You’re probably already aware of the proposal for a new town to be called Mereham further up the A10 on land between Stretham and Wilburton. The people behind it are appealing against the decision not to grant them planning permission. The development is opposed by pretty much everyone, including the local councils at all three levels.

For Milton the main impact would be that the developers propose to fulfil their public transport obligations by improving the A10 as a bus corridor taking the buses through Milton and then over a new bridge which would replace the Jane Coston bridge. Unsurprisingly your parish council is opposing this and the chairman, Jane Coston, will be speaking at the enquiry.

I should mention in passing however that replacing the Jane Coston bridge with a bus bridge is now being considered by the County Council anyway. It features in the first draft of their proposals to spent the £500,000,000+ windfall they will get from the Government for public transport improvements if they introduce congestion charges for Cambridge. See figure 3.3 on page 36 of their draft document for example which clearly shows a bus route over the line of the existing bridge.

It’s also interesting that at the Mereham public enquiry SCDC planning officer John Koch is quoted in Cambridge News as saying:

The local highway authority now accepts the feasibility of providing a new bridge to replace the existing bridge over the A14 at Milton. In doing so, however, the new bridge would have to be built to road bridge standards.

These are in excess of what pedestrian cycle bridges are built to in terms of allowing steeper gradients for vehicles than people in wheelchairs. This leads to concerns that increased gradients will reduce the attractiveness of walking and cycling over the bridge, thus nullifying the benefits of the present bridge.

All of which is rather worrying for the future of our bridge.