Bus service company Stagecoach has confirmed this week (September 27) that some services to and from Okehampton will be drastically reduced from the end of October.

Stagecoach, which serves a lot of the West Devon area, has said that it will be altering the 5A, 5B and 5C bus routes from October 30 ‘to reflect demand and ensure bus services remain commercially viable.’

Currently, a Stagecoach Service 5 bus stops in Okehampton approximately every two hours, but the changes will see all but the early morning and evening stops axed.

A spokesperson for the company explained the changes: ‘Service 5 will operate Monday to Saturday daytimes every 20 minutes between Exeter and Crediton.

‘Morning peak journeys will start from Chulmleigh, Winkleigh and Hatherleigh and afternoon peak journeys will extend to Chulmleigh, Winkleigh and Hatherleigh. Buses will operate hourly during the evenings and on Sundays and public holidays.

‘As a result of these changes, Okehampton will no longer be served by Services 5A/5B/5C during the main part of the day.

‘Devon County Council are in the process of procuring replacement services between Exeter or Crediton with Okehampton.’

Residents have voiced concerns over the slashing of Okehampton’s service, citing the reliance of elderly residents have on the bus service and the Okehampton’s ongoing housing developments as reasons against the change.

Whiddon Down resident, Graham Webster said: ‘We use the bus regularly. We have few buses and we have a lot of elderly people here who use the buses. We are in a community that relies heavily on public transport.

‘One of the drivers said that the changes were only to get the children to school and people to work and back again, so if you go into Exeter you are stuck there until the evening.

‘With Okehampton expanding, with all the new houses and we have the station. It’s fantastic but you have got to have the infrastructure.’

Many others have also pointed out the lack of infrastructure in Okehampton despite its continuing growth as more and more houses are built in the area.

Along with the area’s residents, Okehampton Town Councillors have also raised their concerns over the alterations with Councillor Michael Ireland saying it would lead to a ‘fragmentation’of the service and leave Okehampton residents without a link to Bude, Barnstaple and Launceston.

At the most recent council meeting on September 26, town councillors also grew worried that the scrapping of the daytime Okehampton stops could prevent residents from accessing vital healthcare if they are unable to drive to the Royal Devon and Exeter’s A&E department. The fears have come as Okehampton councillors continue to battle to reopen Okehampton Hospital minor injuries unit and a ward to allow people to convalesce closer to home.

Stagecoach is one of the largest bus operators in the UK and has run local bus services across the country since the company was established in 1980. Nationwide, the company runs over 7,000 buses serving over 100 towns and cities. In the South West alone, Stagecoach run 400 buses.