Hertfordshire councils could spend almost a quarter of a million pounds replacing a lost bus route.
Hertsmere Borough Council’s cabinet will debate spending £183,600 on a connection between Potters Bar in Hertfordshire and Barnet, Greater London.
The funding, which will come from a charge on developers known as the Community Infrastructure Levy, would last for 12 months.
If enough passengers use the route over the year, which will have the number 84B, Hertfordshire County Council could put forward top-up funding of up to £60,000.
The previous operator cut the original 84 route in 2022, but Hertfordshire County Council stepped in to keep the route going between Potters Bar and St Albans.
This left a three-mile gap between Potters Bar and its London neighbour, with no buses at the Moorfields Eye Unit at Potters Bar Community Hospital.
Former passengers have campaigned to Save the 84 since the previous operator axed the connection.
Cllr Nik Oakley is Hertsmere Borough Council’s cabinet member for infrastructure and transport.
She said: “After working with residents last year and engaging with the relevant operators, we are very glad to have a plan to restore the service.
“I’m incredibly proud we have come this far.”
The cabinet will need to sign off on its £183,600 contribution before the service launches, with a meeting due on Wednesday, August 23.
According to cabinet papers, the 84B would launch in early September.
Services are planned between 6.05am and end at 7.34pm Monday to Friday, and between 7.25am and 7.34pm on Saturdays.
They would run between Potters Bar’s Thameslink station and Barnet Hospital.
They would call at the Potters Bar bus garage, Monken Hadley, Barnet High Street and High Barnet’s tube station – with Northern Line connections into Finchley, Camden Town, King’s Cross and south London.
The vehicles would have a minimum of 30 seats, and would be ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) compliant and accept the Hertfordshire SaverCard and student bus tickets.
“Agreement to use Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to deliver a new bus service between Potters Bar and Barnet will contribute towards the wellbeing of local people by ensuring direct and more affordable access to healthcare and education facilities in Barnet and Potters Bar,” a cabinet paper reads.
“The use of CIL funding to deliver a new bus service will enable an essential service to be reinstated for schoolchildren in time for the 2023/24 academic year.
“It will also provide a key service for local residents, including elderly people, without access to their own car, to more easily and affordably attend Barnet Hospital.”
The report adds Hertsmere Borough Council would like to work with Barnet Council to secure more funding.
The contract with the bus operator will use the “standard terms and conditions” that Hertfordshire County Council, the transport authority in Hertsmere, uses.
“Levels of use and patronage are critical to the success of the service,” the report reads.
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