Controversial £180m busway given go ahead

A controversial new £180m busway planned to run through an historic orchard has been given the green light by the government.

The busway project known as C2C, linking 8.6 miles (13.8km) between Cambridge and Cambourne, is hoped to provide 10,000 daily passenger trips.

There were more than 300 objections to the move, with the proposed route running through a century-old orchard in Coton which contains about 1,000 trees, growing 26 varieties of apples as well as pears and plums.

The project will also see the building of bridges over the M11 and a brook, as well as a park-and-ride for 2,000 vehicles.

The plans will be delivered by Cambridgeshire County Council, on behalf of the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP).

Brian Milnes, the Liberal Democrat chair of the GCP board said the route will be a "desperately needed new transport link."

"Whilst many objectors wanted Cambourne to Cambridge to take a different route, almost all of them agreed that improved public transport is essential for our area," he added.

The idea was first proposed in 2014, and a two-month public inquiry finished in November last year.

Inspectors heard concerns including about safety, following the deaths of three people on another busway in the county between 2015 and 2021.

The Conservative mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, whose office would oversee the bus services, objected to the plans and said it would be built at "considerable expense to the taxpayer when there are cheaper alternatives".

But inspectors concluded the scheme was "crucial to securing sustainable development on the west side of Cambridge" and noted a lack of "practical alternatives".

The planned busway route is via the Bourn Airfield development, Hardwick, Coton and the West Cambridge Site.

Thousands of homes are planned at the former World War Two RAF site in Bourn, but a planning condition would restrict the development to just 500 if a busway or similar was not built.

Reacting to the decision, Heather Williams, the leader of the Conservative opposition at South Cambridgeshire District Council said there were "no words that any of us can use to comfort those who have worked so hard to stop the destruction of our countryside".

But the Labour leader of Cambridge City Council Katie Thornburrow said she was "confident this scheme will ease congestion and delays on key routes into the city, improve journey reliability and contribute to better air quality, while supporting sustainable growth for communities both now and in the future".

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