C2C busway routes will not be compared, council decides

About 500 trees in Coton Orchard will be removed to make way for the C2C busway, Cambridgeshire County Council said in March

Campaigners hoping to save an ancient apple orchard from a new busway have spoken of their disappointment after an alternative was rejected.

Cambridgeshire County Council approved an 8.6 mile (14km) route linking Cambourne to Cambridge in March.

A different route, avoiding the 100-year-old orchard, will not be compared with approved plans, the authority decided.

The proposal - saving about 500 apple trees - was rejected by 33 votes to 21.

The council will now submit an application to the Department for Transport for the plan it approved in March.

The £200m C2C busway, devised by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), aims to "cut congestion and improve air quality", a GCP spokesperson said.

They added the project would provide "better public transport services" between Cambourne and Cambridge.

The C2C busway will connect Cambridge with Cambourne, which is eight miles west of the city

The council vote on Tuesday was "disappointing", said James Littlewood from the charity Cambridge Past, Present and Future.

He said the proposed alternative would have involved building a bus lane on a route towards Cambridge down Madingley Hill.

"That avoids having to build a road across the countryside, with all the damage that would cause to the Coton Orchard and the other habitats as well," Mr Littlewood added.

The owner of Coton Orchard, speaking before the council vote on Tuesday, had hoped for a reprieve for her ancient apple trees

Anna Gazeley, owner of 100-year-old Coton Orchard, told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire ahead of the council vote that she hoped for a "second chance".

She said the approved plans in March were a "real gut-punch" because the route would affect the site.

"I'm very gratified that support came about because I think it's given our campaign much more strength and I think more people are taking this more seriously because of it," she added.

What are the plans?

• Known as C2C, the 8.6 mile (14km) busway would link Cambridge and Cambourne, via Hardwick, Coton and Bourn airfield

• It would include optically-guided electric or hybrid buses on the route

• Bus journeys would be 19 minutes faster between Cambridge and Cambourne

• A new 30-acre (12 hectare) park and ride north of Hardwick would be created

• About 500 trees would be removed from Coton Orchard

• There is a commitment to a minimum 10% net biodiversity gain, including 1,500 new trees

A spokesperson from the GCP said the C2C busway scheme included a "rigorous assessment of off-road, on-road and hybrid route options", and two independent audits found the GCP's process to be "robust".

"Mitigation proposals are being developed to preserve views, screen infrastructure and limit the impact on the landscape.

"We are committed to planting 1,500 new trees along the route - significantly more than we will remove," they added.