Stakeholder consultation for CAM inches Metro reality closer

Stakeholder consultation for CAM inches Metro reality closer

Plans for the innovative Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro or CAM, linking the towns and villages of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough through tunnels under Cambridge city centre and its employment zones, jumped closer today with the launch of a stakeholder consultation on a draft policy framework for the whole 140 kilometre network, running from St Neots to Mildenhall and from Alconbury to Haverhill.

The Board of the Mayoral Combined Authority has agreed for the CAM draft to go out to consultation in an ‘appropriate’ manner – this will be online, having regard to social distancing.

A supporting document of the Local Transport Plan – LTP – the draft Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro sub-strategy describes the overall policy framework for the CAM metro. It aims to ensure that individual components of the CAM scheme all work together to deliver a unified overall CAM vision.

The Local Transport Plan, published in March 2020, was the first for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.  It looks at challenges and opportunities for the area and sets out the policy framework needed to secure growth – and ensure that large-scale development is thought out and delivered in a sustainable way. Other LTP sub-strategies – for example on cycling – will follow.

CAM is an important keystone of the overarching vision, offering high quality, high frequency metro services linking St Neots and Cambourne, Alconbury and Huntingdon, Mildenhall and Haverhill through the tunnels under Cambridge. It will boost connectivity, support housing and economic growth, promote fairness and social inclusion, and cut carbon emissions.

The stakeholder consultation, which went live today, will close at 17.00 on July 17^th.

This consultation on the overall CAM policy for the whole network follows an earlier consultation the plans to tunnel under the city of Cambridge. That six-week public consultation ran from 21 February to 3 April 2020 and included public events where members of the CAM project team discussed plans with attendees, took comments, and answered their questions.

Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, James Palmer said:

“This document for the first time sets out in detail the vision for the CAM as a whole system. It forms part of the Mayoral Combined Authority’s wider plan to deliver a world-class transport network for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that supports sustainable growth and opportunity for all. Our earlier community consultation on the Cambridge tunnels showed how excited people are by this project. I’m looking forward to getting more feedback on this policy vision for a joined-up region where world-leading, fast, low-carbon public transport is an option for all.”

Have your say in the CAM sub-strategy Consultation survey

Read the CAM sub-strategy