VILLAGERS fear losing vital transport services after Essex County Council vowed to press ahead with cuts to bus services.

The authority wants to replace 22 bus routes with on-demand minibus services, mostly serving the Braintree district, while axing 26 in the rest of the county.

County Hall has proposed replacing 16 services in the district with Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), including the number 23 to Steeple Bumpstead, the 314 to Dunmow and the SB22 to White Colne.

More than 4,000 people responded to two consultations on the plans, which are expected to be agreed at a cabinet meeting today.

The number 9/10 Stephensons service between Great Notley and Great Bardfield will no longer stop at Great Saling, meaning residents will have to call a minibus in advance.

Great Saling parish councillor Diane Greenwood said elderly residents would lose a community asset and might be prevented from travelling to Braintree to shop in the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

She said: “They are trying to budget and we are being targeted, as I’m sure lots of people are.

“The biggest issue is the Wednesday shopping bus.

"It’s a popular bus for our older people. We get on average 20 plus people, we have been monitoring it for the last few weeks.

“The proposal has been to replace it with DRT.

“That’s going to be convenient for many people, but it doesn’t take into account they are proposing minibuses with a capacity of 16. That’s not going to be enough.

“What’s vital to the community is the fact that it’s an opportunity for people to see each other.

“It’s community spirit that we are going to lose.”

The 133 service between Braintree and Stansted Airport will also be cut to one every two hours on a Sunday, as Essex County Council pulls out of the subsidised route.

Other changes include the 21 service between Bocking and Black Notley no longer running after 8.58pm.

The 70 between Colchester and Braintree and the 71 between Colchester and Chelmsford will also receive new timetables.

Most contracts for the county’s bus network expire on March 26, 2016, when the changes are likely to come into force.