TRANSPORT chiefs are looking into proposals to extend the 110 bus route through Whitton High Street after more than 2,000 people signed a petition backing the move.

Twickenham MP Vince Cable, Whitton town centre manager Amanda Lyndon-Chappell and Ann Goff, who organised the campaign, presented the petition to London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon last week.

The details have been passed on to London mayor Boris Johnson and the proposal is now being considered by officials at Transport for London (TfL).

The 110 currently runs between Hounslow and Twickenham, but campaigners say the extension would make Whitton town centre more accessible for hundreds of people.

Under the plans, buses would continue along Percy Road and Whitton High Street, rather than turning right towards Twickenham.

They would then turn down Nelson Road and Hospital Bridge Road before continuing along the original route.

Mr Cable, who met officials from TfL in Twickenham on Tuesday (April 6) morning to discuss the proposals, claimed it would make a big difference to people living in and around Whitton.

"I met the head of TfL, Peter Hendy, recently and he undertook to pursue the request from residents seriously," he said.

"Mrs Goff and other residents have worked very hard to promote this petition which calls for a direct link between Whitton High Street, the station and the residential estates of Heathfield.

"If we could get this agreed it would be a big boost for Whitton town centre as well as for residents, many of whom currently feel cut off from Whitton and the rest of the borough."

Ann Goff, of Waverley Road, Whitton, spent more than a month gathering signatures from residents, traders and even doctors in the area.
"It's been an amazing response but because it's something that's so needed I wasn't surprised. We could have got 4,000 signatures," said the 65-year-old grandmother-of-four.