IN A recent edition of the Gazette there was an article about a public consultation about to start regarding transport services in Thurrock, which will involve talking to the majority of residents and will take about three years to complete.

Why wait so long? Residents of Stifford Clays want one now and changes made to the bus schedules.

Orsett Hospital is here to stay, despite Thurrock Council’s attempt to redraw the maps and ignore it.

There are an increasing amount of clinics and out-patient services operating at this hospital, which is five minutes down the road from Stifford Clays.

Until about a year ago it was possible to travel by bus to this hospital from Stifford Clays using one of four different bus routes, depending on which end of the estate you are resident. Now we are down to two routes, each providing a two hourly service, each serving one end of the sprawling residential area.

The 200 was withdrawn with no notification and the 273 disappeared without trace or notification at the end of 2011.

So now we are down to two routes calling at Orsett from Stifford Clays, both with a two hour sevice.

If I stand at the very same bus stop in those two hours I am able to get six double deckers to Lakeside.

What does that say about transport services? It tells me that yet again Thurrock is being blighted by Lakeside.

So, before deciding on financial outlay for the new financial year, Thurrock Council should decide what determines a “service”.

Is it getting treatment for a medical condition that is only available at a hospital, or getting people to visit a shopping complex to buy things that are available in most towns, except perhaps Grays?

Maybe our new proposed Community Hospital should be sited at Lakeside as well and perhaps the owners of that complex would like to contribute to the cost. – JAMES TARSEY, Stifford Clays.