Conservative Council Group Leaders stay united opposing Congestion Charging despite Lib Dem and Labour ploughing on with plans to bring in the Charge
“Today was the day thousands of people were ignored by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) Board. Despite a petition gathering over 15,000 signatures the Lib Dem and Labour Councillors on the GCP Board have agreed to plough on with their brutal plans for Congestion Charging. Whilst they say it is only a consultation, their only alternative proposal is to do nothing. Make no mistake there is every intention to impose these charges; the Chair of the GCP, Labour’s Cllr Elisa Meschini recognised that the public is not in agreement, saying they have a real job to do to persuade people and convince them to trust this plan, and that there is no other way. Not one Board member spoke about the downsides of imposing Congestion Charging on residents across the county, just that we all need to make sacrifices.
Pursuing this policy, particularly in the current economic climate is irresponsible and will have terrible impacts on the lives of many residents and businesses in Cambridge and the county as a whole. We have already heard from one company that they are abandoning plans to expand into Cambridge because of this proposed charge, meaning a loss of jobs to the area. Others have spoken about the need to re-evaluate and are considering redundancies if it is introduced. Have the hospitality and retail businesses in Cambridge not suffered enough recently due to the covid pandemic?
The inclusion of Addenbrookes and Royal Papworth Hospital in the charging zone is simply a cash cow for the multi millions that the GCP claims this will raise and has been described as “immoral”. The Board said they should hear from those in charge at the hospital, but people who work at the hospital have already spoken! They have been speaking out loudly against this proposal and we call on the GPC to consult both the staff, patients and visitors to the hospitals in their consultation.
The Board members talk about more buses, but just look at the problems we are experiencing at the moment. The proposals for large swathes of rural areas of Cambridgeshire to be covered by Demand Responsive Transport are unattractive, unproven and unsustainable. Demand Responsive Transport is enormously expensive and does not offer residents a viable option on a daily basis. We need improved buses, absolutely. We need to reduce congestion, absolutely. But this can be achieved through incentives instead of punishments – the carrot, not the stick.
The GCP is an unelected organisation that has no mandate, remit or power to inflict this tax on the rest of Cambridgeshire. We have found no election leaflets from Liberal Democrat or Labour Councillors that sit on the GCP that spoke of their plans to bring in a Cambridge Congestion Charge. Only the Liberal Democrat led County Council, propped up by their Labour and Independent coalition partners has the power to impose this charge and, if it is minded to do so, we demand that they give the decision to the people of Cambridgeshire through a county wide referendum.
Conservatives across Cambridgeshire are united against this charge – it is time for other parties and Independent Councillors to come clean with voters and to tell us where they stand – Yes or No to burdening residents with the Cambridge Congestion Charge.
We will do all we can to make residents aware of the consultation and encourage all to get involved and have their say on such an important issue.”
The above is a statement from:
Cllr Heather Williams, Conservative and Major Opposition Group Leader South Cambridgeshire District Council
Cllr Jonathan Gray, Conservative Group Major Opposition Group Leader of Huntingdonshire District Council
Cllr Anna Bailey, Conservative Group and Council Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council
Cllr Chris Boden, Conservative Group and Council Leader of Fenland District Council
Cllr Steve Count, Conservative and Major Opposition Group Leader, Cambridgeshire County Council
