Phil Swann will manage the audit of the key assumptions and constraints that underpin the C2C project, which would create new public transport and active travel links to the west of the city.
Mr Swann is a director of Shared Intelligence and was previously a director of the Tavistock Institute and Director of Strategy and Communications at the Local Government Association.
He will commission an independent transport expert to carry out the audit of the work on the route to date and act as the point of contact and intermediary between all stakeholders – including the GCP, and the independent expert.
The findings of the audit will be put before the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board in July, with a public consultation on the detailed design and environmental mitigation for the scheme to be held in the second half of 2021, subject to the findings of the audit.
Phil Swann said: “I look forward to working with stakeholders in the region to ensure that this audit is robust, independent and aids decision making about better public transport in this area. I am independent of the work to date, and GCP, and will ensure that this audit – carried out by an independent transport expert that I will commission – will be listening to different views.”
Cllr Roger Hickford, chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board, said: “Residents and businesses desperately need reliable and effective transport links between Cambourne and Cambridge, so it is vital that we agree the next steps for this key project.
“I’m pleased that we can announce the appointment of Phil Swann as the person to oversee this transparent, robust and independent audit to scrutinise the project at this key point.
"I am keen to see the appointment of the independent transport expert so they can get to work on the audit and look forward to the report in the summer.”
Mr Swann has set out the next steps of the process to be:
- Establish the terms of reference for the audit
- Commission an independent transport expert
- Identify the assumptions and constraints of the audit and invite representative groups to submit written comments
- Oversee the audit process and report the findings to the GCP’s Executive Board at the July meeting.
As part of the audit, evidence and correspondence will be published on a new page of the GCP’s website, over which Mr Swann will retain editorial control.
Members of the GCP’s Executive Board agreed the audit and noted the outline business case of the multi-million-pound project during their meeting in December.
For more information visit the Cambourne to Cambridge project pages