Jobs fear as Bloxwich Ring and Ride depot to be shut

Three jobs are at risk under the plans for Bloxwich, as bosses revealed they are braced for a cut in funding for the next financial year. But users were today assured they will see no change in service levels, despite fears the move to Moxley may affect some parts of the borough.

The depot at Croxstalls Road will then be put on the market.

Peter Maggs, chief executive of West Midlands Special Needs Transport which runs the service, said they were warned before Christmas funding was likely to be "significantly less" than this financial year.

"We own the site in Bloxwich and there is space available at Moxley," he said.

"As an efficiency move, we can move operations to Moxley, which we lease, and then put the site at Bloxwich up for sale."

Mr Maggs said all driver and scheduler jobs were safe but revealed three supervisor roles were in doubt.

He said bosses hoped those workers could be offered alternative roles at the base six miles away in Western Way, Moxley.

"None of the operational staff will be affected by this move," he added.

Mr Maggs also allayed fears the move would have an impact on services.

"We will be putting out the same number of vehicles to the same levels as we do currently," he said. "It's just that we've got an opportunity at Moxley and it's going to save us money. It is not going to affect our service to our clients."

The Bloxwich depot is set to close on February 28.

There had been fears the move would impact on some service users in Aldridge and Brownhills, areas the furthest away from Moxley.