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CAST.IRON - Next Steps

Public support for the rail option is compelling, as evidenced by letters in the local press and the 'Boot out the Bus' campaign being waged by the Hunts Post. The City and District Councils are broadly against the guided bus but Cambridgeshire County Council continues to insist that it is the only option.

At the time of writing, the Council is due to vote on whether to submit a Transport and Works Act application to the Government.

Meanwhile, CAST.IRON continues to receive ever more public support. A 100,000 door-to-door leaflet drop has seen memberships, offers of voluntary and professional help and donations coming in by the score within a few days. Of approximately 1000 communications in various forms received by the organisation (not including those from councillors and Council officers), just one has been anti-rail with one other questioning the feasibility.

The organisation has written a strong letter of condemnation to the County Council for allowing this situation to arise: copies of the letter have been sent to all 58 councillors along with the CAST.IRON vision document, which outlines the advantages of the rail option and how it can be achieved.

Therefore, at the time of writing, CAST.IRON and the people of Cambridgeshire and beyond await with interest the decision of the County Council. There is still time to write to individual councillors and the Council itself.

If a Transport and Works Act is to be pursued, the next steps are:

• To lobby Parliament, directly and via MPs;
• Possibly a judicial review of the original CHUMMS study that effectively forced the guided bus upon a largely unwilling population and electorate;
• Public inquiry into the Transport and Works application.

CAST.IRON vision document