11/05/2026
LOVE YOUR BUS 2 BRINGS EXTENDED SERVICES TO OUR VILLAGES
The Parish Council in partnership with Transport Made Simple (TMS), Castle Hedingham and Sible Hedingham Parish Councils have been successful in its 3 applications to the above programme.
Love Your Bus is a community-led grant initiative launched by Essex County Council (ECC) and funded by the UK Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). This funding opportunity enables Parish and Town Councils in Essex to bid for support to grow and sustain their local bus routes. It encourages community-led action and partnerships with transport providers to improve bus services.
The applications have secured funding to extend and enhance bus services from Great Yeldham, the Hedinghams, Halstead, Braintree and Colchester, vastly improving access from rural communities to major employment, healthcare, and retail centres:
• Extend 88/88A north of Halstead to Great Yeldham via the Hedingham's for an hourly weekday network.- £50,000
• Merge and coordinate 89 / 42 / 60 into a consistent Sudbury–Braintree corridor and extend 89 - £50,000
• Deliver a promotional free fares initiative in Great Yeldham, Sible Hedingham & Castle Hedingham to drive patronage on new/extended routes. - £30,500
TMS are currently working through the operational arrangements needed to get the extended services up and running. Once a start date has been agreed, TMS will produce the updated timetable. The timetable will be published and promoted through local noticeboards and the village magazine, as well as on parish websites and social media channels. Further details will be shared as soon as they are available.
