Cambridge City Council approves new £200 million pound busway
It'll run between Cambridge and the growing new town of Cambourne
A planned new busway between Cambourne and Cambridge has been approved. It's 10 years since the 8.6 mile route was first proposed.
The C2C busway aims to take cars off the road, make buses more reliable and cut journey times from the growing new town of Cambourne
But environmental groups are against the route - which will cut through a 100-year-old orchard at Coton.
Councillors approved the busway motion by 33 votes to 26, and the authority will now make an application to the Secretary of State for Transport for permission to go ahead with the scheme.
Some councillors raised concerns about the loss of trees.
Speaking during the meeting, local Labour councillor Neil Shailer said he would like to see "more orchards in the green belt".
He raised concerns over population growth and more cars and warned of moving "one step closer to a burning planet".
But Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Gough said the busway scheme was "desperately needed" by people in Cambourne "who want better access to economic and educational opportunities of Cambridge right now".
Lucy Nethsingha, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council and of its Liberal Democrat group, said: "Of course I wish it were possible to build a high-quality public transport route without chopping down a single tree.
"But it is not possible."
She said that an alternative option of widening existing roads had been "thoroughly examined over many years and would itself have a significant impact on trees".
"Moving to a net zero economy cannot be done without changing the way we travel. "In response, the Greater Cambridge Partnership has committed to a 10% net biodiversity gain - including 1500 new trees.