A COUNCILLOR'S personal bid to save a threatened bus has been thwarted by authoritarian protocol. Petersfield Butser county councillor Sam Payne announced she was prepared to dig deep into her own councillor's grant to find the £4,000 necessary to save the threatened number 67 service. The bus was one of several services threatened after Hampshire County Council announced it was axing bus subsidies, which would mean some parts of the services were threatened. Unfortunately, having met with council chiefs, it was discovered that such a move doesn't meet with council regulations. Parliamentary candidate Adam Carew, who backed the bid, said: "I have spoken to councillor Ken Thornber (leader of East Hampshire District Council) and he advises that we cannot use the county council grant to subsidise the buses as it goes against Hampshire County Council policy. "The only hope we have now is if affected parish and town councils can get together and run the buses. "In the past, councils have considered getting together with the district council and put in a little bit of money. But this is the responsibility of the county council." The £4,000 sum was the amount Hampshire County Council was set to save by cutting the service. So far, more than 100 people have signed a petition created by Miss Payne, but that number was expected to rise significantly as affected residents had also been collecting names themselves on the buses. In addition, a petition available to sign in The Herald office in Petersfield High Street has had a terrific response from worried passengers. Elsewhere, as momentum gathered to stop the cuts, residents in Greatham had written to the portfolio holder for the environment, Mel Kendal, to see if it would be possible to use developers contributions to save the bus. Mr Carew said a viable plan to save the buses was needed by mid-October.
