Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council accuses GCP of ignoring concerns over new cycling greenway
A parish council has demanded that the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) put a halt to its plans for a new greenway cycle path through a village and claimed it ignored the concerns of residents and councillors.
Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council has complained in an open letter to GCP interim chief executive Peter Blake that, despite councillors raising objections about the route and design of the Swaffham Greenway, detailed plans had been sent to a pre-application phase without its knowledge.
A letter from the parish clerk to the GCP states: “The parish council believes that the actions of the GCP have been and remain in direct contravention with assurances given and trusted, and that our residents’ concerns are being dismissed. We therefore demand that the GCP stops any current work within and relating to our parish. We also demand that the GCP holds a community event in Swaffham Bulbeck as soon as possible to illustrate and explain the details of any current plans and to make clear the implications – both positive and negative – to Swaffham Bulbeck’s residents. To do otherwise would make it abundantly clear that the GCP has no wish to engage with local communities and no regard for the residents of the villages that it is proposing to refashion without their consent.”
The GCP’s greenways are a series of 12 routes featuring mostly 3m-wide path to help people to travel into and from the city by bike or on foot.
The clerk of Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council explains that at a meeting in January 2024, councillors were assured that they would receive plans within six weeks so that they could share proposals with residents. These did not materialise but, the clerk notes, the GCP promised nothing would happen until the parish council and the community had seen and agreed to the plans.
The clerk writes: “In direct contravention to this, we see that the GCP is now in the detailed design phase and that a pre-application has been submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council. Our concerns are not to be dismissed.”
The parish council adds: “The GCP’s response to our concerns has been a statement to the effect that the parish council agreed the White Droveway route at an onsite meeting on 26 May, 2023. You are fully aware that this is nonsense.
“Firstly, no views expressed by individuals have any weight in law and they cannot be accepted as a resolution by the council, nor considered in any way to be a formal response.
“Secondly, you were not even aware of the possibility of a route along White Droveway and Abbey Lane until that meeting, so it would have been impossible for you to propose and for the council to agree it at that time.”
The Swaffhams Greenway route would start in Swaffham Prior and continue through Swaffham Bulbeck alongside the B1102, past Anglesey Abbey to Stow-cum-Quy. Here, the route would join up with the Bottisham Greenway, which would provide a link into Cambridge.
A GCP spokesperson said: “By creating safer and easier routes to connect with the wider network of greenways – including the Chisholm Trail and other key connections – the Swaffhams Greenway will improve everyday journeys for local communities between the Swaffhams, Lode and Cambridge. Extensive public engagement with communities and elected representatives has taken place, including with Swaffham Bulbeck Parish Council. Residents expressed their support during this process and were keen that local walking and cycling routes were developed.
“Over the years, we worked closely with the parish council on our proposals, and it was their direct feedback that shaped the current route, based on their local knowledge, expertise and ideas. We have continued working with the parish council following their membership change and will continue to share designs as they develop. It’s important to emphasise that the current route in question is temporary – to provide safer journeys while the final design and land is procured.”
