RETAIL park chiefs have expressed concerns over changes to the routes of two bus services.

The withdrawal of the 518 bus and change to the 517 bus - both operated by Diamond - means passengers travelling from Horwich will no longer be able to get to Middlebrook Retail Park, from Sunday.

The 517 will now only travel from Leigh to Middlebrook and the 518 will be replaced by the 577, which will only travel from Horwich to Bolton, missing out Middlebrook.

Heather Ingham, retail, marketing and PR manager of The Emerson Group, who manage Middlebrook Retail Park, said: “The change in services will affect us, as we have a lot of shoppers from the Horwich area, a lot of whom are elderly.

“We have been working with Horwich Town Council and we have had a meeting with Councillor Kevin McKeon and TfGM to discuss options and we are looking into it. I understand that the service won’t be halted completely and will still run from Leigh, but our market research does show that we get a lot more visitors from Horwich than Leigh because we are in the heart of Horwich.” so we would be bound to get more people from the local area.”

TfGM has previously said it is looking into options to enable travel through to Middlebrook Retail Park.

The Brazley Residents’ Association has launched a campaign against the proposed service changes.

Residents have received the backing of Bolton West and Atherton MP Chris Green.

Mr Green said: “This route is essential for so many people, particularly the elderly.

They rely on it every day to get to the shops and doctors or to see family and friends.

“I’m urging the bus operator to look at this again, removing this service, especially in the run-up to winter, will have a huge impact on so many people around Bolton West and Atherton.”

Cllr Kevin McKeon, who also sits on the Horwich Town Council, said: “TfGM is well aware, after all the lobbying, the significance and critical situation the removal of these services will have on the community in Horwich. I am hopeful a compromise can be reached.”