Petition urges GCP to install bus lane instead of £200m off-road busway from Cambourne to Cambridge

A petition urging the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) to install a bus lane instead of a £200million off-road busway for the Cambourne to Cambridge route has been launched by a group of campaigners.

Cambridge Past, Present & Future (PPF), Coton Parish Council, Coton Busway Action Group, Coton Orchard, Coton Loves Pollinators, Hardwick Parish Council and Save the West Fields have joined forces to call on the GCP to rethink their plans for the busway through the countryside, which they say will cause “unnecessary destruction to an important green corridor and historic orchard”.

The new busway, running from Hardwick to Grange Road on the western edge of the city, “will irreversibly damage the landscape, views and habitats on one of Cambridge’s few hills“, they argue.

Instead, they are calling for traffic free bus lanes next to the A1301/A428.

James Littlewood, chief executive of Cambridge PPF, said: “Everyone wants to see better public transport to the west of Cambridge but we don’t have to destroy our environment and heritage for future generations in order to achieve that. There is a viable alternative route, alongside the existing road, which is less damaging to the environment, is far less expensive and can be delivered more quickly.

“If you want to protect the green corridors and habitats around your city then now is the time to make your voice heard or help, before it is too late.”

Drone footage has been taken showing the approximate path of the busway.

The GCP’s joint assembly will be asked today (September 8) to recommend that the executive board asks the county council to seek a Transport and Works Act Order for the busway from the Department for Transport. If approved, it could open in 2026.

Cllr Mark Abbot, chair of Coton Parish Council, said: “Coton fully supports improving bus services from Cambourne to Cambridge, but the project as proposed will be a waste of £200m. It will not make journey times to Cambridge significantly faster – a difference of only 1.5 to 3.5 minutes between going across the countryside and an on-road bus lane. It will not provide easy journeys to actual destinations apart from the West Cambridge campus.

“The plans take no account of the change in road usage and working/commuting patterns post-Covid, which has reduced congestion.

“No wonder the business case is negative: only 43p of value for every £1 spent. No part of government – central or local – should approve a project that is such poor value.”

Anna Gazeley, of Coton Orchard, added: “The fruit trees at Coton Orchard were first planted in 1922 for the production of apples for the wholesale trade in Covent Garden and latterly for the production of apple juice and cider.

“One hundred years on and it is one of the last few traditional orchards left in the UK and the largest in the county. No longer economically viable as a fruit farm, development of a garden centre on the fringe has afforded the present owners the ability to preserve the original orchard, leaving it relatively untouched and a haven for wildlife.

“The GCP’s preferred routing of the busway would bisect the land, destroying at least a third of the trees and replacing it with tarmac, leaving it unmanageable as an orchard.

[Read more: That’s bonkers! Spoof newsreader takes the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s busway to task]

“The disruption and noise from construction and any buses that would run along it in the future will drive out the remaining wildlife presently calling Coton Orchard home.

“Following a month of drought and extreme temperatures never before experienced in Cambridge, it is clear that we need to protect our biodiverse habitats now more than ever. An off-road routing through the orchard, especially when a less costly (both environmentally and economically) option exists, is beyond foolhardy.”

Alan Everitt, who has previously served on Hardwick Parish Council, said: “The GCP objectives are best met by just running the buses on the existing roads, where there is no congestion. I sincerely hope someone with a conscience gets hold of this project before they get a green light as it will only bring chaos to normal village life in Hardwick and offer no significant reduction in travel time for Cambourne commuters.

“Authorities should concentrate instead on getting a proper connection between the A428 and the M11 to reduce rat running through village roads.”

And Dr Marilyn Treacy, of Coton Busway Action Group (CBAG), said: “Reflecting the views of the wider Coton community, CBAG believes this senseless ecologically destructive off-road bus way will urbanise the village, ruin forever the open countryside on Madingley Hill, the 100-year-old orchard, and despoil the setting of the American cemetery.

“It offers no tangible advantage to commuters from the west over an on-road scheme.

“Given that we are in a climate emergency it is irresponsible in the extreme for the GCP to be considering pouring concrete and tarmac over a virgin landscape rather than using existing infrastructure.”

[Read more: Plans for eight lanes of traffic in Hardwick under Cambourne to Cambridge busway proposals could be scrapped]

Sharon Cairns, of Coton Loves Pollinators, said: “We are horrified by the proposal to run a 20-metre width of tarmac across the ancient Coton Orchard.

“This traditional orchard is a designated Priority Habitat, the largest of its kind in Cambridgeshire and of recognised national significance. It is simply a fact that no mitigation scheme can compensate for the loss of this habitat, which includes an ancient hedgerow foraged by protected rare bat species.

“Moreover, it makes no sense for the city and county councils to back green corridor projects that are so vital for wildlife recovery, whilst at the same time removing swathes of countryside, hedgerows and mature trees – especially when there is a viable on-road alternative.”

Chris Pratten, from the Save the West Fields group, said: "We are horrified that the GCP is continuing with plans to build an unnecessary road across the West Fields. The proposed route requires a significant ‘flyover’ to be built over the Bin Brook at the eastern edge of the West Fields, despite the High Court having previously agreed that this area of Green Belt is important to the historic setting of Cambridge. There are other less damaging options."

Peter Blake, transport director for the Greater Cambridge Partnership said: “A public consultation took place between May 16 until July 11 2022 on the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Cambourne to Cambridge public transport route. The new public transport and active travel route will significantly improve bus and active travel journeys between Cambridge and Cambourne via the new Bourn Airfield development, a new travel hub at Scotland Farm, Hardwick and West Cambridge campus.

“The results of this consultation alongside the technical work that has been completed is due to be considered by our Joint Assembly on 8 September. At the discretion of the Chairperson, members of the public may submit and present petitions to the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) Joint Assembly.”

The GCP brings together Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and the University of Cambridge.

You can sign the petition at change.org/SaveGreenCorridor.