Calls for late night weekend bus service so Torrington’s show can go on

The lack of a late night bus service from Torrington is stopping people having a good night out, it has been claimed.

Devon county and Torridge district councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin is leading a campaign to get the bus service extended to 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

The cost of providing an extra Stagecoach service would be £8,200 per year.

The last bus currently leaves the town for Bideford and Barnstaple at 9.50pm before most performances finish at The Plough Arts Centre.

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Devon County Council transport officers have said there is no funding available in this financial year to fund a later bus service.

However, Cllr Cottle-Hunkin told a meeting of Torridge District Council’s external overview and scrutiny committee this week that she would keep pushing for it.

County council officers have indicated a willingness to work with partners if revenue funding can be found elsewhere to fund the extra bus service.

In a letter to the councillor, deputy director of transport services Damien Jones said the council was still waiting to know what Devon’s share of bus funding would be for 2026/27 and beyond.

He said: “The priority for this funding is likely to be to retain the network we have rather than expand. The added complication from April 26 is that the funding will be allocated to the new county combined authority (CCA) and we are currently working through the implication of this.

“If anybody has any ongoing revenue funding to put towards something, as the police did with the night buses, we are happy to work with them.”

The Plough says the lack of late night public transport means that many people relying on buses are unable to come and enjoy the shows.

Having seen reduced numbers attending since the pandemic, this challenge had made it harder for some audiences to return and impacted attendance and accessibility.

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Last year the district council gave The Plough £45,000 to support it through a difficult time as it continued ‘a turnaround journey under new leadership’.

It had been losing between £5,000 and £7,000 each month due to increased running costs, building maintenance and a drop in visitor numbers.

Staff restructuring, reducing hours and streamlining operations were part of a recovery plan which had seen monthly losses cut by 50 per cent and further improvements on the financial front.

Cllr Cottle-Hunkin said she had made The Plough aware of the county council’s position and hoped the arts centre may be able to get some sort of grant money towards a late night bus service.