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Mill Road bridge TRO

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Mill Road bridge bus gate update 12 March -

The work to fix a burst water main on Mill Road is complete. Enforcement of the Mill Road bridge bus gate will resume tomorrow (Thursday, 13 March), with fines being issued to non-exempt vehicles.

Read our news release for further details.

Mill Road bridge bus gate - penalty charge period began on Tuesday 11 March 2025

From Tuesday 11 March drivers of non-exempt vehicles will be issued with penalty charge notices. The warning notice period has now ended. Penalty charges are £70.00 but are discounted to £35.00 if paid within 21 days.

Vehicles allowed over the bridge include:

  • Local buses
  • Taxis (both hackney carriages and private hire vehicles)
  • Blue badge holders (up to two vehicles can be registered)
  • Vehicles in a disabled tax class
  • NHS tax-exempt vehicles
  • Vehicles on the Council’s permitted authorised vehicles List

Pedestrians and cyclists are also allowed over the bridge.

The Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) became enforceable on 1 December; from 9 December until the end of January 2025 drivers, who were not exempt, were warned not to drive over the bridge. This was a warning period only – no fines or official warning notices were issued.

At the end of January 2025, there was a further warning period when non-exempt vehicles received warning notices only; if they were exempt, they were encouraged to register online. The bus gate will be enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR). 

Blue Badge holders

The closure is implemented as a bus gate. Blue Badge holders should register up to two vehicles for exemption via our online form.

Find out who can apply for a blue badge.

The exemption does not apply to any other bus gates or lanes in Cambridge.

Disabled residents who are not blue badge holders and their carers

Disabled residents who are not blue badge holders and their carers, living in the Mill Road area of Cambridge, are eligible to apply for exemption from the bus gate restrictions

Please note, seven working days should be allowed for your application to be reviewed and processed (if the eligibility criteria are met). Applications will need to be accompanied by the relevant supporting evidence.

Professional carers

Care agencies working in the Cambridge area may wish to register for exemption the vehicles of professional carers who provide care to residents in their homes in the Mill Road area.

How to apply

Further details, along with the application form and terms and conditions, can be found at Mill Road bus gate exemption application.

TRO documents

PR1058 Mill Road Sealed Order 20241.02MB–pdf
Size: 1.02MBFile format: pdf
PR1058 Has Made Notice35KB–pdf
Size: 35KBFile format: pdf
PR1058 Has Made Statement of Reasons88KB–pdf
Size: 88KBFile format: pdf
PR1058 Plan1.71MB–pdf
Size: 1.71MBFile format: pdf

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the TRO, please email policy.andregulation@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, quoting reference PR1058.

For questions about the Mill Road bus gate project, please emailhighways@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Background

Between June 2020 and early August 2021, Mill Road bridge was temporarily closed to most vehicles under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). The closure was part of a government-funded scheme to help people socially distance and encourage walking and cycling during the Covid pandemic. When the order was removed and the bridge reopened in summer 2021, the Highways and Transport committee asked the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) to review and consult on options for Mill Road to promote active travel and tackle air quality and congestion.

The GCP consultation in 2022, which included focus groups of key stakeholders and two public workshops, showed that there was a desire to see traffic reduced while maintaining access for those who need it, including people with disabilities and taxis. There was also a wish to see the environment enhanced along Mill Road, including improving the public realm.

After reviewing the consultation, the Highways and Transport committee at its meeting on 12 July 2022 agreed to introduce a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to reinstate the modal filter on Mill Road. The committee was clear the TRO should include new exemptions, allowing blue badge holders and taxis over the bridge.

On Tuesday, 7 March 2023, members of the Highways and Transport committee voted to reinstate the Mill Road bridge closure to all motor vehicles, except buses, cyclists, emergency services, taxis and blue badge holders. The TRO was made and sealed on 14 June 2023.

The TRO was subsequently challenged in the courts and as a result the County Council agreed not to implement any of the planned changes until the legal case was resolved.

At the end of July, the County Council agreed with the claimant to end legal proceedings in relation to the Mill Road Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) challenge and decided to undertake the consultation and decision-making process on the traffic regulation order again.

A statutory consultation on the proposed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to close Mill Road bridge to all vehicles, except buses, bicycles, emergency services, taxis, and blue badge holders – who may apply to register up to two vehicles on the permitted authorised vehicles List for the Mill Road bus gate - ran from 9 August until 13 September.

A report was presented at a special Highways and Transport committee meeting on Friday 4 October to make a decision about the TRO. Read the report on the CMIS Cambridgeshire website.

Public realm scheme

In addition, the County Council is planning to improve the public realm, walking and cycling provision along Mill Road. This will include general improvements not included in the consultation such as, additional cycle parking, signage and decluttering the highway.

The potential public realm changes are being considered in collaboration with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Partnership.

Frequently asked questions

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 in 2022, respondents strongly supported closing the road but with exemptions.

In 2022 GCP carried out an extensive public consultation, where 1,986 online and written responses were received and 72% of respondents supported restricting motor vehicles from crossing Mill Road bridge.

In July 2022 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.

Pedestrians, cyclists, buses, emergency vehicles, refuse vehicles, dial-a-ride, all taxis, blue badge holders and those vehicles registered on Cambridgeshire County Council permitted authorised vehicles list will be allowed to use Mill Road bridge. 

The following additional exemption categories have been added to the Council’s permitted authorised vehicles list:

  • Eligible NHS staff
  • Eligible Doctors
  • Disabled residents who are not Blue Badge holders
  • Resident’s carers
  • Professional carers
  • Volunteer transport
  • Community Transport including Dial- A -Ride

Note, those who apply to be added to the Council’s permitted authorised vehicle list are subject to specific eligibility criteria as defined in the Operational Guidance  and will need to be accompanied by the relevant supporting evidence.

Professional carers who administer care to residents in their homes in the Mill Road area and disabled residents who are not blue badge holders and their carers living in the Mill Road area will also be allowed to use Mill Road bridge. Blue badge holders and disabled residents will be able to register up to a maximum of two vehicles.

Mill Road Bus Gate - exemption application

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.

Signs will be installed along Mill Road and on nearby streets to warn drivers about the new road layout.

It will take seven working days for your application to be reviewed (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays). You will be contacted by the Parking Control team with an update if your application has been successful. You must wait until you receive written confirmation that the vehicle(s) have been approved before driving through the bus gate

Visit Mill Road Bus Gate - exemption application to apply. Details of supporting documentation required is outlined on the application form.

Blue badge holders will be able to register up to a maximum of two vehicles. If you are a disabled person without a blue badge or you are a resident's carer living in the Mill Road area of Cambridge, you may be eligible to apply for exemption from the restrictions over the bridge. Professional carers who carry out home visits in the Mill Road area may also be eligible for exemption.

No, Blue Badge holders or any vehicles registered for access by a Blue Badge holder, along with ALL the additional exemption categories, are NOT permitted to use any other Bus Gates or Bus Lanes in Cambridge. You may receive a Penalty Charge Notice if you drive through them.

If you drive through the bus gate during the warning period, you are encouraged to apply for an exemption outlined above if you meet the criteria.

If you drive through the bus gate after the warning notice period has ended and receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), the registered keeper of the vehicle should follow the instructions provided on the PCN on how to make a representation.

Where possible, online is the preferred option.

If you are unable to make your application online, email parkingcontrol@cambridgeshire.gov.uk  or call us on 01223 727915 (9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 4.30pm on Fridays, excluding bank holidays) and we will post a form to you; however, this will take slightly longer to process.

If your vehicle is not  already registered on the permitted vehicle list , please register via  Bus lane and bus gate enforcement.

Vehicles who are not exempt are not permitted to travel over the Mill Road bus gate in a motorised vehicle. You would therefore need to find an alternative route by car or choose to walk or cycle if able to do so.

You would no longer be able to travel over the Mill Road bus gate in a motorised vehicle except by bus and taxi or if you apply for an exemption as detailed above. You would therefore need to find an alternative route by car or choose to walk or cycle if you are able to do so.