LOVES Farm finally has a bus route connecting it to St Neots town centre.

LOVES Farm finally has a bus route connecting it to St Neots town centre.

The service started running on October 4 after Stagecoach added a Loves Farm loop to its existing No. 62 bus service.

Buses had been stopping on the outskirts of the development while Stagecoach waited for the roads to reach a suitable standard for its buses to use, and clear enough of construction traffic to install bus stops.

St Neots Town Councillor Julia Hayward said she was pleased that the service had finally reached Loves Farm after 18 months of hard work.

She said: “We had expected that as soon as there were houses up there, the bus would start running through it, but first we needed to make sure that the roads were kept clear.

“We were promised a service, and we had to keep asking for it. But we are there now, and we finally have the service. I’m very pleased that the buses are now running.”

Buses will run every hour during the day along the route, which loops out of the town via the station, up Kester Way, down Stone Hill and back towards St Neots town centre.

There will be five stops on the loop, at Kester Way, School Drive, Whiston Way, Alsop Way and Loves Way.

Cllr Hayward said securing the bus route was an important step in the development of Loves Farm.

“It’s another way of making sure that Loves Farm feels a part of St Neots, and that it becomes properly integrated in the life of the town,” she said.

“It will bring the residents of Loves Farm closer to the town centre and all its facilities, and I hope it will grow into a well-used service.

“There is a lot of social housing on Loves Farm too, so there could be lots of bus users for the service.”

Stagecoach commercial director Philip Norwell said the company was looking forward to serving the residents of Loves Farm.

“We’ve been working closely with the authority and the developers to get access to Loves Farm.

“After a period of serving the periphery, we’re very happy that the roads are now in a suitable state for us to fit the bus stops and run the buses through Loves Farm.”

Paul Nelson, Passenger Transport Manager at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We continue to work closely with the developer and Stagecoach to improve the Number 62 service as it accesses new areas of Love Farm.

“Residents can now hop on the bus at more points in the estate as part of the section 106 agreement. This funding will last for a further 18 months so it is really important residents use the service in order for the route to continue in the future.”