The GCP's off-road scheme
Although the GCP have promoted their chosen route as being segregated and largely off-road, a significant proportion of it is on road. The off-road section runs across Madingley Hill and through Coton Orchard, necessitating an expensive new bridge over the M11 – but there is no logical reason for this element of the scheme.
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The route taken by the GCP's scheme
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) scheme runs on road in Cambourne, then off road from Bourn to Scotland Road, parallel to the A428. ↓ It rejoins the road, diverts to a new Park & Ride at Scotland Farm, then runs on the A1303 through Hardwick village. ↓ The route leaves the A1303 before the ‘Madingley Mulch’ roundabout, and cuts through fields, hedges and Coton Orchard. ↓ It then goes over a new motorway bridge and through another, smaller County Wildlife Site to run on road through the West Cambridge University Site. ↓ The final section then goes off-road, across the West Fields, and along a narrow access road to reach Grange Road, where it joins the city’s road network. |
The main issues with this scheme
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There is fully evaluated alternative scheme that would provide an in-highway alternative for the off-road section. In 2021, CPPF commissioned a detailed analysis and report on this scheme, which comprises a range of measures including sections of bus lane and some new bus-priority traffic signals along existing highway. Together, these measures would enable buses and other traffic to run freely along the A428 and A1303.
On the GCP route, buses could not turn south down the M11 at Junction 13 to get directly to the Biomedical Campus; nor could they turn north up the A428 from Madingley Mulch roundabout to the Science Park. Since the route enters the city at Grange Road, passengers travelling to CB1, CB2 and secondary schools would face onward journeys through the congested city centre. The alternative scheme would offer far more direct routes to all these destinations. Moreover, when East West Rail (EWRail) is completed, the GCP route would become virtually redundant for journeys to the Biomedical Campus CB1 and CB2 and the sixth-form colleges.
This alternative scheme would be far, far less expensive and the environmental impact would be negliable as compared with the on-road route. Construction would not take land from outside the highway boundary, and would not – as the GCP have falsely claimed – be detrimental to either the SSSI at Madingley Wood or American Cemetery.
The GCP have never conducted their own appraisal of this alternative scheme nor given any valid explanation for rejecting it, despite numerous calls for them to do so at both GCP Executive and County Council meetings. Instead, they have offered comparisons only with other, obviously less viable on-road alternatives which were, arguably, set up to fail.
The CPPF alternative scheme was refined and updated in 2024, and you can read an overview here.
The proposed alternative scheme was deemed to have merit by both an Independent Audit and by detailed analysis in the GCP’s own C2C Outline Business Case Options Assessment Report, Section 8.
The map below shows the routes taken by the GCP of-road scheme and the proposed alternative.
On the GCP route, buses could not turn south down the M11 at Junction 13 to get directly to the Biomedical Campus; nor could they turn north up the A428 from Madingley Mulch roundabout to the Science Park. Since the route enters the city at Grange Road, passengers travelling to CB1, CB2 and secondary schools would face onward journeys through the congested city centre. The alternative scheme would offer far more direct routes to all these destinations. Moreover, when East West Rail (EWRail) is completed, the GCP route would become virtually redundant for journeys to the Biomedical Campus CB1 and CB2 and the sixth-form colleges.
This alternative scheme would be far, far less expensive and the environmental impact would be negliable as compared with the on-road route. Construction would not take land from outside the highway boundary, and would not – as the GCP have falsely claimed – be detrimental to either the SSSI at Madingley Wood or American Cemetery.
The GCP have never conducted their own appraisal of this alternative scheme nor given any valid explanation for rejecting it, despite numerous calls for them to do so at both GCP Executive and County Council meetings. Instead, they have offered comparisons only with other, obviously less viable on-road alternatives which were, arguably, set up to fail.
The CPPF alternative scheme was refined and updated in 2024, and you can read an overview here.
The proposed alternative scheme was deemed to have merit by both an Independent Audit and by detailed analysis in the GCP’s own C2C Outline Business Case Options Assessment Report, Section 8.
The map below shows the routes taken by the GCP of-road scheme and the proposed alternative.
* The GCP's original estimate in 2015 was £160M. The updated figure for the draft proposal in 2023 was just under £200M, but this appears to be a gross underestimate, and has certainly not taken account of the massive increase in construction costs in the last 5 years.
** The GCP's (unrevised) estimate. This is clearly not achievable.
For background information, more of the detail behind the argument, and links to key documents, see our longer briefing document
** The GCP's (unrevised) estimate. This is clearly not achievable.
For background information, more of the detail behind the argument, and links to key documents, see our longer briefing document
C2C explainer
This short film, setting out the facts and with contributions from Chris Packham and other high-profile supporters, was screened at the C2C Prospective Parlimentary Candidates Question Time, in Coton on 16th April.
