A village outside Chesterfield is set to be left without a regular bus service after an indepdent company withdrew its plans to run the 170 route – leaving Stagecoach as the sole operator.

High Peak Buses (HPB) has announced that it will no longer be proceeding with plans to operate the 170 service between Bakewell and Chesterfield, originally scheduled to commence on Thursday, March 27.

HPB was one of two operators chosen to run 170 services between Chesterfield and Bakewell after Hulleys of Baslow, who previously operated the route, were confirmed to be closing from Wednesday, March 26.

HPB were scheduled to operate hourly services from Chesterfield Royal Hospital into Bakewell, calling at Holymoorside, with no services on Sundays.

There will be no regular 170 services into Holymoorside after HPB confirmed it had withdrawn its plans.

placeholder image — There will be no regular 170 services into Holymoorside after HPB confirmed it had withdrawn its plans.

Stagecoach is also running an hourly daytime service between Chesterfield Rail Station and Bakewell, including a Sunday service, from Wednesday, March 26. Stagecoach, however, is not operating regular services to Chesterfield Royal Hospital or Holymoorside. On school days, one morning Stagecoach service will stop at Holymoorside and Lady Manners School, with a service also departing from Lady Manners School – and calling at Holymoorside – in the afternoon.

High Peak Buses said it was the first operator to be granted short-notice approval by Derbyshire County Council, but subsequent approval was also granted to Stagecoach for a competing registration of the service. HPB said the route could not sustain two operators, leaving them with no choice but to withdraw their plans to run 170 services.

HPB added that they had also planned to provide local employment opportunities for Hulleys drivers, with the longer-term vision of operating from Baslow to maintain stable local employment.

David Brookes, Managing Director of High Peak Buses, said: “It’s disappointing that it has come to this. The service we had planned was designed to ensure vital community links were maintained, and it’s surprising that a competing registration for a service that does not provide these connections has been granted.

“The route cannot sustain two operators, and as a local operator, we are not prepared to engage in a bus war with Stagecoach—a company backed by an international investment fund. We regret having no other option but to withdraw our service.”

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “Both operators have done their best given the very short timeframe and we'll continue to do our best to serve customers in the Peak District and provide stable local employment to those impacted.

“We'll continue to work with Derbyshire County Council to cover as much of the former Hulleys network that is viable and we already offer frequent buses to Chesterfield Royal Hospital from Chesterfield town centre.”