NO OVER 60's BUS PASS USE IN SURREY HEATH BEFORE 9.30am - UNLESS YOU LIVE IN WINDLESHAM!

11.13.05am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 20th Apr 2008

Not in Surrey Heath before 9.30am - Unless you are in Windlesham!

A proposal from Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats to permit the overs 60's to use their bus passes from 9am - in line with the rest of Surrey - was defeated in the Council by a vote of 26 to 6.

But Lib Dem Councillors were shaken when the Leader of the Council, Moira Gibson, announced that an exception would be made for one bus that leaves Windlesham before 9.30am. Windlesham is the ward represented by Ms Gibson.

'It is bad enough that Surrey Heath is the ONLY area within Surrey that refuses the over 60's to use their free bus passes between 9 and 9.30am,' said Lib Dem Council Leader David Whitcroft, 'but now residents who do not happen to live in Ms Gibson's ward are being discriminated against by the Council. This is totally outrageous!'

The Liberal Democrats had circulated a couple of sample letters to all Councillors before the Council meeting and a Labour member had presented a petition signed by 150 people call for equality for Surrey Heath residents with the rest of Surrey.

'The letters were from a man of 75 who has to attend the hospital for serious medical conditions before 9.30am and from a Mytchett lady who works in Aldershot and who is now considering whether she can afford to carry on working because of the extra £64 per month she has to find to get to her office,' added Cllr Whitcroft, 'But it was clear the Conservatives only wanted to make a petty political point about the Government - who have provided quite adequate funding for the scheme - picking up the cost of the half hour's free travel. In my 17 years on the Council I have got used to the petty minded nastiness of the Conservatives at Surrey Heath, but this is the worst example yet.'

The Conservatives agreed to review the position when the actual financial position in respect of the half hour was known but no time scale was put on the review apart from 'maybe some time this year'.