Myth: “Government money to aid the new developments would be enough” – not true

It is true that the County Council has been reasonably good at getting money out of the Government in terms of specific grants that accompany the new developments around Cambridge, as part of the ‘Growth Agenda’.

However, the scale of funding is much smaller than what would be on offer if a congestion charge were to go ahead.

Some announcements from Cambridge Horizons, the local partnership between the three relevant councils involved in overseeing housing growth in the area, show that the amounts are in the tens, rather than hundreds of millions. And these are for more than just transport.

Given manifest existing problems, it is quite clear that these current levels of funding have been inadequate to deal with existing problems, let alone new ones that will come as tens of thousands more people move into the area.

Compare these figures to the likely hundreds of millions of pounds that would be available for transport alone.

Politicians have not so far identified alternative sources to this, despite their stated opposition at times to a congestion charge. Those against the congestion charge, and the up-front funding it would bring, need to give realistic answers as to where funds for massively-improved transport will come from.

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