Guided bus in Stapleford - latest news
Busway Blues, Why the Concrete Busway Through our villages is hitting the wrong note
With the Bob Dylan movie hitting the cinemas. Where are Bob or Woodie Guthrie for that matter when you need them most. As this is the time we need to sing loud and clear a protest song about the concrete Busway. For years the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), some may say have been playing a game with local- residents in relation to the concrete Busway cutting through the heart of our villages.
Asking opinions from residents with what many believe were loaded questionnaires. Three routes two of which spilt the vote, leaving only one- The most expensive one – to cut through the green belt. If two options had been offered one through green belt and the other along the A1307. Then arguably the busway would have run parallel to a main road. As that was the cheaper, greener and more sensible option.
Now once more GCP are up to their old tricks. Posters being pinned along Hinton Way BUT the side that is hidden against posts is the side that states OBJECTIONS NEED TO BE IN BY 28TH February. A simple mistake GCP would say. As they have said about all aspects of the questions to residents that have pointed in only one way for the Busway route. And yes, you have guessed it, it is the route GCP seem to have always desired.
Let’s be very clear this is not about the correct way to improve transportation across our region, This is not a state of the art green eco -friendly transport system. A thing we would all desire.
This is something darker. Something that smells wrong. Something that smells like big business and big politics combining. To give the little people, that is us the Taxpayers. Something that is ill thought out and archaic.
Any way, it feels like GCP believe they have won but IT IS NOT TOO LATE!
A public meeting is set for Tues 18 February 2025 at 19.30 to raise awareness of the less damaging alternative scheme and how to support it. Taking place at Great Shelford Memorial Hall, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford. Everyone is welcome to attend this.
https://www.cambridgeppf.org/Blogs/blogs/last-chance-save-southeast-cambridge-countryside
So let’s get together and in the words of Bob Dylan tell GCP ‘The Times they are a Changin’ and we are going to finally protest.
Posted Jan 18 2025
Guided bus latest news
Cambridgeshire County Council has now voted to proceed with the guided bus and plans to build a five mile road straight through the greenbelt in Stapleford and Great Shelford.
This proposed road will carve through open fields, dividing and creating parcels of land ready for future development - permanently concreting over this beautiful part of South Cambridgeshire.
In January, the County Council will apply to the Government for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) to proceed with the project. Once submitted, we will only have six weeks to object.
But there is hope: a cheaper, more direct, and less environmentally destructive alternative exists - and campaigners believe they can stop this.
To make their case, they're assembling a strong legal team, but they need your help. They need to raise more than £150,000 to challenge this! Can you make a donation? Every contribution matters - whether it’s £50, £500, or £5,000.
Here’s how you can help:
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Make a donation: Visit their fundraising page at Cambridge Past, Present and Future. please click here
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Help to deliver: Can you help with delivering a new leaflet to all houses in Sawston, Great Shelford, Babraham and Stapleford? Email them at hello@bw4b.org to get involved.
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Spread the word: Share this message with your friends, neighbours and local businesses.
Visit our website www.bw4b.org to see the full impact on your village and learn more about how you can help.
Time is now very quickly running out, and your support is critical. Together, we can protect South Cambridgeshire’s countryside and advocate for better, sustainable transport solutions.
Posted Jan 3 2025
Guided bus update - October 2024
The £162 million guided bus which will run on Green Belt in Stapleford has come a big step closer.
The five mile bus/road between Babraham and the Biomedical Campus which will run on Green Belt land in Stapleford and Great Shelford, crossing Granhams Road and Hinton Way.
It got the official backing in October of both Cambridgeshire County Council and the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
Over 6,300 people signed a petition against the proposals.
The scheme was paused in 2023 as costs increased by 20-30% due to rising inflation.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership is moving forward quickly with its Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) for the bus road across Stapleford and Great Shelford greenbelt, and aims to submit it to the Department for Transport in Jan 2025.
Draft Order documents are available to view and comment on until 6 Dec 2024. Find out how at https://staplefordparishcouncil.gov.uk/.../CSET-TWAO... and then follow the link you'll find on page 2 to access all relevant documents.
If it is approved, the next stage will be to submit the plans to the Department of Transport for approval. This is likely to trigger a public inquiry.
Updated Nov 22 2024
Guided bus overview
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) wants to build a 14 metre wide, tarmac and concrete guided busway, cutting across the fields from Babraham, on green belt fields through Stapleford and Great Shelford to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The cost would be £162 million.
The route proposed for the busway will include bus stops on the edges of Great Shelford and Stapleford. However, these are far from village centres and won’t have any car parking.
GCP states the purpose of the busway is "to prevent congestion on the A1307".
GCP's proposed route could create an opportunity for developers to infill the adjoining farmland with new houses.
The GCP’s busways will also cut across roads on the edge of villages, including Haverhill Road in Stapleford, requiring level-crossings which will disrupt traffic.
In the March 2024 budget, the Greater Cambridge Partnership was given £7m funding from the Government to progress its planning and detailing of the busway, in preparation for GCP board approval in June 2024 ahead of a public enquiry.
If it has a successful public enquiry then it is ready to go ahead subject to securing the necessary money.
Campaigners Better ways for Busways! proposes adding a dedicated bus lane to the A1307 with a new access road into Addenbrookes. This can be done at much lower cost, with less technical risk and more quickly than the GCP's guided busway without cutting through the green belt.
Posted March 14 2024
The proposed route for the Guided Bus through Stapleford including a crossing on Haverhill Road. Image courtesy of Better Ways for Buses!
The proposed Guided Bus route is shown in pink. Campaigners preferred route is shown in orange. Image courtesy of Better Ways for Buses!