CHANGES to a bus route which threatened to leave residents without a regular service have been scrapped.

The 480 service will now be retained under its current route from Bury to Bolton after bosses from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the operator, Rosso Transport, met last week and renegotiated the decision.

Residents would have been left without a regular bus service along Tottington Road to Harwood, Bolton or Bury from July 28.

The only change to the service is that the 5.17pm bus from Bolton to Bury will no longer run.

The move comes after dozens of residents went to a meeting attended by TfGM officers to voice their opposition, and sent in a deluge of protest emails and letters.

Cllr Stuart Haslam, for Bradshaw, said: “There has been a lot of negotiation between TfGM and Rosso bus company, and the end result is the bus service will be continued with the exception of one service — the 5.17pm from Bolton to Tottington Road and Bury — which I will be making more representations about.

“There’s a lot of elderly people who live in the Tottington Road area. It’s a very steep climb up from Harwood.

“The service links people to the library, the doctors’ surgery, the shops, the chemist, the facilities in Harwood, together with the only link to Bolton.

“I’ve been overwhelmed with the response. I’ve had about 80 emails and letters and 60 phone calls, which is a lot for a local issue.”

Howard Hartley, head of bus for TfGM, said: “Following discussions between TfGM and the operator, as well as significant local representations, we are pleased to confirm that Rossendale Transport has agreed to continue to operate service 480 on the current route between Bolton and Bury via Affetside.

“We welcome the decision from the operator to continue the running of this service.”

TfGM said there would be changes to the timetable from Monday, July 28, and encouraged passengers to check timetables before travelling.

Rosso Transport refused to comment.