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Public set to have their say on strategy to shape Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s transport future

Public set to have their say on strategy to shape Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s transport future

Members of the public are set to be given the opportunity to help share a strategy to tackle transport challenges and support ambitions for growth in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the next 30 years.

The Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan (LTP) will provide the policy foundation and strategic context for key projects like the CAM Metro, Wisbech, Soham and Cambridge South rail station proposals, the dualling of the A47 and A10 and the ongoing work to reform the bus network.

The Combined Authority Board will be recommended to approve a widespread community and stakeholder consultation on the LTP, which would see half-day events held across the whole area to which the public would be encouraged to attend. There would also be the opportunity to contribute to the consultation online. This process is expected to begin from June 2019, running form around 12 weeks.

The Board will make the decision on whether to proceed with the consultation at its meeting on May 29.

The purpose of the public consultation is to set out with local communities the transport challenges faced by region and to seek feedback on the approach an policies proposed to address them.

The LTP will provide the vision and strategy to address the challenges laid out in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER), while supporting the vision articulated in Mayor’s Growth Ambition Statement. This includes the commitment to doubling the size of the area’s economy over 25 years, ensuring good jobs are available within a 30-minute from home, facilitating cleaner, sustainable transport, reducing congestion and delivering infrastructure that will support much-needed new housing. The plan will cover the years to 2050 and will align and support the growth targets of Local Plans across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The LTP will also be a key pillar of Combined Authority’s strategic framework, linking in with the Local Industrial Strategy and the Non-Statutory Spatial Framework Phase 2.

Mayor James Palmer said:

“The Local Transport Plan is a key strategic pillar shaping the future of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to 2050. This will be an essential part of ensuring that our growth remains sustainable, and that prosperity is better spread throughout Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“While there has been attention around individual schemes like the CAM Metro, A47 and A10 dualling and new railway stations at Wisbech, Soham and Cambridge South, it is important for people to understand how they align with an overall strategy.

“The LTP will seek to tackle our congestion challenges and our ambition to facilitate lower carbon, reliable, affordable and sustainable forms transport. The delivery of good transport infrastructure before significant numbers are new houses are built will also be central to the LTP.

“Transport is something t hat effects everyone, whether it is road or rail users, bus passengers, or cyclists and pedestrians, so the input of the public on this will be important. We know that there are challenges with congestion on roads and that people’s access to public transport needs expanding, but we also want to hear their experiences and your suggestions for how things can improve. We want people to help shape this document and I would encourage anyone interested in the future of transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to have their say when those consultation events are announced.”

The LTP is structured in two main parts. First is there overall plan which sets out the vision, objectives and the strategic approach up to 2050. Second is the Transport Delivery Plan, which will run from 2019 to 2031/36 and will detail how improvements to the transport network will be delivered and managed and maintained.

Following the consultation and inclusion of comments, the Board will be asked to approve the first CPCA Local Transport Plan later in 2019.