Stagecoach guided bus moves through Longstanton

THE idea that additional buses will persuade most of the commuters living on the proposed Bearscroft Farm development in Godmanchester to ditch their cars is just pie in the sky. But maybe I’m unusual in choosing to go to work by car, and Steve Biart and the Fairfield Partnership directors will be able to tell us how they leave their cars at home, and regularly use the local bus services to commute to work.

Or is this just a case of “do what I say”, not “do what I do”?

Perhaps their “what we do” on their website is more enlightening though: “The Fairfield Partnership successfully promotes land through the planning system to maximise its value on the open market” and “The Fairfield Partnership are not builders, so our interest in maximising land value, is the same as the landowner.” The latter should ring alarm bells – when the real developer comes back with revised planning applications to remove the ‘bus scheme’ because it’s not commercially viable, or to increase the number of developments by 50 per cent, will Fairfield Partnership be there saying “no, that must go ahead, we agreed it in 2012”? I very much doubt it.

Come on Steve and Co, prove me wrong and show us that you really are committed to using your own local bus services on a regular basis as your preferred mode of transport. Give us the details of how you personally buy into your own local ‘bus scheme’, how you’ve campaigned to improve it, and let’s see evidence of some of your own bums on bus seats. Otherwise we’ll have to conclude that it’s just a spurious argument for overcoming the objections of the residents of Godmanchester, so that you can maximise the returns for yourself and the landowner.

KEITH DOUGLAS

Thickwillow

Godmanchester