Connecting Communities Impact Report

Although Dennington is still a thriving local
community, with its own café, village hall and
reportedly one of the finest recreation grounds
in the county, amenities in Shirley’s immediate
area are lacking, to put it mildly. The nearest
bank is three miles away, in Framlingham, and
Dennington also has no shop or post office.
But the vital Connecting Communities service
provided by CATS is about much more than
being able to get to the supermarket. The east
Suffolk community transport provider helps
Shirley – and thousands of others – with a wide
range of needs, and the impact of this is huge
when it comes to quality of life.
The world is your oyster
“Sometimes I need to make a journey that links
up with several other modes of transport, and
that can involve bus times, train times, other
CATS buses, and also hospital appointments.
Without CATS my life would be very limited, I
would be marooned and isolated,” Shirley says.
“It’s very important to invest in companies like
CATS that serve the local population,” she adds.
“As long as they link up with other services then
the world is your oyster, in a sense, wherever
you want to go or how mobile you are.
“I would be very upset if we were to lose this
service. The drivers get to know us closely, a
lot of customers are regulars, and staff know
how to help us properly. If I didn’t turn up for
my bus they would know something is wrong.
So there’s a safety alert there. Other services
wouldn’t know anything about me. So that’s a
really valuable thing, it’s all part of the support
for people to be able to carry on a life of
quality.”
It’s very important to invest in companies like CATS that
serve the local population. As long as they link up with
other services then the world is your oyster, wherever
you want to go or how mobile you are.
– Shirley Rodrigues
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