Brought to you Courtesy of the Labour Party

At the meeting organised by Govia Thameslink to tell us they were going to close Mill Road Bridge completely for two months, I stood up and told them that the community would not allow them to cut off Romsey from the rest of Cambridge.

Within 24 hours Romsey Labour had set up a website, Facebook page, twitter and petition to demand that pedestrian access for people and bikes should be maintained.

There followed a number of meetings one of which denied any actual knowledge of the meeting reported below.  Your councillors held the line and we are now glad to report that pedestrian/cycle access will be maintained throughout the works (except for a few occasions when safety prevents it).

We are now seeking to get some mitigation for shop owners and residents in the form of legacy products.

 

Brought to you Courtesy of the Labour Party

At the meeting organised by Govia Thameslink to tell us they were going to close Mill Road Bridge completely for two months, I stood up and told them that the community would not allow them to cut off Romsey from the rest of Cambridge.

Within 24 hours Romsey Labour had set up a website, Facebook page, twitter and petition to demand that pedestrian access for people and bikes should be maintained.

There followed a number of meetings one of which denied any actual knowledge of the meeting reported below.  Your councillors held the line and we are now glad to report that pedestrian/cycle access will be maintained throughout the works (except for a few occasions when safety prevents it).

We are now seeking to get some mitigation for shop owners and residents in the form of legacy products.

Mill Road Bridge ‘closure’: drop in session at the Earl of Beaconsfield 27th November

I have just returned from the drop in session by The Spencer Group at the Earl of Beaconsfield. Their position has changed somewhat and I guess local pressure has encouraged this. They are now proposing footbridge access that will be available for most of the time. I have discussed in depth how this may work and suggested that whilst we recognise that there are times that access will be restricted, that we are hoping this will be kept to a minimum, and even on those days access is restricted the footbridge will be open in the morning and evening during school run times. In this regard I have asked for weekly bulletins about when the bridge may be closed or further restricted. In regard to buses this is going to be a matter for on-going discussion. The same will apply for access to the doctors for those people who cannot walk over the bridge. There is much to be settled and agreed but you can be sure that your local councillors are very much leading on discussions.

I have also asked that consideration be given to making the footbridge permanent; that consideration be given to rendering the brickwork to allow for further art work to be designed perhaps by school children and produced by The Spencer Group; it may even be that bricks signed by school children could be part of the structure; these are just the start of what I imagine may be a lot of suggestions for legacy and will be a matter of on-going negotiation. Please let us know if you have any ideas.

 

1980
1980
goo.gl/fBcYXp
goo.gl/fBcYXp

Romsey and Petersfield Councillors wished Govia Thameslink had spoken to us before organising three drop in sessions  27-11-18 at the Earl of Beaconsfield 1100-1300, 1400-1600, 1700-1900.

  • The room is hardly big enough.
  • The fact that it is on a licensed premises will make it unsuitable for some people
  • The times will prevent many people from attending.

There is a petition to sign if you would like pedestrian access to continue during the two month closur

Thames Govia Leaflet side one
Thames Govia Leaflet side one
Thames Govia Leaflet side two
Thames Govia Leaflet side two
Thanks Govia Leaflet close up
Thanks Govia Leaflet close up

There is a petition to sign if you would like pedestrian access to continue during the two month closure

What’s proposed

Network Rail and Govia Thameslink plan a complete closure of the bridge over the railway on Mill Road Cambridge for two months from May 2019.

Watch a video by Mill Road TV of them presenting their plans.  However, the organisers prevented recoding of the Q and A, which flies in the face of the organiser’s argument that they wanted to be transparent.

Network Rail and Govian Thameslink have submitted an application that will go through the planning approval process at Cambridge City Council.

“18/1372/CAP18 | Application for Prior Approval under Part 18 for construction of new gated east side stairway from Mill Road to provide access to train drivers walkway, including alterations to arches 5 and 6 to facilitate new sidings, walkway and passive provision for Chisholm Trail. | Mill Road Bridge Mill Road Cambridge Cambridgeshire”

The gateway to the application is accessible here.   Then you have to search for  18/1372/CAP18

It is unlikely that the city council planning approval process will have any say about the bridge being shut – this is thought to be a matter for the County Council.  This is explained in a letter from ‘The application officer’ once you have gained access to the application on the planning website.  For ease the letter appears below.

Romsey City Councillor Dave Baigent has called the application into full planning committee and this will ensure full transparency.

A website is available here to keep people up to date on this whole process

There is a petition calling for full pedestrian access to be maintained over the bridge here

The Mill Road Bridges community organisation have raised an objection to the plans.  View this at http://mill-road.com/closure-of-mill-road-bridge-for-railway-works/

 

Letter from the ‘Application Officer’ about the City Council’s responsibility

18/1372/CAP18 – Application for Prior Approval under Part 18. Mill Road Bridge, Cambridge.

This is a ‘prior approval’ application for works that Network Rail intend to undertake to Mill Road Bridge. The works comprise construction of a new gated east side stairway from Mill Road, to provide access to train drivers walkway (including alterations to Arches 5 and 6) to facilitate new sidings, walkway and passive provision for the Chisholm Trail.

The work is permitted development under Part 18 of the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order (GPDO). Part 18 limits the control which the Local Planning Authority can exercise when determining such applications – only the location and design/external appearance can be considered. Prior approval cannot be refused (nor can conditions be imposed), unless:

1. The development ought to be and could reasonably be carried out elsewhere on the land.

2. The design or external appearance of any building or bridge would injure the amenity of the neighbourhood and is reasonably capable of modification to avoid such injury.

During the course of this application, the City Council Urban Design Officer and Conservation Officer raised concerns regarding the proposed canopy over the stairway. This is considered to have a detrimental visual impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. These concerns have been relayed to Network Rail, and a formal response is awaited. An extension to the time period for determining this application until 30 November 2018 has been agreed, to enable these matters to be resolved.

To clarify, whilst the works may require the closure of Mill Road Bridge, this is outside the remit of this application. Network Rail would need to obtain a temporary Traffic Regulation Order from Cambridgeshire County Council.

Kind regards. Philippa

Philippa Kelly
Principal Planner (Strategic Sites) Greater Cambridge Shared PlanningTel: 01223 457434philippa.kelly@cambridge.gov.uk

Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search