Arriva North West has announced it is consulting with employees on plans to close its Winsford and Macclesfield depots - affecting six bus routes in and around Crewe.

The move, if confirmed, would see the shutting of the depots with Arriva no longer operating any bus services in the Crewe, Winsford, Northwich, and Macclesfield areas.

It would mean services to parts of Cheshire East, including Crewe, Sandbach and Macclesfield would be scrapped.

Arriva would no longer operate any bus services in the Crewe, Winsford, Northwich, and Macclesfield areas (Cheshire East Council).

Leader of Cheshire East, Cllr Sam Corcoran, is urging residents to sign a petition to stop plans to close bus depots in Macclesfield and Winsford. The petition is HERE.

Arriva say both depots have been loss-making since before the pandemic and the number of journeys taken by passengers in the areas served by the depots has not recovered to the same levels as comparable operations following the pandemic.

It also says the bus sector is facing 'sustained and significant cost inflation' meaning revenue from the operations doesn't cover the costs of running the operations.

An Arriva spokesperson said: "Arriva North West has undertaken extensive actions to try and turn around these challenges, including launching a largely new network in November 2021 but unfortunately these steps have not delivered the required improvement. 

"Arriva North West has worked closely with Cheshire East and Cheshire West councils to explore all options to avoid closures but regretfully has not been able to find a way forward to return the depots to a financially sustainable position.

Leader of Cheshire East, Cllr Sam Corcoran, is urging residents to sign a petition to stop plans to close bus depots in Macclesfield and Winsford - affecting all Arriva bus services in the borough (Ryan Parker).

"In addition to this, while Bus Service Improvement Plans were developed to bid for government support to help increase bus ridership, unfortunately both Cheshire West and Cheshire East were unsuccessful in securing funding. 

"Affected employees and stakeholders have now been notified that a consultation is underway on closing the sites." 

"It is with great regret we announce we are consulting our highly valued team on the closure of our Winsford and Macclesfield depots which, if confirmed, would mean we would no longer operate any bus services in the Winsford, Northwich, Crewe and Macclesfield areas.

"Withdrawing services and closing depots are always a very last resort.

"This very difficult decision has been taken following exhaustive steps to turn around the loss-making services but with consistently too few customers to cover the increased cost of running services it is sadly necessary to launch a consultation with affected employees on closing the depots.

The 84 bus from Crewe to Chester is set to be cancelled (Ryan Parker).

"Our priority throughout this process is that everything runs as smoothly as possible, for both our customers and our colleagues."

If the depots are closed, Arriva would work with Cheshire East, Cheshire West and, if routes transition from Arriva, any new operators.

Routes that would no longer operate (first six affecting Crewe):

• 84 Crewe - Nantwich/Chester
• 6 Leighton Hospital - Shavington
• 31 Northwich - Winsford - Crewe
• 37 Northwich - Winsford - Sandbach - Crewe
• 38 Crewe - Macclesfield
• 3 Macclesfield - Weston
• 7 Winsford Local Circular
• 1 Northwich Circular via Rudheath and Weaverham
• 4 Barnton to Leftwich and Kingsmead via Northwich
• 4 Macclesfield - Upton Priory
• 5 & 6 Macclesfield - Broken Cross
• 9 Macclesfield - Moss Rose
• 10 Macclesfield - Bollington

READ MORE: Match of the Day star and Arsenal legend to host special event in Crewe.

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