Agenda item

The Executive Board:

a)    NOTED the review of the West of Cambridge Park and Ride options.

b)    AGREED to consult on increasing the capacity for park and ride to the west of Cambridge by either further expanding the existing site at Trumpington or providing a new site adjacent to Junction 11 of the M11.

c)    AGREED to obtain feedback from the public consultation on the access options and other improvements associated with any development, including regard to the Combined Authority’s request that any new sites were temporary.

d)    AGREED to include in the consultation, strategic options for improving public transport reliability into the city centre along Trumpington Road.

The GCP Transport Director presented the report which provided an update on the progress with the West of Cambridge package, taking into account the feedback from the GCP Joint Assembly. The Transport Director emphasised the following:

·         34,000 vehicles a day passed through junction 11 of the M11. This would increase to 40,000 over the period that was being looked at.

·         Trumpington Road park and ride was already at capacity.

·         Despite the proposed improvements at Foxton and Whittlesford and taking account of Cambridge South Station, there was still a considerable requirement for increased park and ride capacity.

·         Additional park and ride capacity would have to achieve the necessary planning requirements.

·         During the public consultation, the GCP would talk to existing local park and ride users to find out what would make using the park and ride even more attractive along Trumpington Road.

The Executive Board discussed the report and:

·         Members emphasised the sense of urgency and the need to accelerate a solution given the growth at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) and that the existing park and ride was already at capacity.

·         The Executive Board was informed that a planning application for 280 additional spaces at the existing Trumpington Road park and ride site had been submitted to Cambridgeshire County Council. Work on this would commence immediately if planning approval was granted.

·         In response to comments regarding the need to shorten the timescale for proposals, the GCP Transport Director emphasised the need to follow due process and to carry out public consultation on other proposals.

·         Members highlighted the acute problems in the area due to the growth at the CBC and the demand for access to the site. The proposed scheme only solved part of the problem as it focussed on getting people to the CBC.

·         Councillor van de Weyer raised concern regarding the impact of proposals on Harston and surrounding South Cambridgeshire villages, which could make their existing traffic problems even worse. It was felt that going through the process of consultation was a good way of looking at these issues and how they could best be managed without making problems worse. He urged that consultation looked at these issues. Once a solution was identified, this needed to be implemented urgently.

·         Claire Ruskin emphasised the need to involve stakeholders from outside the region in the public consultation.

·         Councillor Bates advised that the consultation needed to draw out where the traffic was coming from. He reminded the Board that Papworth Hospital and Astrazeneca would both have moved to CBC by 2020, with Papworth Hospital moving to CBC in 2019.

·         Councillor Bates pointed out that traffic flow on Trumpington Road also needed to be improved, which would be a challenge.

·         The Chairperson highlighted that CBC was a site on which 25,000 jobs and two of the busiest hospitals in the region were to be located. He suggested a bus from Babraham to these sites, to ensure reliable onward public transport as well as walking and cycling options, would be beneficial.

·         The Chairperson advised that using the park and ride site as a potential site for coach parking also needed to be considered, as the city did not have the capacity  that was needed for coach parking.

·         The Executive Board recognised the need to mitigate and minimise the impact on surrounding villages, of traffic coming to and from the park and ride sites.

The Executive Board:

a)    NOTED the review of the West of Cambridge Park and Ride options.

b)    AGREED to consult on increasing the capacity for park and ride to the west of Cambridge by either further expanding the existing site at Trumpington or providing a new site adjacent to Junction 11 of the M11.

c)    AGREED to obtain feedback from the public consultation on the access options and other improvements associated with any development, including regard to the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority’s request that any new sites were temporary.

d)    AGREED to include in the consultation, strategic options for improving public transport reliability into the city centre along Trumpington Road.