COMMUNITY transport charity Wivey Link has given its backing to a campaign to restore a bus service between Wiveliscombe and Wellington.

It follows concern that the service provided by the car transport charity would suffer if buses again ran between the two towns.

A Wivey Link spokesperson said: “Our view would be to support a Wivey-Wellington bus service.

“We think it is important for residents in both towns to have the flexibility of using Wivey Link or a bus service and do not consider the latter to be in competition with what we have to offer.”

The news was welcomed by the Wivey-Welly Bus User Group, a new name adopted after the merger of campaign groups from the two towns.

The newly-merged group will represent both Wiveliscombe and Wellington and also other communities in between the towns.

A spokesperson said: “We already have a member from Milverton and hope to include somebody from Langford Budville.

“We will be working together not just on this campaign but also to improve all bus services in our area.”

The initiative is also being supported by Somerset Cllr Dave Mansell, who represents the Upper Tone division and also chairs a local community network transport group.

The bus user group recently collected 1,350 signatures on a petition which was presented to Somerset Council calling for a service to be restored between Wellington and Wiveliscombe.

It was also encouraged when the Somerset Bus Partnership backed the initiative and called for the council to fund the proposal from Government funds recently awarded for its county-wide bus service improvement plan (BSIP).

The partnership also recommended funding from the BSIP grant should be used to enhance the no 25 First Bus service which runs from Taunton via Milverton and Wiveliscombe to Dulverton, also supported by Cllr Mansell.