East Cambs District Council Development Services have commissioned reports on possible land for future housing development in East Cambs and among the many sites identified are three parcels of land in Stuntney. They are:
1. The small wood at the top of the hill near the church
2. The orchard alongside Soham Road and including the three new houses near the church
3. Land adjacent to and including Hall Field Terrace.
These are speculative proposals and many obstacles would have to be overcome before planning consent could be granted.
To view the East Cambs map of the Stuntney sites select here Please note you will need Adobe Reader on your computer in order to view this Pdf file.
And to view the map of the proposed development envelope for the village select here

The cause of the problem. Ely's low bridge at the rail crossing that causes large vehicles to
back up, thus preventing cars and small vehicles from using the underpass. Vehicles continue
to collide with the bridge, despite an expensive system of warning lights installed in 2003.

2004. THE ELY SOUTHERN BYPASS
This is a matter of great concern to Stuntney residents as road travel to and from Ely is getting increasingly difficult owing to the tailbacks of heavy goods vehicles held up at the railway crossing near Ely Station. Plans for a new rail and river cossing to avoid the low railway bridge are being discussed but it is likely to take a minimum of five years before the work commences. In the meanwhile, to prevent an intolerable situation developing, Stuntney residents feel that it is imperative for the traffic authorities to come up with some temporary expedient. This could take the form of a lorry queueing lane, in order to release cars and light commercial vehicles that are able to pass under the low bridge.

Report on the results of the Local Transport Capital Expenditure Settlement for 2006/06 in relation to Ely Southern Bypass.

"2.GOVERNMENT FUNDING DECISION FOR THE ELY SOUTHERN BYPASS
2.1 The 2005/06 Transport Capital Expenditure Settlement makes no provision for funding of the Ely Southern Bypass. Ministers recognise that the scheme would help to relieve a congested section of the A142 through Ely, but they have decided that the scheme does not present a sufficient priority for approval at this stage.
2.2 The only reason for not supporting the scheme is that Ministers are not yet satisfied that the queue relocation scheme should be rejected in favour of the bypass which would have considerable adverse environmemtal effects.
4.1 The queue relocation scheme has an estimated cost of £700,000 compared to the cost of the bypass of £15.04 million.

5. THE WAY FORWARD
5.1 A revised bid for funding will be submitted as part of the 2005 Local Transport Plan Annual Progress Report. Prior to this further clarification will be sought from the Government Office to determine why the scheme was not suported this year.

6. APPRAISAL BY REGIONAL BODIES
6.1 The Government intends to give regional bodies greater involvement in decisions taken on local authorities' major schemes in future. The intention is that the regions will advise the Government on the relative priorities within their areas in the context of their strategies for transport, housing and economic developmeny. Improvements to the A142 at Ely may score highly on a regional assessment given that it would also improve access to parts of Norfolk. The County Council, therefore, remains optimistic about a subsequent bid for funding in July 2005."

ELY SOUTHERN BYPASS

EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AREA JOINT COMMITTEE: MINUTES
Date: Monday 17 October 2005 Time: 1430h - 1635h
Place: Council Chamber, The Grange, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Ely
Present: County Councillors P Bailey, B Bean, N Bell, W Hunt and J Powley
District Councillors J Abbott, I Allen, B Ashton, D Beckett, and P Read (Vice Chairman)
CALC Councillors P Eden, J Harnwell, B Hayes (Chairman) and D Thorogood
Also in Attendance County Councillor J Broadway, District Councillor P Wilson
Apologies: Cllr Shuter (substituted by Cllr Hunt) DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None received.
14. MINUTES - 4 July 2005 The minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2005 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
15. A142 RAIL CROSSING, ELY- NETWORK RAIL PRESENTATION Candice Wilkins, Level Crossing Risk Control Assistant and Steven Ashling, Area Signalling Manager, Ely East, gave a presentation on the problems encountered at the level crossing and rail bridge at Ely (attached as Appendix 1).
The following points were made in response to the presentation:
The Chair noted that the cost of surveys and repairs following bridge strikes and damage to level crossings amounted to £100,000 a year. He queried whether Network Rail would support the Area Joint Committee's bid for a bypass. The Area Signalling Manager stated that it was Network Rail's policy to close level crossings where possible. It was therefore likely that Network Rail would support a scheme that included the closure of Ely North level crossing.
· Damage to the Level Crossing caused a minimum 15-minute delay to traffic; a bridge strike may cause a longer delay in order for the vehicle to be extricated and the bridge and rail line tested for safety.
· The Cabinet Member of the County Council recommended that the cost of the level crossing and bridge strikes be factored into the long-term cost/benefit analysis of the bypass proposal.
· Bridge strikes were often caused by local people driving unfamiliar larger vehicles and not by professional HCV drivers; it was therefore unlikely that either a bypass or a 'stacking system' would completely overcome the number of strikes.
· The existing vehicle activated signs were the most appropriate form of warning signal meeting the approval of the Department for Transport (DfT).
· A number of Members requested an investigation into how changing the road layout and lane prioritisation might alleviate the situation.
16. ELY SOUTHERN BYPASS
The Committee received a report from the Senior Projects Manager, Capital Programme informing them of changes being made to the A142 Ely Southern Bypass bid following comments received from GO-East and the DfT; a revised bid would be submitted later in the year. The Officer emphasised that he did not believe that the Credible Low Cost Alternative (CLCA) queue relocation or 'stacking' system would provide a long-term solution. Concerns related to whether HCV drivers would use the CLCA system properly, the lack of capacity of the parking area on the north side of the level crossing, the reliance on complex signalling arrangements and increased pollution caused by idling lorries.
The Committee made the following points:
· The stacking system merely relocated queues elsewhere.
· There appeared to be logistical problems of lorries turning and exiting on the north side of the stacking system.
· Several Councillors reiterated that they would like an investigation into whether changing the road layout and lane prioritisation might alleviate congestion. The Officer stated he understood this had been considered during the early stages of the project development, but discounted as offering no overall benefit due to the inherent technical difficulties.
· Two Members asked whether a third lane on either side of the road in which lorries could wait could be considered as a short-term solution, and that a report be brought back to the Committee for consideration. The Officer stated that a third lane and changing prioritisation could be considered, but a funding stream to implement these changes was lacking.
· One Member requested more evidence as to why the stacking system was inappropriate. He did not believe a bypass was the long-term solution as the root problem came from increased freight transportation from Felixstowe. Finance to upgrade the Felixstowe to Nuneaton rail line for additional freight traffic could potentially reduce road traffic significantly. He advised that the stacking system be investigated more rigorously, and finance invested in upgrading the rail line.
The AJC agreed by a majority vote to:
Recognise that the Low Cost Alternative would not provide an adequate long-term solution and support the implementation of Ely Southern Bypass.

Stuntney's Problem. Traffic queuing for the Ely rail crossing.
This picture was taken in 2002, the problem has worsened since then.

Drivers overtaking on the hatched area of the bypass at the Stuntney turn present a hazard for those
entering or leaving the bypass. This is not helped by the hatched area widening out just before reaching
the turn when coming from Ely, so drivers wishing to turn right are pushed to the left after they have signalled
right. We really need islands separating the two lanes, giving a safe area for Stuntney traffic waiting to cross.

More views on the problems of Stuntney's road communication with Ely on the 'Comments & Discussion' page.

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