Hundreds of thousands spent on first failed attempt to close Mill Road bridge
Over £200,000 was spent by Cambridgeshire County Council on its first failed attempt to close Mill Road bridge in Cambridge to most drivers. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by CambridgeshireLive has revealed the full costs of the county council’s attempts to restrict access over Mill Road bridge.
The authority had agreed a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to install a bus gate on the bridge back in March 2023, but the order was quashed by the court earlier this year following a legal challenge. A second TRO to create the bus gate was approved in October and work has begun to create the modal filter. A new legal challenge against this TRO has also now been lodged.
The bus gate will see the bridge closed to all motor vehicles, except buses, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services, and blue badge holders registered vehicles. The restrictions have proved divisive, while some have said the change will improve the “noisy, dangerous, and polluted street”, others have shared fears it will lead to businesses closing and barriers put in the way of carers.
READ MORE: Protestors 'get in the way' as Mill Road bridge bus gate works begin
The FOI revealed that it cost the county council £225,968.94 to develop the Mill Road bus gate scheme, and approve the first TRO, including staff time and legal costs. Defending the legal challenge that led to the first TRO being quashed cost the county council £72,178.11. Work on the second TRO which was approved in October cost £29,612.56 and the county council said it expects work to create the modal filter on the bridge will cost in the region of £200,000.
When the second TRO was approved by the county council, Councillor Richard Howitt said the process over the last two years had been “extremely costly” for the authority. At the time he said there needed to be a “full investigation” into who was responsible for “getting it wrong”.
A spokesperson for the county council said: “We agreed with the claimant and the judge to quash the previous decision. We carried out the statutory consultation and decision-making process on the traffic regulation order again – this brought a stop to the council spending more money and time defending the case. As per the special highways and transport committee, we agreed an internal review would be carried out and this will be progressed shortly.”