Small Towns: Transport Links

Claire Hazelgrove Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Andy MacNae]

That is a real inequity within regions now, and I will cover that in my conclusion. It is a fundamental that we have to address.

We must begin with empowering people to actively travel by walking, wheeling or cycling to work or school or to see friends. True connectivity is not just about how we get from one place to another; it is about having real choice in how we do so. At present, too many people in our small towns feel that they have to rely on a car even for the shortest journeys. For many, it is not that they are unwilling to walk or ride; it is just that they do not feel they have the option. What they need is not persuasion but safe, accessible, well-designed environments to make active travel the obvious and practical choice. That means getting the basics right, from ensuring our pavements are usable for everyone—including those with disabilities or parents with prams—to safer crossings, better lighting and dedicated routes that give people the confidence to walk, wheel or cycle as part of their daily routine.

Within this context I would like to focus on travel to school. We can all recognise the benefits of more children walking or riding to school on health and on reducing congestion. It is generally a more relaxed start to the day. Parents know that, but far too many concerns over safety are a key barrier: speeding heavy goods vehicles, narrow and blocked pavements and a lack of safe crossings present challenges. It is no surprise that in small towns and villages, only 30% of children walk or ride to school. For cities the figures are much higher at around 60%, showing how much room there is for improvement, and that inequity can be addressed. Living Streets, working with forward-thinking councils like Blackburn with Darwen, has shown a way forward: local authorities working proactively with schools to deliver evidence-based travel initiatives and infrastructure.

But this sort of best practice is still far too patchy. Last year in Lancashire, my 11-year-old constituent William Cartwright collected 1,400 signatures for a petition asking the county council to simply install a safe crossing, to allow him and his fellow pupils to walk safely to school. Despite this clear public support, Lancashire county council said no, citing the tired old excuse that not enough people have been killed or injured—yet—on the road in question. The idea of working with the school proactively to enable safe travel seemed entirely alien to it. We need to do better. I call on the county council to think again and work with me on this, and I call on the Government to clearly lay down best practice in their road safety and active travel guidance.

More broadly, active travel must be seen as integral to the wider transport system, not separate from it. Walking and cycling are what connect people to buses, trains and trams. When these modes work together, we create a system that is not only more efficient but healthier, more affordable and more sustainable for the communities it serves.

I turn to buses, which are a crucial part of the transport mix that we have to get right. They are vital for the more vulnerable in our society—the elderly, the young and the disabled—yet 56% of county and unitary council areas still lack adequate provision. For small towns, a lack of buses limits access to essential services.

[Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that small towns and large villages share similar challenges? I think of Winterbourne in my community, where people are still unsure whether they will have a regular, reliable bus service once the M4 overbridge reopens soon.

[Andy MacNae]

Absolutely—there is rural isolation, and I will be talking about a large village in my constituency in a moment. When it comes to small towns and villages, it is a spectrum. These are communities that have been left behind for far too long, and they are the ones we now need to prioritise.

The lack of buses limits access to essential services such as healthcare, education and employment, exacerbates social isolation and forces people into higher-cost alternatives.

Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]

Claire Hazelgrove Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 2nd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)]

I will say at the outset that I will not use my full five minutes. I will not take interventions, so hopefully more people can give their speeches, too.

Buses are a vital route to connecting people with each other and with opportunity, which is why this Bill, which will improve bus services, is so important. In the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency, our story is very mixed. For those who live near a route served by a Metrobus, a Y bus or a T1, it is usually pretty quick to get into Bristol city centre, but problems arise when trying to get across our towns and villages on the outskirts of the city, where many of our places of work and study are based, as are many of our loved ones.

For many people, including those unable to drive, getting to Southmead hospital, which is just next door in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones), is all but impossible using public transport, because, like our communities, it is outside the city centre. It is not uncommon for what should be a 10-minute drive to take around an hour on a bus, either because of the route or because one needs to change buses at the University of the West of England or Bristol Parkway. Often these stops are in the wrong direction and the travel times are simply not realistic, so people do not feel that they can leave their car at home, even when they want to. As a frequent bus user, I know how frustrating all this can be when, through no fault of our own, we are made late because of a ghost bus that did not show up, and we are left figuring out what to do at the side of the road. We have also had route changes, including to the No. 73. Instead of taking people to the mall at Cribbs Causeway, where many people work and shop, the bus now stops partway there—and these are the parts of our community that have regular access to a bus.

We now have the bizarre scenario in which residents in Winterbourne are finally being served by a bus, but only because buses are being redirected through the village while the motorway bridge is being rebuilt. I am glad that our new Labour West of England Mayor joined my long-standing calls, and those of the community, for a proper solution for people in Winterbourne. I am also incredibly glad that our new Labour Government are giving local leaders and communities the opportunity to take back control of local buses through this Bill, and I was proud to campaign for that ahead of the election.

I encourage fellow residents to fill in my latest survey about their experiences of local buses. After years of Tory under-investment nationally and a real lack of understanding of how important buses are, vital routes have been lost, but I am optimistic that if other regions can do this—just look at Manchester, Liverpool, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, which are all at different points in their journeys but taking great strides forward—so can we. We must, because people in our community deserve the same opportunities as anyone else, anywhere else.

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Hazelgrove Excerpts

Thursday 15th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

In Chorley’s case, work started but it has still not been finished. It was abandoned halfway through.

[Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)]

Residents across my constituency regularly raise with me the issue of potholes and the state of our roads in general. I greatly appreciate the additional funding provided by the Government to South Gloucestershire council to help with improvements. This is about safety. It also about pride of place and the costs of vehicle repairs—all these things matter—so what will the next steps be to support councils to keep roads up to scratch once the potholes are filled?

[Lilian Greenwood]

We are providing record amounts for local authorities this year, and we hope to provide a long-term funding settlement for local roads maintenance after the spending review.

A432 Badminton Road Bridge

Claire Hazelgrove Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)]

I welcome the debate of my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Claire Young), although I would have appreciated some notification of the debate, given that the bridge also sits within my constituency and impacts my residents every single day in exactly the same way as it does hers.

I completely agree with the challenges that have been described. Delays in getting home, to work or to a doctor’s appointment are very real challenges. As the leader of the council at the time the big challenges with the bridge were discovered, when National Highways thought that it needed to intervene to close the bridge because things had got to that stage, the hon. Lady has deep insight into those challenges. I welcome the work that she and others, including Ian Boulton, who was co-leader of the council at the time, have done alongside council officers to mitigate the impact of the bridge closure. I work closely with them and get regular updates, for which I am very grateful as a constituency MP. That close relationship between the council and MPs is what our constituents want. They want us to work together with council leaders in South Gloucestershire, and I am fully committed to that.

Although there are delays and we wish the bridge could be opened soon—I echo that desire—I understand that National Highways has brought about this work as quickly as it could. We seek to communicate that to residents —I know that I do as an MP—so that they know the hard and fast work being done. National Highways recognises the importance of this bridge as an artery across and between our communities for people to get to work and see family members. My hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Sadik Al-Hassan), who is sitting beside me, knows the situation well, he having lived just on the other side of the bridge for a long time. He can attest to the delays and the challenges that the situation is causing hard-working families and individuals across our community.

A lot of local people recognise not only the challenge, but the ambition being led by the council, alongside National Highways, to ensure that the new bridge can serve our communities in the way that it needs to in the long term—that is positive. The consultation work done over a long while on ways to bring in active travel measures and offer more opportunities will serve our communities well in the long term. I hear and echo the challenges that have been described, which my residents and I share and understand, but I am optimistic about the long-term future of the bridge. I hope that it can be an example of the good types of bridges that we want to see elsewhere across our country.

I will leave it there for now. I wanted to share those additional and important factors, as well as the views of local people on my side of the bridge.