Bus gate protesters prevent council contractors carrying out Mill Road bridge works

Contractors about to begin work on installing the Mill Road bridge bus gate packed up and drove off after protesters staged sit-ins there on Monday and Tuesday nights (11 and 12 November)

The protesters arrived at about 6pm as the county council contractors tried to close the Cambridge bridge on both nights to begin the roadworks.

Campaigners say they want to make the council waits until its Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) comes into force on 1 December for the implementation of the new bus gate – and say they are prepared to protest every night to ensure that happens.

From 1 December, the bridge will be closed to all motor vehicles, except buses, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services, taxis and Blue Badge holders’ registered vehicles. Any unregistered vehicle crossing the bridge will be fined £70, with enforcement via Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR) cameras. The aim is to improve safety and air quality for pedestrians and cyclists, and the TRO earned majority support in a consultation.

But a new legal challenge has been launched by Emma Rose, from Romsey, although she has distanced herself and her group, Friends of Mill Road Bridge 2, from the protest.

Monday night’s protest was instead led by Sheridan James, 67, who told the Cambridge Independent: “It was fantastic. We managed to stop both sides of the bridge from being closed. One side was stopped single-handedly by one of the activists locking himself to one of the trucks that contained the temporary traffic lights. It meant they couldn’t open the tailgate of the truck, so they couldn’t get the traffic lights out. So he dealt with one side on his own.”

A video of Sheridan James on Monday, filmed by Kashif Darr and posted on social media.

Sheridan explained: “I was on the Petersfield side and the contractors were coming to put the cones down or to put the barriers across the road. We just stood in front of them and they would step to the right so we would move in front of them again – we had a nice quick step going, just to prevent them from moving forward. And then there’d be a little twirl and a little dance, and then they would put barriers down and it started again.

“I decided to put my tent up on the pavement, not on the road. And as it transpired, I put it on exactly the place where they were intending to work last night. And as soon as I flicked the tent up, they just came and took all the barriers away, loaded the trucks and went away.

“They all went home at 11pm and moved all the plant off the road. I stayed till about midnight. But I will be back again every evening with my tent and I will stay as long as it takes. There were between 20 and 30 people protesting last night. A lot of the people had never done anything like this before and they were quite worried and a bit afraid. But having done it, they’re all now totally fired up. I want to reiterate: this is a peaceful, gentle protest, and we don’t need any aggravation or any aggression or any bad language. In fact, it’s a bit like a tea party.”

Sheridan, who has protested at Greenham Common, added: “I’ve lived around Mill Road and, to me, there is no data to support the idea that Mill Road is unsafe to move along, or is polluted, or any of those ridiculous ideas, All the reasons that are mooted are totally illogical. And the important questions – like how is this going to impact the whole community’s quality of life? – are not being answered.

“People say to me, you’re old enough for a bus pass. Why don’t you catch the bus? My nearest bus stop is so far away that by the time I have walked to it I won’t be able to lift my leg up to get on the bus.”

After the second protest on Tuesday night, she said: “There was a much bigger police presence last night, and they were very clear about what constituted breaking the law and what didn't. So we were very careful to make sure that we didn't do anything illegal.

“They made it clear that if we moved the cones or barriers once they were put down we would be opening ourselves up for arrest. So we didn’t do that.

“I began to set up my tent for the night and was warned not to by the police so I simply sat down on the pavement where they were planning to work. By about 9.30pm the contractors and the police were packing up to go. We then had a planning meeting with other campaigners and I came home afterwards. I was very happy with the result again.”

Emma Rose, chair of the Friends of Mill Road Bridge 2 group, has sent a ‘letter before action’ to Cambridgeshire County Council, outlining four grounds on which she believes the decision could be overturned, including a claim the council has no data to show the benefits of closing the bridge.

The council has until next week to decide whether to fight the legal action or overturn the TRO to install the bus gate. However, Ms Rose is not backing the protest.

She said: “We cannot condone anyone looking to disrupt the beginnings of the work on the bridge. We remind people that our challenge has been taken down a legal route. Hundreds of people have donated money for this. The legal ramifications of such action cannot be associated with our group. We urge anyone who is planning to attend to think very carefully about how they participate. Please stay within the law.

“We also regret that the council is again potentially wasting public money by starting these contentious bus gate works within the six-week window allowed for an appeal when they were on notice that an appeal was being prepared.”

This will be the second time a Cambridge resident has taken legal action against the council in a bid to prevent the bridge closure. Earlier this year, the High Court quashed the council’s previous TRO for a bus gate on Mill Road bridge, which was challenged by the campaign group Friends of Mill Road Bridge.

The group successfully argued that the council had contravened regulations by failing to “provide adequate reasons for making the order” when asked for them, sending only links to a council officers’ report and a summary of the decision in March 2023 to approve the bus gate by councillors. The council was ordered to pay the group’s £26,799 court costs.

The decision to install a bus gate on Mill Road bridge was made by members of special highways and transport committee at the county council on 4 October. The members considered responses received in the recent statutory notice period for the proposed TRO.

The council received 1,894 objections (46.5 per cent) from people who said they either wholly and partly objected to the TRO, and 2,155 comments in support (52.9 per cent) of the proposals from people who wholly and partly supported them.

Once the ANPR cameras go live, there will be a 28-day period where non-registered vehicles will receive warning notices. Fines are expected to come into effect from early 2025.

Cambridgeshire police described Monday’s protest as “peaceful” and confirmed there have been no arrests.

After Monday’s protest, a county council spokesperson confirmed the works would be continuing, despite the action.

Cambridgeshire County council said in a statement: “For the past two nights, our contractors haven’t been able to carry out the work due to the protests.

“Everyone has the right to a peaceful protest, however the safety of our workforce and welfare of other road users is paramount. We would urge those wishing to protest to do so peacefully and not to interfere with the works as this may present a risk to the workforce and other road users. Also, we’d like to highlight that any interference with equipment on the site may be a matter we need to refer to the police.

“We have also experienced vandalism to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. This criminal damage will not be tolerated, and we will be sharing any CCTV evidence with the police.

“The decision to introduce the bus gate was made by the special Highways and Transport Committee last month, following a statutory consultation that was conducted in line with the required regulations. As the highway authority, we have the appropriate powers to carry out the work to make the required changes to the highway before the Traffic Regulation Order comes into effect.

“We have reviewed the pre-action letter, indicating a potential challenge, and have responded to this. We are confident we have followed the statutory process.

“We will be continuing with the works and if necessary, we’ll look at different ways to carry out the work so that they are completed in time for the bus gate to go live.”

A Mill Road 4 People spokesperson said: “We were saddened to see protesters prevent the start of safety works on Mill Road bridge last night.

“These protesters have not made a single suggestion for improving Mill Road. Their sole objective is unimpeded car access, and they appear to be content with Mill Road remaining a traffic-clogged street with nothing done to make it pleasant and accessible for everyone.”