Charity starts legal action against new busway

A charity says it has started legal action against plans to build an off-road busway through a historical orchard and greenbelt land.

Cambridge Past, Present and Future, which owns some of the land affected, has spearheaded the legal challenge, alongside other landowners and charities.

They say the Cambridge-Cambourne busway, proposed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), should take a route along existing roads instead.

The GCP said it had not yet received any legal objections but would study and respond to any that did arrive.

A formal Transport and Work Act Order was submitted to the government's Department for Transport in November.

This was needed before any construction work could begin. The deadline for submitting objections to it is 8 January

Prior to that the GCP carried out four public consultations and it was expected a public inquiry would have to take place some time in 2025.

The new busway, which would be a dedicated, congestion-free route for buses, would link the university city with a new development at Bourne Airfield, while Hardwick and Coton would also be on the route.

The GCP (which is made up of the county council, Cambridge City Council, South Cambs District Council, the University of Cambridge and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority) also planned to build a new travel hub at Scotland Farm off the A428.

It hoped it would "help car drivers switch to a bus before they hit congestion travelling into the city".

Cambridge Past, Present & Future said it wanted to see buses use on-road facilities instead.

The charity described its aims as "to make sure the development of Cambridge is carried out responsibly... improving this great place, for people and nature".

"It is possible to improve bus services without building a road through four wildlife sites and our charity's land," said James Littlewood, the charity's chief executive.

"Over 22,200 people signed a petition asking local politicians to build bus lanes, not bus roads, to avoid unnecessary environmental damage.

"However, they have pushed ahead with their plans, and we are submitting our objection to government, which will trigger a public inquiry."

The action is being supported by others including Coton Orchard and the Woodland Trust.

Coton Orchard said it could lose about 500 historic trees.

When the BBC contacted the GCP, it said it had not been notified of any legal proceedings.

A spokesperson said: "Should we receive any relevant documents, we will study and discuss them with our legal representatives and respond in due course.

"Anyone wanting to make a submission to the Department of Transport has until Wednesday, 8 January."

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