Summary
Cambridge South East Transport (CSET), is a project managed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP). Its objectives are to reduce congestion, notably on the A1307 Babraham Road, and to provide sustainable travel options on the south-eastern approaches to Cambridge. The proposed off-road route from Fourwentways to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is awaiting the creation of a Transport and Works Act Order.
Background
The project has two phases:
Phase One
Covers various traffic management schemes along the A1307 itself and its junctions, including the junction of Granhams Road with the A1307, where work is now complete.
Phase Two
Envisages a new travel hub – essentially a Park and Ride site – in the area of the A11 / A1307 junction, i.e. the Fourwentways or Granta Park area, with a new public transport route from there to the Biomedical Campus, which would resemble the Guided Busway. Buses would be able to continue to central Cambridge and beyond using the existing busway from the Biomedical Campus to Cambridge station.
The busway is planned to cross Haverhill Road (in Stapleford) and Hinton Way, in both cases roughly at the point where the housing ends, and continue across Granhams Road, finally running alongside the railway to the projected Cambridge South station (expected to open in late 2025). We refer to this as the “cross-fields” route. There would be a path for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders alongside the busway, and stops at the Haverhill Road and Hinton Way crossing points. A frequency of eight buses per hour is anticipated. No parking is envisaged at the Haverhill Road stop, and only limited disabled parking at Hinton Way.
Details
The “cross-fields” route – on which preliminary work in the form of archaeological surveys has already been undertaken – will intrude on the views from Great Shelford across to the Gogs, and the location of its stop on Hinton Way makes it unlikely that many residents will use it. However, it would not involve any disruption to buildings or gardens and would provide an off-road path for non-motorised users all the way from the Biomedical Campus to Fourwentways. This is the route preferred by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, at a cost of around £160 million.
Great Shelford and Stapleford Parish Councils jointly engaged a transport consultancy (i-Transport) to examine an alternative route using the trackbed of the former Haverhill railway from Fourwentways to its junction with the Liverpool Street line south of Great Shelford and then running alongside the railway track past Shelford station and northwards to the new Cambridge South station. This would be accompanied by a rebuilding of Shelford station as a bus/rail interchange with improved access for persons of reduced mobility and a footbridge over the level crossing.
As well as the “across the fields” route and the “old railway” route, the Greater Cambridge Partnership had originally proposed a route on and alongside the existing A1307 Babraham Road. Great Shelford Parish Council conducted an online survey in May 2021 which concluded that this was the route preferred by Great Shelford residents. June 2021 survey results.
It was concluded that the disruption in the Mill Court/Chaston Road area, and the interference with the Sawston Greenway and any future reopening of the Haverhill rail line meant that the “old railway” route should not be pursued, and Great Shelford Parish Council continued to press for the adoption of the A1307 route, as can be seen from the following correspondence.
Letter dated 9th Feb 22 to C Cllr Milnes and C Cllr King asking for their support of residents opposition to CSET – February 2022
Letter dated 17th March 22 to County Cllr Meschini, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Partnership following letter to Anthony Browne MP
GSPC Letter to Bridget Smith, Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council – 19 July 2022
At their meeting on 28th September 2023, the GCP Executive Board took the decision to pause activity on CSET Phase Two and to seek additional sources of funding for the project as their finances were not adequate for them to proceed with the expenditure of £160 million.
Cambridge Past Present & Future letter sent to Michael Gove MP, December 2023 about CSET funding
Response from Michael Gove MP, January 2024
The project was un-paused in March 2024 when the Government made available £7.2 million for development work to continue.
GSPC emailed all County Councillors in advance of the October 2024 meeting, to ensure that they understood the GSPC position regarding CSET – you can read a copy of this: email to all County Councillors regarding GSPC position on CSET
At the Cambridgeshire County Council meeting on 22 October 2024, councillors voted in favour of applying for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) for GCP’s preferred route. The GCP will now prepare the application and present it to the county council for final validation before submitting it to the Secretary of State for Transport. There are likely to be objections to the Order and so a public inquiry will probably be convened.
In December 2024, Great Shelford Parish Council were asked to comment on the draft TWAO documents prior to their submission. GSPC sent this CSET letter in response.
Current Position
Great Shelford Parish Council recognises the immediate need for improved infrastructure to reduce congestion, notably on the A1307, Babraham Road and to provide sustainable travel options on the south-eastern approaches to Cambridge. An on-road option following the A1307 meets this need.
GSPC believes that a bus route along the A1307 is a better solution than the CSET proposal and offers equal, if not more, public benefit with less disruption. We have undertaken a local survey which supports this view.
An A1307 route would serve the Babraham Research Campus, Copley Hill Business Park, the CBC and many other worksites effectively, marrying up the Park & Rides and connecting to new housing on the edge of Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This has not been considered fully as an alternative and GSPC believes this would have wide public support.
The A1307 option was favourite with the local councils until a few years ago; however, the pursuit of the Cambridge Autonomous Metro meant that this plan had to be abandoned and the current CSET proposals were created. As the Cambridge Autonomous Metro has now been abandoned, GSPC believes the A1307 route should be readopted. The reasons for GSPC’s position are:
- We are extremely concerned by the irreversible environmental damage the proposed route will impose on the Gog Magog Downs and the Hobson’s Brook valley which is bounded on one side by Nine Wells and White Hill and on the other side by a Scheduled Monument.
- The route runs almost exclusively through greenbelt and we do not believe the project meets the standard required to allow this to happen. We are concerned that as greenbelt is developed, Great Shelford will eventually be subsumed into Cambridge City and we will lose our individual, independent, rural character. This concern is exacerbated by other projects that are earmarked for Great Shelford such as East West Rail.
- The route neatly parcels up land for further development within the greenbelt. This further increases our concerns noted above.
- The route will impose further traffic disruptions to Granham’s Road and Hinton Way, both of which are already heavily affected by the existing level crossings.
- In addition to these disadvantages, Great Shelford will see little benefit from the proposed route as the station is outside the village and will be readily accessible to only a small fraction of our residents.
- The response to our survey of residents was clearly against the current CSET proposals and for the A1307 route, in support of GSPC’s policy.
A group called Better Ways For Busways (BW4B) has formed to campaign against the current CSET plans and to promote the alternative of bus lanes along the A1307. This group is chaired by Sawston resident Stephen Partridge-Hicks: Stapleford Parish Council and GSPC are both fully engaged.
In July 2024, the Parish Council received and granted permission for a Land Interest Questionnaire and an Ecological Survey on Parish Council-owned land.
