Cambridge carpet shop owner John Ball uses horse and cart to avoid Mill Road bridge bus gate restrictions
A carpet shop owner has taken to using a horse and cart to cross Mill Road bridge in Cambridge to get past the bus gate restrictions.
John Ball, owner of Cut Price Carpets in Mill Road, said the closure of the bridge to most motor vehicles has been “devastating” for his business.
“I got the horse and cart to go over and do deliveries and estimates over the other side of the bridge, because they can’t fine me for taking it over the bridge,” he said.
“With me getting a horse and cart, we’re moving back in time when we should be moving forward. Closing the bridge is not helping us in business. They’re just stopping us in our tracks.
“It's like you’ve turned a tap off – it’s devastating. And I just can’t get my head around the reasoning for it.”
A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) was approved last year by county councillors, which led to a bus gate being installed that closed the bridge to traffic except buses, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services, taxis and Blue Badge holders’ registered vehicles.
The owner of any unregistered vehicle crossing the bridge is fined, with enforcement via Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR) cameras.
It was imposed following consultations that found majority support for the changes, which are designed to improve the road for pedestrians and cyclists, assist the reliability of public transport and aid air quality.
But opponents led by Emma Rose, of the Friends of Mill Road Bridge 2 campaign group, took their case to the High Court last week, challenging the TRO on four grounds, including that the council had failed to “provide legally adequate reasons”.
The council’s lawyers, meanwhile, argued the TRO had gone through a proper democratic process and therefore the bus gate was something for council members, not the High Court, to determine.
The outcome of the case is not expected for some weeks.
At Cut Price Carpets, John said he usually does a lot of work for estate agents, providing estimates.
“They don’t even feel like dropping the keys off to us anymore because they can’t get over the bridge. It’s just snowballing,” he said.
“And you stand outside the front of my shop – it is just a rat run for taxis. The taxis are using it as a cut-through and they’re flying up and down there.”
He said the bus gate effectively turned Mill Road into a side road.
“Mill Road is a main arterial road. It’s the main high street of Cambridge. But it's just a dying road,” he argued.
“It’s just getting filled up with nothing but takeaways and food-orientated shops. Little independent businesses are very few and far between.”
The Conservative mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, has started a petition and vowed to get the bridge reopened.
John, who said the mayor visited him, added: “I’ve been here for 29 years for a reason, because we’re good at what we do and we’re reasonable – we look after people.
“We’ve been in the same shop, serving the local community. I’d just love for them to open the bridge back up because it’s destroying us little independent businesses.”
Supporters of the restrictions, however, are now calling for investment to support the street and make it a more attractive place for residents and visitors alike.