The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Board has voted to approve £1.7 million funding to develop the CAM Metro Outline Business Case – the next key phase of the transformational scheme. The approval means that £3 million of funding, including £300,00 from the Greater Cambridge Partnership, is now in place to move the transformational scheme forward.
The CAM Metro, serving Greater Cambridge and its surroundings, is one of the Combined Authority’s priority projects identified as key to its ambition to make the region one of the world’s leading places to live, learn and work.
In March, the Combined Authority board unanimously approved the strategic outline business case for the Metro and preparation work for the Outline Business Case pressed ahead immediately, including a strategy for procurement, a technical study of vehicle technology, and enhanced transport modelling.
The Combined Authority has already set up a dedicated Partnership Board of private and public sector partners to support the further development of the scheme.
The Partnership Board will meet at key stages of the development of the Outline Business Case, contributing ideas and offering guidance, as well more generally fostering a spirit of collaborative working among key stakeholders and partners.
Mayor James Palmer said:
“The strategic outline business case told us the CAM has a fantastic cost-benefit ratio - every pound invested will be worth up to four to our region. We can’t relax the momentum in delivering the CAM. Joint working is essential - best practice across the UK shows that the biggest infrastructure projects are most successful when the public and commercial sectors work in partnership. The CAM is no different. It’s vital to engage the active involvement of key stakeholders, both public and private, across our region.”
“We’ve set up the Partnership Board to manage development of the outline business case and map the path following delivery, freeing the Combined Authority to move our other transport priorities forward. The Combined Authority and Greater Cambridge Partnership still retain all decision-making powers and councils are closely involved in developing ideas.”
Consultant teams delivering the OBC will span engineering and technology, transport planning and demand, environment, a detailed funding and finance strategy, legal, property and land referencing.
The Outline Business Case will provide greater detail and certainty on, among other things, the engineering solutions, capital costs, running costs, timetabling, routes and delivery timescales.
The OBC is due to be completed in 2020, paving the way for a full business case on the multi-billion project if it gets the green light to go ahead.
