BASINGSTOKE'S much-awaited shuttle bus and park-and-ride service between the town and West Ham Leisure Park has ground to a halt.

The service between the leisure park, the railway station and Basing View was due to start in August.

But the Cabinet member for environmental sustainability, Cllr Ron Hussey, told Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that only one bus company had tendered to run the service - and added it was low quality, using five-year-old buses and too dear.

"The response was extremely disappointing," he told members.

"We received only one tender and the quote was way in excess of anticipated costs.

"The council had anticipated the cost of providing the service should be in the region of £200,000 - and the bus service should be of premium quality."

Cllr Hussey said that transport consultants retained by the council had looked at the tender and dismissed it as "a low-quality product at an excessive price". They said the five-year-old buses that the operator - whose name was not made public - proposed to use were unlikely to be an easy-access, low-floor design and failed to meet exhaust emission standards.

Cllr Hussey said the council wanted to purchase its own buses but as it was not a transport authority, it would have to get permission from the Government, which would take about 18 months.

In the meantime, Cllr Hussey said, they had hoped to get a bus company to run the service for them.

Cllr Colin Regan said: "This bus company has seen an opportunity of making a large profit out of the council tax-payers by providing sub-standard buses. The market is not providing a bus service that is acceptable - so it is up to us as a borough to step in."

Council leader Cllr Brian Gurden said: "This highlights the difficulties of trail-blazing councils such as ourselves in being too early in attempting things when there is a mismatch between new and old legislation.

"But we must continue to try to make significant improvements to public transport in Basingstoke."

The Cabinet voted to apply to the Government for special permission to run transport - and to repeat the tendering exercise.