Councillor Simon Clement-Jones and local campaigner Richard Shaw at the bus stop outside Graves Trust Homes on Greenhill Avenue.

Agreed changes to Sheffield bus routes have been criticised by local campaigners for once again isolating elderly and vulnerable residents.

Changes to the previous No. 17 service have left the elderly residents at the Graves Trust Houses on Greenhill Avenue without a service.

The new No. 19 service will terminate at Chancet Wood, leaving residents of Greenhill Avenue with long walks to access a bus service.

The changes have been agreed by the Sheffield Bus Partnership – the voluntary partnership agreed by Sheffield Labour councillors in 2012. A recent consultation on changes the No. 17 route showed 96.5% of respondents refusing to agree that proposals would improve the service.

Cllr Simon Clement-Jones, local Liberal Democrat councillor for Beauchief & Greenhill, said:

“This service is absolutely vital to the elderly residents that live in the Graves Trust Houses and needs to be retained. It’s such a shame that we’re talking about service reductions again instead of improvements and that we have once again been forced to complain about the lack of consultation.

“Local people were promised that this bus ‘partnership’ would see an improved network but it’s become clear this agreement was nothing more than a surrender to the big bus companies. Instead of standing up for local residents, the Council are letting heartless bus bosses get their way.”