This week’s Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Board has voted unanimously to push forward Peterborough’s proposed new depot for electric buses, continuing the drive towards net zero public transport for the city and for the whole Combined Authority region.
The Combined Authority’s own Transport & Infrastructure Committee had recommended that today’s meeting of the full Board approved the drawdown of £200,000 to meet Peterborough City Council’s future expenses in commissioning further feasibility work on the planned depot, establishing the requirements for the potential site at Nursery Lane, and formulating a site specification.
The new depot could house several operators, with capacity to expand to meet future market needs. It will offer overnight parking and maintenance facilities for buses providing services all around the city.
The identified site, at Nursery Lane, is intended to double as a facility for electric buses, =which need powerful charging points for their batteries – and perhaps continue as a depot for Peterborough City Council vehicles.
Crucially, the new depot advances the Combined Authority’s continuing environmental commitment to bringing in net zero electric buses. This requires the move from the hundred-year old bus garage on Lincoln Road to a more spacious site, with room for the barriers essential to protect each charging-station from parking accidents.
Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson said: “This unanimous decision is excellent. It underlines our wholehearted commitment to net zero targets and a modern mix of sustainable, accessible transport services for all.
“Peterborough is a great and vibrant city, and we must all work together to improve electric vehicle provision, facilities for active travel, and the joined-up public transport a great city needs.
“By providing a new depot that can support electric buses, we will get nearer our goal of ensuring all buses and taxis operating within the Combined Authority area are zero emissions by 2030.”
Welcoming the CPCA Board’s unanimous decision, Councillor Mohammed Farooq, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said:
“I am delighted that funding has been approved to help this important project move forward and we can now look towards developing a vital piece of infrastructure which will benefit our city for years to come.
“We are fully committed to working with our partners to develop opportunities for environmentally-friendly transport. By providing a new depot that can support electric buses, we can continue working towards our key goal of reducing carbon emissions and becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030.
“I am also looking forward to working closely with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to help deliver many of our priorities. Particularly in relation to shaping our public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure, as well as developing opportunities for housing, skills and ARU Peterborough.”
The proposed depot will increase transport accessibility, help reform the bus network and improve sustainability, providing infrastructure to alleviate environmental and climate damage and form part of delivering an alternative fuel strategy.
