Calls for review of Cambourne to Cambridge busway plan against …

A new direct comparison of the Cambourne to Cambridge busway plans against an on-road alternative will not take place. The Conservative group at Cambridgeshire County Council had called for the busway scheme to be compared against another option, which would avoid an orchard in Coton.

However, the proposal failed to get enough support from other councillors at a meeting of the authority’s full council earlier today (May 16). The county council ^[1] agreed to apply under the Transport and Works Act for permission to build the new busway at a meeting earlier this year.

The Cambourne ^[2] to Cambridge ^[3] scheme has been put together by the Greater Cambridge Partnership ^[4], aiming to create a new public transport link between the town and the city. The plans include a dedicated busway serving Cambourne and the proposed Bourne Airfield development, as well as Harwick, Coton and the West Cambridge campus.

Running alongside the busway is proposed to be an ‘active travel path’ to be used by pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians. A new park and ride site is also proposed under the plans. The scheme has been developed over eight years, but has been met with backlash, with particular concerns raised about the busway cutting through an orchard in Coton.

The charity Cambridge Past Present and Future put together an alternative option of creating a bus lane along existing roads, which they said would be cheaper and less environmentally damaging than the current plans. The leader of the county council, Councillor Lucy Nethsingha (Liberal Democrat) had previously said that the on-road route had been “thoroughly examined”.

Councillor Steve Count, leader of the Conservative group at the county council, put forward a motion asking for a direct comparison to be made looking at the on-road bus scheme against the separate busway plans. The motion said there were “many individual objections” to the project, but that the “clearest largest individual publicly supported objection” was that no direct comparison between the two schemes had been made.

Cllr Count argued considering the alternative scheme could save the authority millions, and could give Coton orchard “a chance to thrive”. However, issues with the alternative proposals were raised by some councillors at the meeting. Councillor Peter McDonald (Liberal Democrat) said he was “surprised and concerned” that the impact of the alternative scheme on Madingley Wood had not been considered, which he said was a “treasure trove of biodiversity compared to the orchard”.

Councillor Alex Beckett (Liberal Democrat) said that the proposed route relied on “city wide demand management” being put in place, and said councillors would be voting for the ‘management’ if they supported the alternative proposal. He said the proposals also relied on East West Rail, which he said a finalised route for had not yet been announced, and the Cam Metro, a project that is no longer going ahead.

Cllr Beckett said the proposals could also back traffic up on the M11, and said the county council had “no idea” whether National Highways would accept these plans. Councillor Elisa Meschini (Labour), deputy leader of the county council, said the busway was not just about helping current congestion, but also about meeting the needs of future growth in the area. She said: “It is not to solve the problem of now, but to solve the problem of 50 years time.”

Cllr Meschini also highlighted that officers had advised that there were not the resources to complete the comparison requested, and that they did not think it would “add value” to the information the authority already had. She said the national planning inspector would assess the proposals and asked the council to “please let them get on with it”.

Councillor Anne Hay (Conservative) said the motion was not asking for the busway to not go ahead, but was asking for a “proper comparison”. She said: “Unless we get a comparison of the two schemes next to one another, we cannot make a decision on which is the best in the long term.” Councillor Mark Goldsack (Conservative) said he believed there needed to be an impartial review of the two schemes. Cllr Count challenged that with large schemes such as the new busway, there should be the resources to “check the work”. When the motion was put to a vote 21 councillors voted in favour and 32 voted against.

Cambridgeshire County Council to be prosecuted over three guided busway deaths ^[6]

Cambridge University wants to turn offices into student flats ^[7]

Decision on extending South Cambs council four day week trial to next Spring ^[8]

South Cambs council chief 'did not need to declare secret PHD on four day weeks'^[9]

Date set for inquiry over developer’s bid for 425 homes on edge of Cambridge ^[10]