Long-established Peak District operator Hulleys of Baslow has announced the closure of its business after service on Wednesday 26 March.
The demise was confirmed two days earlier in a notice to staff that is understood to be from Director Alfred Crofts. It says an insolvency practitioner has been appointed who as of that time was managing the operator’s affairs.
Hulleys can trace its history to 1914 when Henry Hulley purchased a Ford Model T taxi. Bus services started in 1921. The letter to staff says that short notice around the closure has come about due to unsuccessful efforts to obtain insurance cover beyond 26 March.
That message explains how an inability to fully recover from the impact of the pandemic has led to the conclusion that “it is in the best interests of all staff to close the company to provide certainty and a more stable future for as many staff as possible.”
Additionally, a recent Public Inquiry “has placed us under much increased scrutiny,” the letter continues.
Closure of Hulleys follows a difficult period for the business. In mid-March, Derbyshire County Council (DCC) served notice of removal of four local bus service contracts, citing “a long period of unreliability and service issues from the current operator.”
In making that move, the local authority claimed that missing journeys and parts of routes not being served were among the issues that had occurred.
At that time, DCC hoped that alternative operators could take over “in the next couple of weeks” and how removal of the contracts would enable Hulleys to focus on commercial services “as we understand [that] there are also problems with reliability on these.”
Following the announcement by Hulleys, DCC quickly said that the contracts would be taken up by a combination of Andrew’s of Tideswell, Ashbourne Community Transport, Linburg Coach Travel and Stagecoach Yorkshire from the day after the closure and to the same timetables.
As of then, DCC noted that the fate of Hulleys’ commercial services was unknown, but it has aired a hope that the work “can be picked up soon by new operators.”
Executive Director for Place Chris Henning says that the local authority has “done all we can over recent months to support [Hulleys] through a very challenging period.”
Mr Henning adds that DCC has “been concerned about the reliability of [Hulleys] services for some time” and how the decision to remove contracts was made in a hope that it would enable the business to focus on its commercial work. “Sadly, this has not turned out to be the case,” he concludes.
Hulleys staff have been advised that any personal possessions should be removed from the Baslow depot by closure of the business on 26 March. “After that date, the site will be closed and nobody will have access for any reason,” the notice of 24 March says. Hulleys has an O-Licence authorising the operation of 19 vehicles.
