News  »  Parish Council objections to planning application for cycle bridge on Ditton Meadows

At its meeting on 2nd August, the Parish Council discussed in detail the County’s planning application to build a joint pedestrian and cycle bridge near the railway bridge on Ditton Meadows. Although the current proposals have addressed some of the criticisms of the initial designs consulted on in July 2014, the Parish Council took the view that they still have many shortcomings. The response it has submitted to the County Council covers the following points, amongst others:

• The proposed location east of the railway bridge only makes any sense in conjunction with the proposed Chisholm Trail cross-city cycle route; if the Chisholm Trail does not get approval, there should be a condition that the bridge should not go ahead.
• Although the application includes an assessment of the scheme’s impact on the ‘Riverside and Stourbridge Common’ Conservation Area, a similar assessment on its impact on the Fen Ditton one is lacking.
• The title of the application indicates that the wooden walkway under the railway bridge would be replaced but no details are given. Unless improvements are made, this walkway will remain a narrow slippery bottleneck.
• The proposed pale concrete facings are likely to become sites for graffiti.
• There appear to be serious flaws in the forecasting of likely usage of the bridge.

Please click here to see the full response. 

Many of the same points are raised in an online petition to Cambridge City Council, which you can view and sign here. If there are enough signatures, a special development control forum could be called to discuss the issues. The closing date for the petition is 30th August 2016.

Please click here for details of how you can view and comment on the application itself. The closing date for doing this is 18th August 2016.