New events announced for public to have say on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s transport future

Three new consultation events have been announced for members of the public to have their say on the future of the area’s transport network to 2050.   The new events form part of the ongoing consultation for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s developing Local Transport Plan (LTP) and will take place in September in Buckden (10^th), Bottisham (10^th) and Ramsey (12^th).

There are also previously planned consultation events happening in Peterborough (7^th), Chatteris (11^th) and Cambridge (14^th).

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan (LTP) will set out an ambitious, challenging and exciting strategy for a world-class, integrated transport network. It will address current and anticipated future pressures on infrastructure, supporting economic growth and ensuring that people are better connected to opportunities for education and work.

The LTP will provide the strategic footing for delivery of the Combined Authority’s major planned transport projects including new rail stations at Soham and Cambridge South, a new rail link at Wisbech, reforming the bus network, a dualled A47 and a dualled A10 between Cambridge and Ely, a third crossing over the River Great Ouse and the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro.

It will provide the vision and framework to meet the infrastructure challenges set out in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Economic Review (CPIER), which identified that the area’s growing economy would tail off unless interventions were made to upgrade the under-pressure transport infrastructure. Better transport links will be key to delivering on the Combined Authority’s commitment to doubling the size of the area’s economy over 25 years, and meeting the vision set out in the Mayor’s Growth Ambition Statement.

The consultation began on June 17 and there have been eighteen consultation events over the summer, with six more planned for September before the consultation deadline of 27 September.

The public are encouraged to have their say, ask questions, and provide feedback on the current draft Local Transport Plan. They will be asked what they think are the key priorities and the principles behind what a future transport network should look like.

The consultation events for September are:

• Peterborough, Sat 07 Sep, 10am-3pm, Peterborough Town Hall
• Buckden, Tues 10 Sep, 10:30am-1pm, Buckden Library
• Bottisham, Tues 10 Sep, 4pm-6:30pm, Bottisham Sports Centre
• Chatteris, Wed 11 Sep, 3pm-8pm, Chatteris Council Chambers
• Ramsey, Thu 12 Sep, 11:30am-2pm, Ramsey Library
• Cambridge, Sat 14 Sep, 10am-3pm, Cambridge Central Library, Lion Yard

For those not able to attend the events, engagement with the consultation is available online or by post.

Mayor James Palmer said: “Whether you walk, cycle, drive or take the bus or train to get around, transport is a cornerstone of everyone’s lives, so everybody has something to contribute to the development of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Transport Plan.

“There is still time to make your views known and I would encourage as many people as possible to come along to one of our events, find out more about what the Local Transport Plan is trying to achieve, and share your ideas on what the transport of the future should look like.

“We can see right now the results of an historic underinvestment in the transport network, in terms of congestion, lack of housing delivery and the future threat to our continued economic growth.

“This consultation is an opportunity to have an exciting, powerful conservation about what people think our main priorities should be, and what the key challenges and opportunities around transport are, both now and in the future.

“The Local Transport Plan should be bold, it should be ambitious, and it should challenge us.”

Key principles guiding the creation of the LTP include the delivery of transport infrastructure to sustainably support new homes and, crucially, for that infrastructure to be in place before significant new housing is built. Infrastructure will also be planned so that key employment centres are reachable within a 30-minute journey time of where people live to help better link homes with jobs.

A fully joined up transport network, with different options for travel, where public transport is recognised as more reliable, more affordable, regular and convenient, will encourage a shift away from car use, facilitating a step-change in how people choose to get around.

A first-class transport network will help foster inclusive growth, where more people are better connected locally to the opportunities of the growing Cambridgeshire and Peterborough economy.

The draft LTP also focuses on improving the environment and quality of the air, reducing air pollution by cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible, while also minimising the impact of transport on climate change.

Following the consultation and inclusion of comments, the Board will be asked to approve the first Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LTP later in 2019.

Those not able to attend the events in person, can contribute comments via a questionnaire on the Combined Authority website. Further details can be found, including a summary of the LTP and the full draft document via: http://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/about-us/programmes/transport/ltp.