Busway Update - Petition Asks Councillors to Change Track

Last week we presented a petition of nearly 7,000 signatures to Cambridgeshire County Council asking them to listen to public opinion, save the countryside, protect the Gog Magog hills and choose a different route for new bus infrastructure between the A11 and Cambridge Biomedical Campus.  

James Littlewood, our Chief Executive, appealed to councillors “Everyone is in favour of improving public transport in the A1307 corridor, but there are two competing schemes: both will get workers to the science campuses and Cambridge more quickly, and help the local economy. Both schemes start and end in the same place and the bus journey times for both are very similar. Versions of both schemes were proposed in 2018. 

The recommendation before you will result in building 5 miles of road through open countryside, including two large bridges over the River Granta and putting a chalk stream in a culvert. It would cut across the lower slopes of the Gog Magog Hills and through a new country park. It will leave parcels of countryside exposed to future development and will cost £160m. 

The alternative scheme involves building 1 mile of bus road and 1.2 miles of bus lane. Combined with the existing dual carriageway this would create 2.3 miles of continuous traffic free bus route. Near Babraham, an outbound bus lane and traffic signals would by-pass outbound congestion in the evening. It would be much better for the environment and would cost around £60m.” 

We are very grateful to everyone who signed the petition but sadly, local politicians from Labour and the Lib Dems didn’t listen and they voted for the 5-mile bus road to proceed to the next stage. This means that an application will be made to government for planning permission for the bus road and a public inquiry will take place. We will take part in the inquiry and make the case that they have chosen the wrong option. To do this we need a legal team and professional experts to make the best case we can. We are raising funds to pay for this. If you would like to help protect Cambridge’s countryside from unnecessary damage please make a donation if you can by clicking here