Have your say on major transport plan for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan (LTP) has set out an integrated transport network which addresses current and anticipated future pressures on infrastructure, while also supporting housing and economic growth. It aims to bring forward a step-change in how people travel across the area.

The LTP will provide the strategic context for the mayoral authority’s major projects like new rail stations at Soham and Cambridge South, a new rail link at Wisbech, reforming the bus network, a dualled A10 and A47, a third crossing over the River Great Ouse and the CAM Metro.

The consultation begins on June 17, running for 15 weeks until September 27.

The public will be encouraged to have their say, ask questions and provide feedback on the current draft 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 summer consultation events are as follows:

Sawston Village College, June 18, 3pm-8pm

Peterborough Town Hall, June 22, 10am-3pm

Soham Pavilion, June 25, 3pm-8pm

St Neots Library, June 26, 2pm-7pm

Rose and Crown Hotel, Wisbech, June 27, 3pm-8pm

Cambridge Central Library, June 29, 10am-3pm

Littleport Library, July 3, 3pm-8pm

Peterborough Town Hall, July 4, 3pm-8pm

Cambourne Library, July 6, 9am-1pm

Cambridge Central Library, July 11, 1pm-6pm

Whittlesey Library, July 12, 3pm-8pm

Huntingdon Library, July 13, 10am-3pm

Peterborough Town Hall, July 16, 3pm-8pm

Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop, July 18, 3pm-7.30pm

Ely Library, July 20, 10am-3pm

Cambridge Central Library, July 24, 2pm-7pm

St Ives Free Church, July 25, 3pm-8pm

March Library, July 27, 10am-3pm

Peterborough Town Hall, September 7, 10am-3pm

Chatteris Council Chambers, September 11, 3pm-8pm

Cambridge Central Library, September 14, 10am-3pm.

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

Key principles guiding the formulation of the LTP include the delivery of transport infrastructure to support new homes and for that infrastructure to be in place before significant new housing is built.

The draft LTP also focuses on improving the environment, reducing air pollution by cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible, while also minimising the impact of transport on climate change. Healthier journeys and more active lifestyles through cycling and walking will also be encouraged.

Mayor James Palmer, leader of the combined authority, said: “The Local Transport Plan should be bold, it should be ambitious and it should challenge us.

“We can see right now the results of an historic under-investment 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 conversation about what people think our main priorities should be, and what the key challenges and opportunities around transport will be, both now and in the future.

“This is a first-of-its-kind document for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. There has been significant attention on our road, rail, bus reform and CAM Metro schemes, but it is important people see how these fit into a wider, joined-up strategy, and that they are not being planned in isolation.

“Transport touches everyone’s lives from train, bus and car users, through to people who walk and cycle, so everyone has something to contribute. I would encourage as many people as possible to come along, find out more about what the LTP is trying to achieve and give us your views.”

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

For those not able to attend the events in person, they will be able to contribute comments via a questionnaire on the combined authority website, which will be live when the consultation officially launches from June 17: http://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/about-us/programmes/transport/ltp.

To view the plan, visit the combined authority website.