Local Transport and Connectivity Plan

Read the Combined Authority’s main LTCP here.

Transport affects people’s quality of life and life chances, the environment, and the economy. It brings communities closer together, supports business and jobs, and links people to education, retail, leisure, and work. Planning for better transport is therefore very important. The Combined Authority has a legal responsibility for making a transport plan for the region. The LTCP is a statutory document and any transport project must fit in with its vision, strategy and policies.

The word ‘connectivity’ is in the name of the Plan, because the internet has had a big impact on transport. For example, many more people are working or learning from home. There is more online shopping, and more leisure and entertainment is now offered digitally. Faster broadband and mobile internet is supported by the LTCP.

The LTCP aims to address big transport issues like climate change, pollution, inequality, and public health. It aims to support growth in jobs, the economy, and housing growth while also protecting and improving the environment.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson: “The LTCP is our strategy to bring about that transformation and support the investment needed to bring in a better transport future for everyone.”

The LTCP has a vision and mission for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s transport future. It is:

Our vision is:

“A transport network which secures a future in which the region and its people can thrive”. 

Whilst our mission statement is:

“The transport network must put improved health at its core, it must help create a fairer society, it must respond to climate change targets, it must protect our environment and clean up our air, and it must be the backbone of sustainable economic growth in which everyone can prosper. 

And it must bring a region of cities, market towns and very rural areas closer together. 

It will be achieved by investing in a properly joined-up, net zero carbon transport system, which is high quality, reliable, convenient, affordable, safe, and accessible to everyone. Better, cleaner public transport will reduce private car use, and more cycling and walking will support both healthier lives and a greener region. Comprehensive connectivity, including digital improvements, will support a sustainable future for our region’s nationally important and innovative economy”. 

The LTCP will guide current and new transport projects, making sure they support the vision and mission. That includes projects by the Combined Authority and local councils.

The LTCP focuses on six goals. These show what outcomes we want our transport network to achieve in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

A key part of the LTCP is to reduce the amount of car journeys in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It says that the numbers of miles driving on our roads must be cut by 15%.

The LTCP instead plans for more journeys to be taken by public transport like buses and trains, and also by cycling or walking. The aim is to shift people out of cars and on to other forms of transport by making them better and easier to use.

As well as a strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the LTCP also has local strategies for East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Greater Cambridge, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough. These aim to make sure the different needs across the region are met.

To make the LTCP vision a reality on the ground, the Combined Authority will work with Government, Local Councils, the Greater Cambridge Partnership, businesses and other organisations to support delivery of transport projects. Schemes like unlocking the rail bottleneck at Ely junction to allow for more services and freight movement, will require significant Government funding. With an up-to-date transport plan in place, the case for more funding for such projects is significantly strengthened.

Al Kingsley, Chair of the Combined Authority Business Board: “The Business Board is a strong supporter of this strategy to bring in the improved and critical infrastructure our local economy needs to remain competitive and strong, while being environmentally responsible and leaving no community behind.”

• Buses: A strategy to improve buses so that the number of passenger journeys doubles by 2030. This includes range of improvements, from more electric buses, to significant change to how services operate from the current deregulated system. This would come in the form of either ‘enhanced partnerships’ or franchising, giving the Combined Authority much greater control over how buses operate.
• Ely Area Capacity Enhancements: Working with Government to secure the funding needed to unlock the long-standing rail bottleneck. This would free up capacity for more passenger services across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, while also allowing for more freight and reduced lorry traffic.
• Active Travel: By 2030 at least half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked or cycled. Investments in infrastructure will make walking, cycling, the use of mobility aids, public transport, and other new forms of mobility the natural first choice for journeys.

The region’s first Local Transport Plan was put in place in early 2020. Since then, many changes have taken place locally and in the wider world which means it needs an update.

Changes which meant we needed a new LTCP include:

• The election of Mayor Dr Nik Johnson, and his focus on the values of Compassion, Cooperation and Community.
• The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Independent Commission on Climate’s recommendations on how the region can reduce carbon emissions.
• The Combined Authority’s refreshed focus on sustainable economic growth and how we deliver this even better.
• Covid-19 and its long-term effects on travel.
• The Government’s new plans to cut carbon set out in: (a) Decarbonisation of Transport Plan and (b) The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
• The Government’s new national cycling and walking policies.

The LTCP details strategies for specific local areas in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Local Section – East Cambridgeshire

Local Section – Fenland

Local Section – Greater Cambridge

Local Section – Huntingdonshire

Local Section – Peterborough

• Evidence – CPCA LTCP Habitats Regulations Assessment
• Evidence – CPCA LTCP IIA Appendices
• Evidence – CPCA LTCP Integrated Impact Assessment 
• Evidence – CPCA LTCP Policy Review
• Evidence – LTCP Consultation Report – You Said, We Did 
• Evidence – LTCP Consultation Report
• Evidence – Qualified Carbon Assessment – Briefing Document (February 23)
• Evidence – Qualified Carbon Assessment – Briefing Document (March 22) 
• Evidence – Qualified Carbon Assessment – Briefing Document (November 22) 
• Evidence – Qualified Carbon Assessment – Technical Note