South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 08/07/2016

Councillors on the Environment & Community Services Committee met on Wednesday 6 July to consider the next steps for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME).

The scheme was previously considered in May* when the item was deferred for further work to be carried out to help inform the committee’s decision. This included investigating funding sources, further technical work and the implications on the scheme if an alternative to the preferred route was taken forward.

After careful consideration of the report*, the concerns raised by local people and the costs and benefits in terms of providing rapid, reliable and convenient MetroBus services, the committee decided to progress the recommended option utilising Hatchet Road. In progressing the CPME to its next detailed design phase, we will fully explore opportunities to reduce the impacts of the scheme on adjacent landowners in relation to the issues and concerns raised during the consultation phase.

The agreed route will run between Bristol Parkway Station and The Mall bus station, via Hatchet Road, Gipsy Patch Lane, through the former Rolls Royce East Works site, along North Way, and through the Cribbs Patchway New Neighbourhood.

The CPME is an extension of the MetroBus network which will extend the North Fringe to Hengrove MetroBus route that is currently under construction. The CPME will provide a fast and direct link between Bristol Parkway station and The Mall bus station via the Cribbs Patchway New Neighbourhood. It will also link to the other MetroBus routes which are currently being built, including the South Bristol link and Ashton Vale to Temple Meads.

The approved CPME scheme also includes the replacement of the Gipsy Patch Lane rail bridge with a new wider bridge to alleviate a well known pinch point in the local road network.  The new bridge would be wide enough for a lane for general traffic, a shared use path and a bus lane in both directions, to the benefit of all highway users.

Public consultation on the CPME proposals ran from November to January and included information on the proposed bus priority measures for Hatchet Road, Gipsy Patch Lane, North Way and the San Andreas roundabout near Cribbs Causeway. We received 140 responses, further details online at www.southglos.gov.uk/CPMEconsult

Next steps
Subject to securing the necessary approvals and permissions, including planning permissions for some elements of the scheme, construction is programmed to start in 2018.

Background information about the CPME and other MetroBus routes is available at www.travelwest.info/metrobus/extension and www.travelwest.info/metrobus