Mill Road bridge TRO

A Traffic Regulation Order has a notice period and asks people for objections and any other comments relating to the order. Any objections must specify the grounds on which they are made.

Two consultations have already been carried out, first by CCC and secondly by the GCP. During the GCP consultation, the most recent, respondents strongly supported closing the road but with exemptions.

This decision follows, a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which has been advertised and an extensive public consultation by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, where 1,986 online and written responses were received and saw 72% of respondents supporting restricting motor vehicles from crossing Mill Road bridge.

Members of the county council’s Highways and Transport Committee, following a majority vote, agreed to go ahead with the bus gate, including exemptions and improve the public realm on the road.

Mill Road bridge was closed to private vehicles from June 2020 to early August 2021 as part of a package of measures rolled out to help people walking and cycling to maintain social distancing following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Since then, two consultations have been carried out, first by CCC and secondly by the GCP - respondents to this second consultation strongly supported closing the road but with exemptions.

A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to close Mill Road bridge to all motor vehicles, except buses, cyclists, emergency services, taxis and blue badge holders was advertised for five weeks, from 28 November until 6 January. The call for objections achieved 690 objections against the TRO (and 291 comments supporting) – 316 objections and 244 supportive comments were submitted with detailed feedback. The objections to the proposed TRO were grouped by issue and closely reflected those that were raised in the GCP public consultation in 2022. No new issues were raised.

Following the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) extensive public consultation in 2022, where 1,986 online and written responses were received and saw 72% of respondents supporting restricting motor vehicles from crossing Mill Road bridge, members of the county council’s Highways & Transport Committee, agreed to go ahead with the bus gate, including exemptions and improve the public realm on the road.

Pedestrians, cyclists, buses, emergency vehicles, refuse vehicles, dial-a-ride, all taxis and blue badge holders will be allowed to use Mill Road bridge.

Mill Road bridge will be closed to the majority of motor vehicles. The closure will be enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras with the registered owner of any non-exempt private motor vehicle recorded using the bridge receiving a fine.

As with the earlier closure, signs would be installed along Mill Road and on nearby streets to warn drivers about the new road layout.

The closure will be implemented as a bus gate and blue badge holders will need to register via an application form online, which is available here.

Blue badge holders will be required to provide relevant details such as name, address, blue badge number and appropriate paperwork. They will also be able to register up to a maximum of two vehicles. 

Following approval, work will now get underway to design and implement the bus gate in 2024. More details will follow.  

Blue badge holders will need to register via an application form online, which is available here.

Blue badge holders will be required to provide relevant details such as name, address, blue badge number and appropriate paperwork. They will also be able to register up to a maximum of two vehicles. 

You should allow three working days for your application to be reviewed and processed. You will be sent an email confirming you’ve been added to the authorised user list for Mill Road, and you’ll only be exempt once that email has been sent.

You’ll need to provide name, address, email address, contact number, blue badge serial number, blue badge expiry date and relevant paperwork such as a copy of your blue badge.

Blue badge holders can register up to a maximum of two vehicles, the blue badge holder must be travelling in the vehicle when driving through the bus gate.

No, the exemption will only apply to Mill Road and not to other bus gates/bus lanes in the city.

There will be a period of time to implement the closure, including installing cameras, signs, road markings, setting up the online system and allowing people time to register.

There will be a further period of grace, around a month, where people will be sent warning notices and if they are exempt, they will be encouraged to register online.

We expect to implement the bus gate in the autumn. More details will follow.

Where possible, online is the preferred option, but if you can’t make your application online and you can’t email parking.control@cambridgeshire.gov.uk then we can post a form to you, however, this will take slightly longer to process.

For postal applications, call parking services on 01223 727915 and the team will arrange for a form to be sent to you.

You won’t need to do anything if you’re a registered taxi driver, the system will recognise existing taxi registration numbers that are already on the authorised vehicle list.

There was also a wish to see the environment enhanced along Mill Road including improving the public realm and walking and cycling provision. Various funding opportunities are still being explored for this project, which we plan to develop in discussion with the local community. It is anticipated that, subject to funding, design and engagement work should begin in 2024.