A county councillor has called for a bus summit to tackle poor connections in Shepton Mallet, warning that residents' opportunities to work, study and access services are being restricted by limited timetables.

Claire Sully wants Somerset Council, town and parish councils, education providers and health services brought together to agree improvements for the town and surrounding villages.

Her call comes as current timetables reveal a gap of more than six hours between the last Saturday departures from Wells towards Shepton and towards Glastonbury and Street.

The final Saturday 174 leaves Wells bus station at 6.03pm, reaching Shepton's Cenotaph at 6.29pm. Passengers travelling towards Glastonbury and Street can catch the 376 from Wells at 12.06am on Sunday morning.

For someone from Shepton attending an evening meal or performance in Wells, a return on the 174 is therefore unavailable. But Cllr Sully says the consequences extend beyond evenings out, affecting employment, education, appointments and family life.

She said: "A bus timetable decides more than when you can travel. It shapes which college course a young person can take and which job someone can accept. It decides whether an older resident gets home from an evening appointment, and whether a family can get out on a Sunday. In Shepton Mallet and the villages around it, those choices are being narrowed every day, and not because people lack ambition or need. The bus simply isn't there."

Cllr Sully is backing the town council's Shepton Mallet on the Move report, which sets out a case for transport investment. She credited Cllr Simon Edwards with bringing the report together and said it was still awaiting a formal response from Somerset Council.

She wants evening buses until 9pm, better Sunday services and an earlier first journey to Wells so Shepton commuters can connect with a Bristol bus. According to Cllr Sully, the report estimates that adjusting the morning connection would cost £15,000–£25,000 a year.

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She is also asking Somerset Council to explain how Shepton and the wider Bath & West area have been assessed alongside other towns when transport funding is allocated.

Comparing provision with neighbouring Wells, she said: "I'm not arguing that Wells should lose anything. I'm arguing that Shepton should get its fair share."

Cllr Sully said residents of surrounding villages were particularly affected because they relied on Shepton for shopping, healthcare and other services. She also highlighted the position of pupils leaving Whitstone School, which has no sixth form, who must travel elsewhere for sixth-form education.

She said campaigning earlier this year had helped secure changes to the 174 following concerns about evening services and school arrival times. She now wants improvements included in Somerset Council's 2027/28 Local Transport Delivery Plan, alongside a summit led by the town council.

Residents whose work, education, appointments or family life have been affected by poor connections can contact Cllr Sully. She says their experiences will help strengthen the case for investment.

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