PROPOSED changes to bus services through Chiseldon have left residents fearing they could become more isolated from nearby towns.

But they are not going down without a fight and an angry and determined crowd gathered in Chiseldon Park yesterday to sign a petition and protest against the proposals.

Last week it was announced that from September, the Salisbury Reds X5 between Salisbury and Swindon would no longer call at any of the stops in Chiseldon – instead it would only run along the busy Marlborough Road.

The company behind the service say that it is necessary to reduce the journey time and that changes to the route will cut the trip down from 136 to 112 minutes.

There are also growing concerns that Swindon Borough Council could be about to withdraw funding for the only routes that serve Chiseldon at evenings and on Sundays when a consultation concludes later this year.

The changes would particularly impact the elderly, disabled and teenage bus users who rely on those services to connect them to Swindon and other nearby towns.

No significant change is expected for the daytime route that serves the village.

Sunday’s gathering was organised by 15-year-old Kayley Cole who is worried that her plans to start at New College in September could be scuppered by the changes.

“Word has travelled round Chiseldon and people wanted to do something about it,” she said.

“There was an elderly woman in tears just the other day, she has no family and the only way she gets out is on the bus – she said she wouldn’t be able to cope.”

As part of the consultation, Swindon Borough Council proposed a series of minibuses to replace the bus services they plan to cut.

However David Hill, a Chiseldon parish councillor, told residents that the council’s own finance team had scrapped the Chiseldon minibus route, deciding that it would be too expensive to run.

Coun Hill said: “We must make sure our voices are heard on this consultation over the next few weeks.

“When Wiltshire Council did a similar thing they were surprised by the 11,000 people who wrote in – let’s have another 11,000 or more writing to Swindon Borough Council too.”

Barbara Herron, 75, is the secretary and treasurer of the Chiseldon old people’s club and has lived in the area for over 60 years.

“We’re heading for a worse service than when I first came to live in the village all those years ago,” she said.

“It used to be that if you were born in a village, you lived in that village and you never left but it’s not like that anymore and people need the bus services.

“Old people in particular will be cut off completely – many live at the bottom of the village and they can’t walk all the way to Marlborough Road to catch the bus.

“Not only that but there are no lights there so you have to take your life into your hands every time you do try and get across – people have already been killed on that road and more will be again.”

The council’s bus consultation concludes on August 22 with many routes in Swindon under threat.

You can visit www.swindon.gov.uk/busconsultation for more information.