The Bridge: Community meeting held on 19th December 2024 - Part 1

I hadn't intended to record this meeting as I thought it wouldn't be possible and had left my camera behind. However it turned out it was okay, so I recorded what I could on my phone. It means the audio and picture quality is not as good as it could have been.
This was a community meeting for the residents of Cambridge and the surrounding villages regarding where Cambridge and Cambridgeshire seem to be heading. One of the things that came out of this meeting was how little local residents seem to know about the changes that were taking place and the proposals for future changes.
To me it looks like all these changes that seem so inconsequential when looked at in the piecemeal way in which they are being implemented, will actually lead to the city and the county being a radically different place in the next few years if seen as a whole. I think what may happen to the market is just part of this bigger picture. Perhaps it is time we all started paying much closer attention to all of these proposals so we can decide if what the GCP, central government and the local authority want for the area is actually what we want.
The first speaker from the table was Sheridan James, who was also the organiser of the meeting. The second speaker was Abdul Arain of the Mill Road Traders' Association. It was disturbing to hear him say some traders had stopped vocalising their opposition to the closure of Mill Road Bridge because they were worried about those in favour of the bus gate saying they would no longer use the shops of those traders who opposed it (about 8 mins in). He said the economic reality means there is a very fine balance between remaining viable as a business and having to close down, so some traders felt coerced into keeping silent regarding what they really think of the closure of the bridge to traffic.
Sheridan then read a message from Emma of Friends of Mill Road Bridge 2, who was unable to be present due to a longstanding family commitment. The last speaker in this part was Daniel Fulton representing Fews Lane Consortium.

Useful Links:

https://www.millroadtraders.org/

"Traders overwhelmingly in favour of re-opening Mill Road bridge to cars"
https://mill-road.com/traders-overwhelmingly-in-favour-of-re-opening-mill-road-bridge-to-cars/

"Cambridge Mill Road traders vow they'll protest 'unbelievable' bridge closure"
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-mill-road-traders-vow-18468534

Keep Mill Road Bridge Open For All!
https://www.gofundme.com/f/KeepMillRoadOpen

https://open.endole.co.uk/insight/company/11688336-fews-lane-consortium-ltd

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/conservatives-blame-budget-cuts-worrying-20979081