‘Divert route’ bid to end long-running row

The South End Green bus terminus

EUREKA! The long-running saga of where to site the 168 bus stand may have finally been cracked – by a residents’ group that is not even based in the area.
Its proposal, which could spell the end of a dispute that has torn a community in half, would mean the 168 bus being diverted from its current terminus in South End Green, Hampstead, to finish its journey in Golders Green instead.
Residents and businesses say the bus stand on the north west side of the Green is unsightly and should be moved.
But a suggested alternative site – in nearby Cressy Road – was dismissed by council planners because of the street’s ambulance station. Other roads were ruled out after ferocious opposition from residents’ associations.
Developer GHP, which is building luxury flats and a Marks and Spencer food shop on the site of the old ABC cinema, then offered £100,000 towards improvements to the Green if the buses could be moved.
But the deadlock remained, until a meeting of Belsize Residents’ Association on Sunday night.
The association, with about 800 members, draws its support primarily from streets around Haverstock Hill, but has been looking at ways of solving the problem. Its committee now wants the warring groups and the council to consider a new plan.
Committee member and former chairman Handley Stephens explained: “We have looked at the options, and suggest the bus misses out the Green altogether and heads up Hampstead High Street to terminate in Golders Green.”
Previously, this option was ruled out because the 268 bus – which covers a shorter route and is not so frequent – travels from Finchley Road up the High Street and on to Golders Green. Planners believed there would not be enough room for the 168 bus and the National Express coaches which also use the bus area outside Golders Green Tube station.
But Mr Stephens said: “The 268 is a smaller bus and less frequent. It could easily be diverted to South End Green to wait on the stand used by the 24. It takes up less space and there are not so many of them – thereby solving the problem.”
The idea has received tacit support from campaigners seeking to get the 168 moved from its current stand.
Jeska Harrington, founding member of the Save Our Green group, said: “We welcome anything that may help.
“We talked about the option of moving the bus up to Golders Green, but we were under a time limit set by the council and to move bus routes is a long process, involving consulting passengers.
“But the ideas of taking the 168 up the hill would not only improve South End Green, it would be a great new service.
“There are a lot of shops in Golders Green we would love to have easier access to. It could be a real fillip.”
A spokesman for Transport for London, which manages bus services, said: “We constantly review our networks and we provide our services based on demand, and the demand for the 168 to run to South End Green is there, so we would have to look hard at the option before re-routing it.”