WORCESTERSHIRE County Council has now reached an agreement to extend the 145/145A bus service.

The 145 is to be re-routed to serve those parts of the previous 202 route - which are not served by the new 44 route that replaced it.

The new route, which will start from July 6, 2020, will now go via Frankly, Waseley Road, and Leach Green Lane, and will also serve Rose Hill to Twatling Road, Lickey Square, and provide an hourly service between Rubery and Bromsgrove Monday to Saturday.

Councillor Alan Amos, Cabinet Member for Highways said: “This is a very good example of the vision in our new Passenger Transport Strategy in which the County Council is providing a wide and reliable bus network throughout the County to meet the needs of its residents and businesses.

"As this deal shows, we will look at any innovative proposal to save and expand services. Despite the temporary problems at the moment, buses are still the only meaningful alternative to the car for many people. "This is why in this year’s Budget we have invested the largest-ever increase in the bus subsidy to cover situations like this. Our strategy is to fill those gaps which are essential to people getting to work, the shops, education, the doctors, or leisure activities.”

Previously, the Bromsgrove Liberal Democrats launched a petition to resurrect the abandoned 202 bus service.