Resmî Mektup

17 Maple Street
Riverside, RV3 8QP

The Director
Riverside Public Library
2 Station Road
Riverside, RV1 4LN

15 August 2026

Dear Sir or Madam,1

I am writing to express my concern about the recent reduction in the opening hours of Riverside Public Library, and to request that the earlier evening schedule be reconsidered.2

As a regular user of the library, I was informed last week that the branch will now close at five o'clock in the afternoon rather than at eight in the evening. For a great number of students in this area, the library is the only quiet and well-equipped space available for study once the school day has ended.3 Since the new hours were introduced, I have twice been asked to leave before I was able to complete my work, and I understand from friends that many others have encountered exactly the same problem.

I fully appreciate that these hours may have been shortened in order to reduce running costs during a difficult period.4 However, I would respectfully point out that the early evening is precisely when the library is used most heavily. Withdrawing access at this hour places an unfair burden on those students who, for various reasons, are unable to study in comfort at home.5

I would therefore be most grateful if you could consider restoring the evening opening hours, at the very least on weekdays during the school term. Should a full return to the previous schedule not be feasible, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss alternative arrangements, such as the provision of a supervised study room.6

Thank you for taking the time to consider this matter. I look forward to receiving your reply.

Yours faithfully,7

Deniz Aydın

42 Hollow Lane
Ashford, AF6 2RB

Ms Eleanor Hart
Managing Director
Metroline Transport
1 Depot Way
Ashford, AF1 9GT

18 August 2026

Dear Ms Hart,1

I am writing in response to your company's recent announcement that the number 47 bus service, which links the Ashford estates to Greenway Hospital, is to be withdrawn at the end of September.2 As a resident who has relied upon this route for the past six years, I wish to explain why I believe the decision deserves to be reconsidered, and to suggest a possible way forward.

The 47 is not merely one service among many. For the several hundred households on the eastern side of the town, it represents the only direct connection to the hospital, to the pharmacy beside it, and to the medical practice on Greenway Road.3 A significant proportion of its passengers are elderly residents or parents travelling with young children, for whom a change of two or three buses is not a realistic alternative. Several have written to me directly, anxious about how they will reach routine appointments once the service ends.

I understand from the notice displayed at the depot that the route has been judged unprofitable. I do not dispute that passenger numbers have fallen at certain times of day. Nevertheless, the figures for the morning and late-afternoon services remain high, and it is these journeys that carry patients to appointments they cannot afford to miss. Indeed, the depot's own timetable shows that the eight o'clock and four o'clock departures are frequently full.4 To measure the value of the route by its quietest hours alone seems to me a misleading way of assessing its true worth.

I recognise, of course, that a transport company cannot sustain services that make heavy losses, and that difficult commercial decisions are sometimes unavoidable.5 I would ask, however, that the human consequences be weighed alongside the financial ones.

Rather than withdrawing the 47 entirely, might it be possible to retain a reduced timetable covering the busiest periods, or to explore a shared arrangement with the local health authority, which surely has an interest in maintaining access to its own facilities? Such a compromise would preserve a lifeline for the most vulnerable while acknowledging the pressures your company faces.6 I am confident that a solution acceptable to both residents and the company could be found with relatively little effort, and I would gladly take part in any consultation you might arrange with affected residents.

I would be most grateful if you could confirm whether the decision might still be open to review before the service is discontinued.7 Many families in Ashford would be deeply reassured to know that their concerns have been given genuine consideration.

Yours sincerely,8

Mira Solak