Maybe I'm a Nimby, says neighbour of proposed busway

Liz and Andrew Potter live near a proposed "travel hub" for the busway

"We're not entirely over the moon," says Andrew Potter as he stands with his wife Liz near farmland close to their home which is earmarked for a 1,400-vehicle park-and-ride. It is part of a proposed £200m Cambourne to Cambridge (C2C) guided busway, which aims to ease congestion in the city and support its growth. As a two-month public inquiry into the scheme comes to an end, what have we learned?

It has taken more than a decade to get here. The idea to build an off-road busway linking the new town of Cambourne - which has 11,000 residents - and Cambridge dates back to 2014.

The C2C Busway project has been put together by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council and planners expect 10,000 daily trips will be made on the service.

If the new busway goes ahead its route will go via the Bourn Airfield development, Hardwick, Coton and the West Cambridge Site.

Thousands of homes are planned at the former World War Two RAF site in Bourn. A planning condition means if the busway or something similar is not built, the development is restricted to just 500 homes.

But the proposal has proved controversial with more than 300 objections.

Inspectors have visited the sites affected by the plans, including Bourn Airfield

One of the concerns is how the new busway would fit in with another major transport project, East West Rail (EWR), which has a station planned for Cambourne to link it to Cambridge.

The lawyer representing the charity, Cambridge Past, Present and Future, told the inquiry the busway was "likely to become obsolete, or at least its benefits significantly curtailed... if and when EWR is constructed".

Andrew and Liz Potter have similar concerns. The proposed park-and-ride near their home at Scotland Farm, part of Dry Drayton, would be part of a "travel hub" for the busway.

"I understand why we need to have better public transport," says Andrew.

"I just believe that with the EWR line, the guided busway and the park-and-ride here, they need to be thought of together rather than separately, and I think that joined-up thinking hasn't been achieved."

Those behind the busway project believe EWR and the busway are complimentary schemes required to deliver the growth needed, including to the west side of Cambridge which the railway is not planned to serve.

This field would turn into a park-and-ride for 1,400 vehicles as part of the busway plans

Liz says the land is green belt and she has concerns about the potential loss of wildlife habitat, as well as overuse of the village road which was "never designed for city traffic".

But the couple said they can see the benefits of the scheme and would use the busway if it was developed.

When asked what the feeling is locally, Andrew says: "Obviously everyone is going to be saying they would rather it not in their back yard.

"There's a very Nimby [Not in My Back Yard] attitude and I get that and I'll put my hand up and say maybe I'm one of them as well, but I do believe there needs to be a little extra thought here."

Emily Watson said the plans had brought anxiety locally

Emily Watson, who runs Emily Tallulah Flowers in nearby business park in Dry Drayton and lives locally, says the proposal has caused anxiety in the area.

"We are a little bit worried about how it'll affect the landscape around here and obviously traffic coming through the village," she says.

But she adds as her five children grow up, the busway would be "quite handy possibly for them to get into town" and it may help bring more custom to her shop.

There have also been concerns about the busway's safety. On another guided busway in Cambridgeshire three people were killed between 2015 and 2021, after which Cambridgeshire County Council was fined £6m for health and safety breaches.

Cambridge has become a focal point in the government's growth plans. Only last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £400m funding for Cambridge to boost development with affordable homes, infrastructure and business expansion.

Neil Cameron KC, right, has been leading the council legal team at the inquiry

Neil Cameron KC, representing the council, told the inquiry: "There is very strong national and local support for the delivery of the busway.

"This reflects the demonstrable need for improved infrastructure to help unleash Cambridge's economic potential."

He said the council has "not ignored [the] concerns" of those living near the busway and "adverse impacts have been identified and mitigated".

Opponents to the project have put forward an alternative busway route that uses existing roads, but Mr Cameron said they been assessed as "unsafe and based on a plethora of unacceptable departures from the relevant design standards".

The buses would be overseen by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's mayor Paul Bristow.

The Conservative described himself as "pro-growth" but told inspectors: "I'm not the sort of person you would typically see be against infrastructure… but I think this is the wrong scheme".

Bristow too has concerns about what happens when EWR is built and is sceptical about the estimated number of passengers.

Coton Orchard has 1,000 trees and grows 26 varieties of apples

One of the most controversial aspects of the busway plans has been the route taking it through a century-old orchard in Coton.

Coton Orchard contains about 1,000 trees and grows 26 varieties of apples, as well as pears and plums.

Inspectors have visited the site as part of the inquiry and its owner Anna Gazeley said she was "quite pleased that we've had a chance to get our side across".

She admits it has had an "enormous" personal toll, "like having a full-time job".

The public inquiry, which concluded on Friday, took place because the order needed for this type of infrastructure requires one if there are objectors.

The GCP declined to be interviewed, but a spokesperson said: "Throughout the inquiry, there has been broad agreement of the need for a scheme which meets the requirements of the planned growth and delivers for future communities.

"The planning inspectors are now preparing their report for Secretary for State for Transport Heidi Alexander, who will then decide whether to approve the Transport and Works Act order, which would allow our scheme to go ahead."

It is the government that has the final say on the proposal, but there is no timeline on when that decision will be made.