Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed that it is exploring options for alternatives to the 141 Trentbarton bus service.

This service, which runs from Sutton-in-Ashfield to Nottingham city centre via Mansfield and Hucknall, is currently supported by a subsidy from the County Council of £35k a year.

During the pandemic and into this year the Government have supported bus companies so that routes can continue to operate through the Bus Recovery Grant.

This subsidy funding which is in addition to the £35k from the County Council is coming to an end in September and Trentbarton have taken a commercial decision to no longer operate this route, as passenger levels have not recovered to a commercially sustainable level. 

A petition to prevent the service from being scrapped has now been signed by over 3000 residents in less than a week.

Gary Wood, Head of Transport and Highways at Nottinghamshire County Council said: "The County Council has not withdrawn the funding it was providing for this service. The decision to stop the service has been made by the bus operator due to the falling numbers of passengers and the fact the Government subsidy is coming to an end.

"The County Council fully appreciates the strength of local feeling on how important this service is and we are, as a matter of urgency, exploring other options. As soon as this work has been undertaken, we will update residents with our findings."