Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CAPCA) has been successful in a bid for £4m for the purpose of relocating the Peterborough bus depot from Lincoln Road. 

Several potential sites are now being considered for the relocation, and CAPCA will be working closely with Peterborough City Council to drive the project forward. 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) asked Combined Authorities nationally to submit capital project business cases in December. 

These were then assessed against criteria including the ability to spend funds by April 2023, strategic fit with devolution deals, and the ability of the project to deliver additional outcomes that would not be achieved without the funding. 

Following this assessment, the Peterborough bus depot relocation was one of those selected to receive grant funding. 

The current Lincoln Road bus depot in the city is approximately 100 years old. It is surrounded by three sides by the back gardens of neighbouring residential properties, and on the fourth side it fronts onto a busy retail area making expansion impossible. 

The new depot will need to be multi-operator, with capacity to expand later to meet any future market needs. 

It will also need to provide additional overnight parking capacity and maintenance facilities for buses, and create a level playing field for bus operators who are biddig to operate services around the city. 

Crucially, the new bus depot needs to be able to support the Combined Authority’s commitment to electric buses, which will require a depot with more floor space because each charger needs barriers to protect it from parking accidents. 

Speaking of the funding, Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Cllr Anna Smith, said: “This funding is a huge step towards improving our bus services in Peterborough. 

“A new bus depot will help us to achieve our ambition to develop a future-proofed, accessible and sustainable public transport system for the region with affordable buses that people want to get on.” 

She added: “We want to create a more connected region, which will encourage active and sustainable travel, improve health and wellbeing and reduce private vehicle journeys. 

“A new bus depot for Peterborough will play a big part in achieving this.” 

By providing a new depot that can support electric buses, the Combined Authority will be able to continue working towards its goal of ensuring all buses and taxis operating within the area are zero emissions by 2030.