Inquiry told £200m Cambourne to Cambridge off-road busway ‘unjustified’

Opponents of the proposed Cambourne to Cambridge busway told the opening day of a public inquiry that the plans are based on flawed modelling and would be damaging to the surrounding countryside.

They warned the scheme will carve through Green Belt land, require the compulsory purchase of land – including charity-owned fields intended to protect the setting of Coton village and the Cambridge countryside – and cause lasting environmental harm.

As proceedings got under way on Tuesday, 16 September it came to light that there had been a procedural “oversight” ahead of the inquiry. Notices had not been published, as required, in “one or more places where public notices are usually posted”.

A request has been made for the Secretary of State to waive the need for that so the long-awaited inquiry can proceed.

However, the legal team representing Cambridgeshire County Council argued the notices had now been placed and given the inquiry will run for eight weeks, this would still give time for people to see them and attend.

Inspector Richard Clegg told the inquiry on Wednesday that the government had confirmed overnight that a decision over whether to continue was “a matter for the discretion of the inspectors”.

He continued: “In this case, we’ve considered the situation very carefully in the light of what we’ve heard and what we’ve read.

“Our view is that, given the steps that the applicant has now taken, the publicity that was already under way, and in particular, the length of this inquiry, which extends for eight weeks, over a 10 week period that the failure to comply with rule 13(6) in this case, does not cause prejudice, if the inquiry is to continue.

“And with this, we’re content, therefore, to proceed as originally intended.”

Lawyers for Cambridge Past, Present & Future (CPPF) and Coton Parish Council (CPC) told inspectors this week that the case for seizing land for the controversial busway was weak and accused the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), which drew up the scheme, of overstating the potential transport and economic benefits. They said there is a lack of compelling justification for the project, especially for the outbound busway lane.

Jack Parker, speaking on behalf of the two groups, said: “Given that the scheme involves the need for compulsory purchase, there must be a compelling case in the public interest. Given that the scheme will cause obvious harm to the openness of the Green Belt, there must be very special circumstances to justify it. CPPF and CPC are firmly of the view that such justification is lacking.

“It is important to note that the evidence put forward by the applicant is only claimed to demonstrate that the scheme would make a material improvement to inbound journeys.

“All that the applicant has said in relation to the benefit of the provision for outbound bus journeys is that congestion is likely to worsen so as to justify its provision in future.

“There is no actual evidence that outbound congestion will worsen significantly, nor that provision of an outbound bus lane will be required.”

He went on to explain that the transport modelling used to justify the scheme was from before the pandemic and does not reflect current travel patterns.

He argued that “there can be no question” that the pre-Covid transport modelling, supporting the business case and transport assessment, was “an inadequate basis to justify the scheme”.

The two-way 8.5-mile (13.6km) busway has been devised by the GCP on behalf of the highways authority, Cambridgeshire County Council, to improve public transport between the town and the city.

But the busway, expected to cost at least £200million, has faced huge opposition from campaigners for the off-road route it is due to take through the West Fields at Coton, which will mean cutting down hundreds of mature trees at Coton Orchard.

The applicant told the inquiry there is “near-universal agreement” on the need for reliable public transport between Cambourne and Cambridge, with strong national and local policy support for the proposed busway.

Neil Cameron KC, on behalf of the council, said: “The fact that there is agreement on these matters is striking, but it should not be surprising, because the need for new transport infrastructure is a key feature of both national and local policy, both in that which is adopted and that which is emerging.

“Easy movement at a human scale will be a crucial component in the high growth, high productivity Cambridge of the future.

“The Greater Cambridge City Deal puts the position even more starkly. The success to date, known as the Cambridge phenomenon, has been widely celebrated, but is now contributing to a shortage of housing and significant transport congestion that threatens to choke off further economic growth.”

Mr Cameron emphasised that Cambridge’s life science firms contribute nearly £3billion annually to the UK economy, making it crucial to remove barriers to further growth, as unlocking Cambridge’s economic potential is of national importance.

He told the public inquiry that the preferred route was chosen after considering other options, which were found to be less viable or not deliverable. This process, he said, met legal requirements.

Mr Cameron went on to say that CPPF’s alternative on-road option and other route suggestions had been found to be unworkable, unsafe, or less effective in meeting the scheme’s objectives.

“The CPPF alternative has evolved over time, with a number of material changes being made in various different consultation responses, both formal and informal. It has never been possible for CPPF to fix its proposal for the simple reason that it has never been workable.”

He said the county council has produced two engineering assessments of the CPPF alternative and concluded it is “unsafe and based on a plethora of unacceptable departures from the relevant design standards”.

“Put simply, the CPPF alternative is not viable,” he said.

The inquiry continues. It is due to sit each week from Tuesday to Friday until Friday, 21 November. It will not meet during the weeks of 6-10 October and 27-31 October.

All sessions will take place at the Cambridge Belfry hotel in Cambourne, except for the final day, which will be held at South Cambridgeshire District Council’s offices in Cambourne.