjusting times to improve service reliability.
WEST LANCASHIRE SERVICES
Service 375/385 Southport – Ormskirk – Skelmersdale – Wigan
From 21 January 2024, Arriva will revise the timetable, with adjustments to some journeys to improve reliability.
Service 395 Skelmersdale – Wigan
From 21 January 2024, Arriva will withdraw this service. Services 375/385 provide an alternative service across the whole route.
Service 311 Ormskirk – Skelmersdale – Wrightington LCC Leaflet 15
Service 312 Ormskirk – Burscough – Skelmersdale – Rainford
From 15 January 2024, Lancashire County Council will revise the route and timetable, with a couple of minor adjustments to some Monday to Friday journeys following customer feedback.
The revised Monday to Friday journeys are as follows:
0624 Service 312 journey from Burscough to Rainford will depart at 0600 and operate up to 20 minutes earlier throughout;
0700 Service 311 journey from Ormskirk to Wrightington Hospital will depart at 0655 and operate up to 5 minutes earlier throughout;
0729 Service 312 journey from Rainford to Ormskirk will depart at 0706 and operate up to 20 minutes earlier throughout;
0758 Service 311 journey from Wrightington to Ormskirk will depart at 0753 and operate up to 5 minutes earlier throughout;
There will also be a minor route amendment in the Hall Green area as Service 311 will operate around the Mayfield Drive estate instead of Service 312.
Preston Bus Ltd continue to operate these services on behalf of Lancashire County Council.
CHORLEY SERVICES
Service 119 Chorley – Buckshaw Village – Leyland – Penwortham – Preston
From 28 January 2024, Lancashire County Council will revise the route and timetable, adjusting the service between Chorley Town Centre and Chorley Hospital to operate direct via A6, no longer serving Astley Village.
Astley Village will now be served by the extension of Service 127 route through to Chorley Hospital.
The timetable will be revised only between Chorley and Chorley Hospital. Any customers from Astley Village travelling through to Leyland will be able to connect at Chorley Hospital on to Services 114 & 119.
RS Tyrer will continue to operate the service on behalf of Lancashire County Council.
Service 127 Chorley Hospital – Astley Village – Chorley – Adlington – Middlebrook
From 28 January 2024, utilising funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus Scheme, Stagecoach, in partnership with Lancashire County Council, will revise the route and timetable extending the service through Astley Village to Chorley Hospital.
The extended service will provide a direct link from Adlington and Lower Adlington to Chorley Hospital, together with maintaining a service through Astley Village.
Additional journeys will be provided, with the service operating generally hourly throughout Monday to Saturday daytime. The Monday to Saturday evening and Sunday short journeys between Chorley and Astley Village will continue to operate and be renumbered Service 127 instead of Service 119.
Service 362 Chorley – Coppull – Standish – Wigan
From 28 January 2024, Go North West will revise the timetable, adjusting some journey times. There will be no change to departure times from Chorley, the amendments are partly to improve reliability by redistributing running time into layover at either end of the route. There is also an extension to journeys starting and ending at Standish to extend slightly further along the route to Pepper Lane.
HYNDBURN SERVICES
Service 6/7 Blackburn – Great Harwood – Accrington – Oswaldtwistle – Blackburn
From 7 January 2024, utilising funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus Scheme, The Blackburn Bus Company, in partnership with Lancashire County Council, will introduce a number of daily evening enhancements, extending service operation until around 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10pm Sunday throughout the whole route.
The additional and extended journeys are as follows:
Monday to Saturday
Service 6 at 2303 from Blackburn – Great Harwood – Accrington
Sundays
Service 6 at 1903, 2003, 2103 & 2203 from Blackburn – Great Harwood – Accrington
Service 6 at 2240 from Accrington – Oswaldtwistle – Blackburn
Service 7 at 1838, 1938, 2038 and 2138 from Accrington – Great Harwood – Blackburn
Christmas 2023 bin collection
Over the Christmas period the day of your waste collections are different than usual. To confirm your collection date please refer to your calendar, or visit https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/bins-recycling.
Kind regards,
Lancaster City Council.
Great value bus fares
Get out and about with great value bus fares or your free bus pass
If you haven’t caught the bus for a while, why not take advantage of the great value bus fares, which are available all day every day. And those over 66 can travel for free with a Nowcard
It’s just £2 maximum fare for a single trip and only £1 after 7pm, ideal for nights out. Plus, if you buy a bus ticket for Saturday you get Sunday free with the new weekender bus ticket. These offers are available until end of December 2024.
If you haven’t used your Nowcard recently, don’t forget you can enjoy free travel with your concessionary pass. From visiting cafes and garden centres to shopping trips and evenings out, the opportunities are endless your free bus pass.
Find out more at www.lancashire.gov.uk/publictransport
Demon Copperhead
In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn’t an idea, it is as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn’t an abstraction, it’s neighbours, parents, and friends. ‘Family’ could mean love, or reluctant foster care.
For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he’s willing to travel to try and get there. Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.
Beautifully written and I really enjoyed it.
The Summer House
Mead House was once our childhood home. Despite my fears, I always knew we would have to return to face the demons of our past. back to the place where it happened, to where, as carefree teenagers, we lost our elder sister in the most brutal of circumstances.
As executors of our grandmother’s will, my twin brother, Ollie, and I needed to empty the house for resale. What I didn’t expect to discover was my sister’s secret journal that contained her most private thoughts and shocking dark secrets. Now I am questioning everything that I saw that night.
Did I get it wrong, whom I saw? Did my evidence send an innocent man, my then boyfriend’s brother, to jail for the last 17 years? I know I have no choice. If I want to find answers, I will have to go back to that fateful night my sister died. When she made her last visit to the summer house.
This was a tense thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Consumer Alerts – November 2023
Beware fraudsters impersonating a police officer.
Courier fraudsters have been reported operating across East Lancashire. All victims have been phoned by someone impersonating a police officer from Lancashire Constabulary. The caller has given a false name and collar number before telling them that either their bank accounts are unsafe, they have been a victim of fraud, or they need you to assist them in an investigation.
They have then been asked to withdraw a substantial amount of cash, buy high value items such as Rolex watches or exchange the cash to Euros. They have been given a false one-time-password, and a ‘courier’, who is also a fraudster, has picked up the cash or items from their home address, or neutral location, like a car park.
Please remember the police, or your bank, will NEVER ask you to assist with an investigation over the phone, withdraw or transfer money or buy high value items. The Police, or your bank will also never send someone to collect cash, items, PINs, cards or cheque books from you, from any location.
If you have concerns or want to check if a police officer is genuine you can call 101. Consider using a different telephone or mobile phone or wait 5 minutes and make sure the potential scam caller has terminated their call.
Further information can be found at www.lancashire.police.uk/news
Scam insulation telesales call
A Preston householder has reported receiving a telesales call where the caller claimed to be employed by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) asking if the householder was interested in saving energy. Services offered were spray foam inside your roof and a water repellent masonry cream.
The BBA are a construction industry approvals body and will never cold call. Scammer callers can try and trick you by pretending they are from a reputable body. Always do your own research when looking for trader or when looking at what insulation products may be suitable for you and your home.
Remember Cosy Homes in Lancashire (CHIL) can help you find out if any government grants or funding are available for a range of heating, insulation and low carbon renewable technologies, www.chil.uk.com, Tel:03306 061488.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in our area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk
Vehicle tax email scam
A resident in the Lancaster area received an email stating the following: ‘Welcome, our records show that you are not up to date with your current vehicle tax. This is your last reminder from us. Your vehicle is not permitted to legally be on the road. Renew your vehicle tax now. You must fill out the form below to be up to standard with the DVLA.‘ The email invites you to click to ‘start now’.
This is a scam. The only place to access official information on DVLA and its services is GOV.UK. The agency will never ask for bank details by email and will never send text messages about vehicle tax refunds.
Vehicle owners are also reminded to be aware of copycat websites or scam websites that advertise vehicle taxing services. Always check you are on the genuine ‘.gov.uk’ website before providing any personal or banking information.
Scam emails can be reported via report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages can be forwarded to 7726.
Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133
Further information about current scams can be found on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/StanleyDards/
NK Play update
As you can all see, addition of play equipment to the play area is nearly finished. I am aware that children are excited to use it but the weather and timing have been against us. The words that come to mind are Quagmire, Glastonbury without the music, very unpleasant working conditions.
The turf is being laid and that work should be finished by time you read this. It is going to take 2 or 3 months, dependant again on the weather, for the grass to be established and usable. Also, the safety matting has to be put on top of the grass which must then be allowed to grow through the matting. The safety fencing will have to remain in place and the Play Area will have to remain closed until the council gives the go ahead to open. There will be a grand opening ceremony and a draw will take place for the honour of being the first child to use each piece of equipment including the horse that has been refurbished and returned. I hope that all parents and children, like me, will be confident that the long wait will be worth it!
Meanwhile, I would like to thank the local lads, Rob Wilson, Chris Ward and Brian Bigland of MPA Hire for the hard work that they have done with the groundworks – not forgetting Mike Hunter from the Aggregate Industries quarry, who has provided manpower, equipment, materials and support. THANKS GUYS. Steve Hinde
