Bus routes could be slashed after the council decided to cut its budget by nearly half.

There are fears for the future of some buses in Macclesfield after Cheshire East decided to cut the money it spends on services in the borough by around 40per cent. Community leaders are concerned that the huge reduction which was signed off as part of the council’s latest budget will mean that Macclesfield routes will have to go.

Coun Nick Mannion, who represents the Macclesfield West and Ivy ward, is outraged by the move and fears that evening and Sunday services will go as well as routes to rural areas.

Nick said: “These cuts will affect some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

“This is the start of a process that could see the end of the remaining evening and Sunday bus services in Macclesfield.

“If they’re cutting such a huge amount of money from the transport budget for the borough, this will inevitably mean losses for Macclesfield.

“How will shift workers and those employed in the evening economy get home from work when bus services are cut?

“We should be encouraging people onto public transport, not forcing them into cars. But what choice will people have?

“We want to generate a night-time economy in Macclesfield and give people the option of public transport other than having to use private taxis.

“It’s isolating people who rely on public transport.”

The council spends money on subsidising bus routes which may not otherwise be provided by private bus firms because they are not profitable.

It’s due to carry out a review of bus services which it says will mean ‘combining routes, changing the hours of operation and stopping services altogether’. It will run a public consultation.

Coun Sam Corcoran said: “A major flaw is that only existing users of bus services will be consulted. We want to know why non-users were not being consulted and asked why they don’t use the bus and what would encourage them to do so.”

This year’s budget for buses was £5.078m of which £850,000 was to fund routes after the collapse of GHA coaches.

The budget will remain the same from 2017/18 but next year from 2018/19, £1.576m will be cut, which is around a 40pc reduction.