Sarah HallBus bosses have warned they could pull one of the city's best used bus services out of a city street, because poor parking is making it so tough for the buses to get through.Sarah Hall

Bus bosses have warned they could pull one of the city's best used bus services out of a city street, because poor parking is making it so tough for the buses to get through.

First Eastern Counties is considering changing the route of the number 35 service from the train station to the University of East Anglia because of problems in Northfields.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the Norwich joint highways agency committee yesterday where a member of the public called on council bosses to join forces with First to tackle the problem.

Sue Carpenter, who will be running for the Green party in University ward in the next elections, said: 'This proposed switching of the 35 away from Northfields would be disastrous for local residents who I have spoken to about this.

'Twenty plus households on the road have expressed great dismay about this directly to me. They would like the council to intervene urgently to forestall this from happening.

'It is important to remember that a high percentage of Northfields residents are older, many of them without cars, and therefore reliant on bus transportation.

'Not having this bus go close to their homes would seriously impair their mobility and quality of life.'

Chelsea de Silva, spokeswoman for First Eastern Counties, confirmed: 'We are looking at a change of route prior to Northfields for either the inbound or outbound leg of the route, to avoid buses meeting and to deal with complaints from residents in George Borrow Road.

'This will involve, for example, the outbound leg towards the university running further down the outer ring road and turning right into the bottom of George Borrow Road, opposite Elizabeth Fry Road, and then operate the current timetable for the rest of the journey.

'It must be said, however, that we do have very big problems with cars parked on Northfields that has also led to us considering whether we pull out of this section entirely.

'We are hoping that something will be done to assist the flow of traffic around this area through the introduction of traffic enforcement measures, such as double yellow lines, to avoid us having to take this difficult decision.'

Council bosses did agree at yesterday's meeting that they would be having talks with First about a solution to the problem and looking into the feasibility of introducing double yellow lines in Northfields.

What would you think of the 35 bus route changing? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE or email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk