The Greater Cambridge Citizens’ Assembly heard evidence from experts in transport, economics, environmental issues and public health as well as views from local stakeholders and examples from other cities over two weekends in September and October.
The Assembly concluded with the 53 members voting on a number of recommendations to transform how people travel into and around Greater Cambridge and measures to improve the quality of the air.
A report outlining the headline recommendations has been published by Involve, the charity which has facilitated the Assembly. The full report will be available in early November.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board will consider these recommendations at their next meeting in December, alongside further work on this issue.
Cllr Aidan Van de Weyer, chair of the GCP’s Executive Board, said: “It has been fantastic to see people who live and travel around the area listen to the evidence and discuss the congestion and air pollution issues we face. The Citizens’ Assembly has put forward clear messages and ideas on how to transform our transport system so more people can get to where they need to go more easily without having to use a car.
“I want to thank the members of the Citizens’ Assembly, all the speakers and the experts on the Advisory Group for their hard work and dedication over these two weekends, and I look forward to discussing the findings with the other Executive Board members in December.”
Tim Hughes, Director of Involve, said: “The Greater Cambridge Citizens’ Assembly has sent some clear messages and recommendations to the Greater Cambridge Partnership about what should be done to reduce congestion, improve air quality and provide better public transport in Greater Cambridge.
“The assembly members showed a fantastic commitment to their task across the two weekends, taking on board vast amounts of information from experts and local stakeholders, deliberating constructively with their fellow members, and developing strong conclusions on what they think should be done.
“The assembly members have once again demonstrated the role that the public can play in making difficult trade-offs on complex issues and developing recommendations to guide decision-makers. We look forward to seeing how GCP take on board their conclusions.”
The GCP was awarded £60,000 plus expert support to run the Citizens' Assembly as part of the Government’s Innovation in Democracy Programme, jointly delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The Assembly members were selected at random by a sortition process, following invitations to 10,000 addresses across the travel to work area.
The presentations and expert panel discussions from the Citizens’ Assembly were live streamed on the GCP’s Facebook page and will be available on the GCP’s YouTube page.
Visit the Consult Cambs website to view the Citizens’ Assembly presentation slides and for further information and frequently asked questions about the process.