Disappointing news on A14

Yesterday's Comprehensive Spending Review deserves a thorough analysis in its own right and I certainly think that overall George Osborne did a good job with the dire hand which Gordon Brown's spendthrift government bequeathed him.

But the big disappointment for Cambridge is the absence of the A14 in the list of infrastructure projects to go ahead.

I blame four people: Cambridge's MP Julian Huppert, former MP David Howarth, city council leader Cllr Sian Reid and former city council leader Cllr Ian Nimmo-Smith. All four campaigned vigorously against the vital proposed enhancement to the A14 and they can now toast their success in holding back local, regional and national economic development.

Their opposition to the scheme was ideological and slightly batty (apparently the new 'superhighway' would have engulfed Cambridge with new visitors).

All the surrounding Conservative MPs supported the plan. If we had presented a united front perhaps we would have got the upgrade, but divided it was obviously a prime candidate to be dropped when there were other schemes with better support.

I hope that the scheme can be considered again in the future.

More evidence that the A14 needs upgrading

Four crashes on the A14 this weekend provide yet more evidence of the urgent need to upgrade the A14. The need for this road to be widened has been known for years but first it was cancelled by John Prescott and then the Lib Dems got their way with a public enquiry this February. Thanks to these needless delays the cost has rocketed to $1.3bn but that doesn't make it any less essential.

The new government's review of various projects was inevitable given the constraints on public finance (largely thanks to Labour's chronic overspending in earlier years) but I hope that this project gets through. Given the importance of the A14 for the local area as well as nationally and internationally it is no surprise that Conservative MPs and council leaders in the area are backing the project and lobbying the government for it.

It is somewhat disappointing that the local Lib Dems are letting their 'isolationist city' mentality guide their frantic attempts to stop this crucial work, with the MP even going so far as to call a Westminster Hall debate on the subject.

I agree that we can do more with getting freight onto rail but there's something slightly loopy about the Lib Dems' obsession with stopping the 'superhighway' into Cambridge - I hope they will think again and join local Conservatives in standing up for this crucial piece of infrastructure during the government's review. Coalition speaking unto coalition?

A14 plans move forward - slowly...

The glacial pace of progress on the A14 upgrade continues.


The consultation on the proposals to rebuild the A14 closed on the 6th of January 2010 and a public enquiry will be held (as is usually the way with such large transport schemes).

In March, full details of all the objections received should be made public. The Inspector is likely to hold the first meeting with objectors in mid May.

The full enquiry which is likely to take 10 /12 weeks is be in two parts, the first in June / July and the second in September / October.

During this period the Highways Agency and their contractors will continue to seek to resolve objections. One of which could come from Cambridge's new MP, if we are unfortunate enough to have a Lib Dem elected - their candidate is an opponent of the A14 upgrade, and is also an opponent of the Guided Bus. At least their position is clear when it comes to transport - a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote against every planned significant improvement to transport infrastructure in the sub-region!

A14 proposals on display

Proposals have been published for the long-awaited A14 upgrade, and there will be a public exhibition of the proposals at the University Arms hotel at the following times:

Thursday 15 October 2009 (10 - 8)

Friday 16 October 2009 (10 - 8)

Saturday 17 October 2009 (10 - 8)

Sunday 18 October 2009 (10 - 6)

Members of the Highways Agency Project Team will be available to answer questions on the proposals.