Thank you to all the residents from Aston, Aughton and Swallownest who came to the public meeting I held last week alongside the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard.

During the meeting, we discussed two main topics – crime and public transport. I was pleased that the local police team came to answer residents questions regarding policing and crime. One issue that did arise was the issue of off-road biking, which residents must report any intelligence to 101. This builds a picture for the off-road policing team who can schedule patrols around the intelligence they receive. This happened in North Anston a few months back, which saw a successful operation.

Many residents raised their concerns and upset over the state of buses across Rother Valley. Unfortunately, our bus routes are operated by private companies, meaning they are run for profit and not for the benefit of the public. When routes become unprofitable, bus companies pull the route, which is what happened with the 95a and 95b bus route recently.

To improve our public transport, the Bus Services Bill is currently at report stage in the House of Commons. The Bill will give local authorities control over routes, timetables, connections and fares by bringing buses back into public control. Earlier this year, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority took the decision to roll out bus franchising by 2027. Bus franchising is a legal process and takes time, but once complete South Yorkshire will own its own buses.

I am really keen to hear how you think bus services should improve across Rother Valley. Please visit the below link to fill out the survey to share your views or alternatively send me an email to jake.richards.mp@parliament.uk. https://www.facebook.com/Richards4RotherValley/posts/pfbid0LJ8asex3VEqMYRL8Hdg6XaNYYN91xauArh8MxXVKQZyR8Rkh6NETPcRcF5zhxRgyl

Thank you again to everyone who came to the meeting.