In the Cambridge Indepent, Cambridge Connect make the case for a properly joined-up approach to the region's transport . It offers an incisive assessment of problems in various quarters, including the very obvious flaws in the C2C busway scheme, which would "maroon its bus passengers in Grange Road" with "no practical route onwards to the city centre, the central station or the Biomedical Campus". Not to mention the fact that "repainting the livery on the side of buses queuing up to add to the congestion and pollution of the city centre will merely add to the scandal".

Instead, then, Cambridge Connect propose a light rail network which would be "clean, fast, safe, efficient and spacious" – and put Cambridge on a par with its European Competitors.  An inspired slice through the Gordian knot that is the Cambridge road system, if you will. Apart from all the enormous practical advantages, surely this is the kind of visionary thing that national government has in mind for its flagship city? Hello, Westminster?

For more on the proposal, see the Cambridge Connect website.

The Department of Transport have announced that there is to be a Public Inquiry into the GCP's application for a TWAO for the C2C Busway. Yet the County Council have yet to formally ratify the application. The original proposal document was approved by the Council in March 2023, but the eventual submission in November 2024 differed in key respects. The County Council is scheduled to vote on the ratification of the submission at their meeing on 11th February, and given the changes to both scheme and circumstances, CBAG has written to every County Councillor, urging them to reconsider before giving retrospective approval to the submission. You can read our letter below.

Both on TV and in the press, there's been a steady stream of reporting this week. Thanks here to Cambridge News. We know, of course, who won in the eponymous battle!

As the objection deadline arrives and the public inquiry looms, the campaign attracts extensive coverage in national and local press and on TV and radio.

"The world has changed over the past five years and the proposed C2C scheme is out of touch and doesn't fulfil the brief of today" John Sadler, farmer.

In the wake of the County Council's application for a Transport and Works Order for the C2C scheme, this morning's Cambridge Independent features this article from Anna Gazeley, whose family own Coton Orchard –  a brilliant summary of all the issues at stake.

All over West Cambridge, people have been finding stark warnings of the hard reality of the C2C busway.  As required, notices like this one have sprung up at points along the proposed route. Despite appearances, this is not a done deal. Objections will be formally lodged by key stakeholders, which will trigger a public enquiry.

Catching up with events, The Times today reported on the Regent House 'Discussion' in response to the proposal by the University of Cambridge to lease land for the C2C busway.  Despite the fact that their own Environmental Policy requires that the University “protects and enhances the natural environment … by having positive direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity and natural ecosystems”, they have concluded that they should “actively promote the route through the site”.

Last week, a nationally rare Dark Crimson Underwing turned up in Coton Orchard. It was deftly apprehended by Ben Greig of On The Verge and Lois Clarke of the Cambridge Moth Group, in one of their regular moth-trapping sessions. As well as setting the local moth-ers aflutter and being featured in the Cambridge Independent (see below), the news caught the attention of the BBC and also the Guardian, where it attracted so much attention that the piece was elevated to Guardian World. True to form, the GCP are reportedly unmoved, and their comment includes some extremely misleading information, such as the assertion that it's 'mostly young trees on dwarf rootstock' that would be lost. The reality is that busway will destroy the oldest and most ecologically valuable section of the planting, including a Champion Bramley.

Sadly, a single moth, however rare and exciting, is unlikely to swing the case on its own. But it's yet another rarity added to a growing list that evidences the wealth of species and the enormous ecological resources that will be lost – and that no amount of so-called mitigation will be able to replace.

The Cambridge Independent gave full coverage to last week's Bioblitz in Coton Orchard. Organised by Ben Grieg of On the Verge Cambridge, the day focused on small mammals, moths, birds, bees, butterflies and bats. And once again, local wildlife experts confirmed the importance of the site's biodiversity, and the presence of some rare species. As biologist and nature writer, Lindsay Rohrbaugh said, "Driving a bus through this habitat really is a dumb idea."

In the afternoon, friends and supporters gathered for the launch of Wassail!, a book of poems to celebrate orchards and being sold in aid of the campaign to save Coton Orchard.

And it didn't stop there. On this double-page spread, the Cambridge Indy also reported on the threat posed by the off-road busway to family graves, as well as calls from the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) to scrap the GCP.  CPRE Chairman, Dr Alan James, describes it as "out of touch, out of order and out of date." We couldn't have put it better.