A NEW bus service for people living in villages around Darlington starts on Monday.
Leven Valley Coaches, supported by Darlington Borough Council, is using a rural bus subsidy grant to develop the service.
The new 97 route will mean that the Highfields estate, in Middleton St George, will have a bus service for the first time. Buses will also run between Darlington and Heighington, through Faverdale, and on to Walworth Gate and Houghton-le-Side.
Alternate journeys will be renamed as service 96 and travel through Stockton and Middlesbrough to provide links to Teesside.
Councillor Nick Wallis, the council's cabinet member for highways and transport said: "Bus services in rural areas have been in decline for a long time. The Government's Rural Bus Subsidy Grants make a significant difference.
"Rural bus services provide a lifeline to many people and the efforts of Leven Valley to enhance the network are appreciated and deserve to succeed."
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