£162m Cambridge South East Transport busway plans are submitted to the government

Permission is being sought from the government to build the controversial £162million Cambridge South East Transport (CSET) busway.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership has applied to the Department for Transport for a Transport and Works Act Order for the scheme, which it says will provide “fast and frequent bus journeys” to Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

But campaigners, including local parish councils, continue to argue there is a far more cost-effective and less destructive alternative to CSET.

The charity Cambridge Past, Present and Future has led the calls for an on-road bus scheme along the A1307 corridor instead, which it argues would offer “similar transport benefits” and cost about £100m less.

The GCP, however, says it has looked at on-road options and they would not deliver the same benefits.

The scheme has been subject to five formal rounds of detailed public consultation between 2016 and 2022. Meanwhile progress on the scheme was ‘paused’ amid spiralling construction costs in September 2023, with work restarting early last year.

Peter Blake, GCP interim director, said: “We have submitted a Transport and Work Act Order to the government for the CSET scheme after many years of consultation and engagement on the project.

“This scheme is supported by NHS hospital trusts and life science campuses along the stretch of the route from the A11 to the new Cambridge South rail station.

“The Department for Transport will look through the application and are highly likely to call for a public inquiry where interested parties will be able to present their views on the submission.”

In March last year, the then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that £7.2m would be allocated for improvements to local transport connections for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus through progressing the CSET application and other improvements.

However, question marks remain about how the remainder of the scheme will be funded, with the GCP stating in the TWAO application that it “may allocate funds” to the project as the business case progresses.

The CSET busway will run from the A11 via Sawston, Stapleford and Shelford to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with a new active travel route alongside it for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, similar to the one along existing guided busways. It would also take people from Cambridge out to Granta Park and Babraham Research Campus.

The DfT will review any objections or representations received and likely call for a public inquiry sometime in 2025.

For more information on the application and the scheme visit greatercambridge.org.uk/cset-twao.