Coalition raises funds to battle £162m Cambridge South East Transport busway proposals

A coalition objecting to plans for the £162m Cambridge South East Transport (CSET) busway is raising funds to pay for legal costs to make the case for an alternative scheme.

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 continue to argue there is a far more cost-effective and less destructive alternative to CSET.

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

Cllr Howard Kettel, of Stapleford Parish Council, said: “They say one of the reasons they have chosen to build through the countryside is to serve the villages of Sawston, Stapleford and Shelford, but the route will be up the hill on the edges of the villages, far from their centres.

“It is only likely to be used by a small number of people in Stapleford and Shelford because they can already cycle, use the train or catch the bus from the centre of the villages.”

The Better Ways for Busways coalition argues a scheme along the A1307 corridor would be less damaging to the environment and would cost about £100m less.

The coalition is working to raise funds to pay for legal and professional costs to submit their objections to the government and make the case for the alternative scheme.

Stephen Partridge-Hicks, chair of Better Ways for Busways, said: “The GCP initially proposed a scheme along the A1307 but in 2018 opted for a route through the countryside because the then mayor, James Palmer, insisted that transport infrastructure must be compatible with his proposed Cambridge Autonomous Metro. So back then, GCP had little choice but to opt for the road through the countryside.

“However, when a new mayor was elected in 2021 the metro was dropped but the GCP has failed to update their plan. It would be perplexing if the cash strapped government wanted to spend £160m when £60m would pay for the scheme the GCP proposed in 2018.”

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.

John Latham, chair of Hobson’s Conduit Trust, said: “The proposed five-mile bus road will destroy the habitat of water voles and concrete over the top of Hobson’s Brook chalk stream, with a large bridge close to Nine Wells Nature Reserve. Incomprehensibly, the proposals now also include a huge and intrusive construction compound right next to the nature reserve.

“As if that isn’t enough, the route crosses the River Granta twice, creating the need for another two huge road bridges. This damage is totally unnecessary because the alternative route wouldn’t need to cross the river or Hobson’s Brook.”

Chris Bow, chair of the Magog Trust, added: “When the planning inspector gave approval for the Stapleford retirement village, he set great store by the environmental benefits that would come from the associated countryside park which the developer has to provide. One third of the park will be lost, largely under concrete, if the bus road is granted approval. It would be an act of environmental vandalism when the less damaging option along the A1307 is available.”

Anyone wishing to object to the plans has until 28 February to do so. The coalition has organised a public meeting to be held on Tuesday, 18 February at 7.30pm to raise awareness of the alternative scheme and how to support it. It will be held at Great Shelford Memorial Hall.

A petition asking to spare the countryside and instead build traffic-free bus roads next to the A1307 has gathered more than 7,200 names.

The coalition includes Stapleford Parish Council, Great Shelford Parish Council, Babraham Parish Council, the Magog Trust, Cambridge Past Present & Future (CPPF), Hobsons Conduit Trust and supported by Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) and Railfuture East Anglia.

James Littlewood, chief executive for Cambridge PPF said everyone wants to see better public transport to the southeast of Cambridge but “we shouldn’t have to destroy our environment and countryside for future generations in order to achieve that”.

He added: “To make the best case for the alternative scheme we need public support. We are encouraging people to submit their objection to the government and to support our fundraising appeal. They can find out how to do this by coming to the public meeting on 18 February or via www.cambridgeppf.org/blog/last-chance-save-southeast-cambridge-countryside.”