Somerset Council has blocked an attempt by bus campaigners to alter a new bus route to one of Somerset's busiest railway stations.
Glastonbury TrainLink has been pushing for a new regular bus service between Glastonbury and Castle Cary railway station via Pilton and Shepton Mallet, making it easier for people in rural areas to connect with trains to London Paddington.
The council committed in early-April that the service would commence "imminently", once it has ensured that the new timetables from Great Western Railway (GWR) will line up with the planned bus times.
Glastonbury TrainLink subsequently accused the council is "ignoring the evidence that we have collected", altering the proposed route to include Clarks Village in Street and to connect up with the Slinky service in Somerton and Langport.
TrainLink member Susannah Clemence criticised the council's behaviour on Thursday morning (June 4), arguing they were neglecting proposals which were "widely endorsed by the community".
The council has responded that including Clarks Village on the route is essential to secure sufficient passengers numbers of ensure the trial was viable.
Ms Clemence laid out her case at the inaugural meeting of the council's climate, environment and place scrutiny committee in Taunton on Thursday morning (June 4).
She said: "We have invested and accumulated considerable resources, both monetary and in professional standard research and marketing work, towards what Glastonbury, Pilton and other communities asked for.
"Namely, they want a bus that serves communities, workplaces and leisure destinations on the route from Glastonbury to Pilton, Cannard's Grave, Prestleigh, the Bath and West Showground, Castle Cary station, Ansford and Castle Cary town centre.
"We've consulted the organisers of comparable, successful projects to receive advice, and used community dialogue to identify the route option preferred by residents, and therefore most likely to be financially self-sustaining.
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"This included comparing an option via Street and Keinton Mandeville, which was rejected by respondents."
Ms Clemence said that numerous local parish councils and businesses along their preferred route were on board with their vision, with just over £29,000 in pledges being raised to cover initial costs and "considerable advertising and promotion" being promised.
She added: "We have responsively nurtured and grown community support and confidence, with the recognition that such a project needs a huge amount of advance work and promotion in order to have any chance of success.
"We ask you to examine the basis for your decision, the criteria applied for 'value for money', evidence of any underpinning market research, and whether a better outcome can be achieved by including the Glastonbury TrainLink project, rather than scrapping it altogether."
Mike O’Dowd-Jones, the council's service director for infrastructure and transport, said the TrainLink proposals had been given "a great deal of consideration" but were not ultimately the most viable route the new service could take.
He explained: "We recognise the desire for a transport link to Glastonbury to Castle Cary railway station - and that's why we are providing this new service.
"It's important to stress that we need to provide the best value for the available funding we have, and therefore it's not possible to cover all the requested calling points.
"We've looked really closely at the TrainLink proposals - they've been given a great deal of consideration.
"Our primary concern is that the proposed route has significant limitations in terms of potential users.
"To ensure that the trial service has the best chance of success, we believe that it needs to operate via Street to attract visitors to Clarks Village and Glastonbury, and to widen the catchment area by providing a peak commuter journey to and from the Langport and Somerton area to Castle Cary railway station, using our digital Slinky bus services.
"In addition to this, during the day, local residents in the Langport and Somerton area will also be able to book journeys on the digital Slinky service to connect with the new bus service at Keinton Mandeville, for onward travel to and from the railway station.
"We have listened to the request, and we've delivered what we believe is the best possible solution, while balancing the need to attract as many passengers as possible by widening the catchment area, and gaining support from both Clarks Village and GWR to help us promote the services."
Councillor Henry Hobhouse (who represents Castle Cary and the neighbouring villages) said that he hoped that the station would continue to see a rise in passenger numbers as a result of this service and other local improvements.
He said: "The station is in my division. Over the last five years, the amount of people using the station has risen to 370,000 a year.
"I'm sorry to say it, but it drives me nuts every time the papers describe the station as the home of the 'Pilton pop festival' [Glastonbury Festival], because that makes up less than ten per cent of our total usage.
"We are getting a third car park - it is in negotiation at the moment - and hopefully our numbers will go on increasing. Five years ago, we didn't have any permanent station staff - we now have two."
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