Calls for Cambridge congestion charge idea to be binned

A potential charge for driving into Cambridge would hit the "least well off the hardest", Conservatives said.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) recently consulted on major improvements to bus services in and around the city.

It said a congestion charge could be introduced in the future to help pay for the changes.

Conservatives have written to Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors on the GCP calling for them to bin the idea.

The GCP is the local delivery body for the government's city deal programme which invests in infrastructure.

It is made up of representatives from Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, the University of Cambridge and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board.

Anna Bailey, Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said the idea would have a negative impact on people who travel into the city for work, education, healthcare and leisure.

"East Cambridgeshire is a rural area with severely limited, or in some cases, no access to public transport and where car ownership is a necessity, not a choice," she said.

"Conservatives at East Cambs are united in their opposition to this punitive tax which will hit the least well-off the hardest."

The cost of a new bus network is estimated at about £40m each year.

As well as a congestion charge, the proposals to fund the network also include introducing a levy for parking spaces at workplaces.

Labour county councillor and chairwoman of the GCP, Elisa Meschini, said: "The only way we can rule out any kind of charging scheme is if we do nothing with the public transport.

"We haven't decided if we're going to do a congestion charge at all, there are a lot of other options in terms of how you could fund public transport and the consultation outlines all of them."

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