A political confrontation is brewing in Cambridgeshire as Labour MP Sam Carling warned in Parliament that the Government’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill could hand Conservative Mayor Paul Bristow sweeping new powers to reverse the controversial Mill Road bus gate in Cambridge.
During a detailed debate on the Bill’s sixth sitting at Westminster, Mr Carling — the MP for North West Cambridgeshire and a former Cambridge city councillor — said he feared the legislation would allow mayors to use new transport powers “for political purposes,” potentially undermining local decisions.
“The schedule contains comprehensive provisions around the designation of key route network roads,” he told the committee. “But I am conscious that we have not defined key route networks in statute. I am a little worried, therefore, about the potential for mayors to designate inappropriate roads as key route networks for political purposes.”
Although Mr Carling did not name Mr Bristow directly at first, he later pointed squarely to Cambridge as a real-world example of what could go wrong.
“The group’s concerns are based on a local situation,” he said, referencing the campaign group Mill Road 4 People. “That is exactly what is likely to happen in Cambridge if the incumbent mayor gets his way over Mill Road, which is semi-pedestrianised through the use of a bus gate.”
Cambridge protestors turn out in force to support ‘cleaner, safer, more accessible street’
The Mill Road bus gate — a restriction that limits motor traffic over the bridge to buses, cyclists, pedestrians, and certain exempt vehicles — has divided the city. Supporters say it has made the road safer, quieter and more inviting. Traders and motorists, however, argue it has cut off customers and damaged livelihoods.
Bristow’s pledge: “As soon as I have the power – I will act”
Mayor Bristow has made no secret of his desire to reopen Mill Road to all traffic, a stance that has become a defining feature of his tenure and a potential flashpoint in local politics.
“As soon as I have the power – I will act,” Mr Bristow wrote on his Facebook page earlier this year. “But the council could do it tomorrow.”
In another post, he said: “Spoke to business and shop owners on a very quiet Mill Road. “It’s no secret that some of the businesses here are struggling. And you can guess what they were raising time and time again. We have to reopen Mill Road bridge. The county council take a different view – but I have a plan. I shall reopen Mill Road Bridge.”
That “plan” could soon become a reality if the Devolution Bill passes in its current form. The legislation would allow mayors to designate key route network roads — effectively taking control over certain local roads from councils. Under schedule 8 of the Bill, mayors would not need the same level of approval from their combined authorities when exercising direction over those roads.
Mr Carling said after raising these concerns “the response from the Minister was reassuring”.
The Minister’s reply was as follows: “The key question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire concerned the designation of key route networks and its potential inappropriate use by mayors.
“The mayor will not be able to do that unilaterally; they will be able to do so only alongside their constituent authorities and with their support. We think that that will fundamentally mitigate that risk, but he is right to raise it, and we will keep it under review to ensure that the Bill does not operate differently from the intent behind it.”
Campaigners fear “political power grab”
The Cambridge-based campaign group Mill Road 4 People, whose evidence Carling cited, said it feared the new powers could let the mayor “politicise” transport planning.
“The Mill Road bridge bus gate is (at last) in place,” the group said in an earlier statement. “So, what’s next for Mill Road? We need a Mill Road transformation project to make Mill Road a place to go to, not a street to drive through.”
The group has long advocated for public realm improvements, noting that while nearby towns like St Neots and March have received tens of millions in regeneration funding, “long stretches of Mill Road have had no significant investment for decades. It’s our High Street’s turn for some TLC.”
They argue that reopening the bridge would undermine the vision of a walkable, vibrant district — and warn that mayoral interference could derail local consensus.
Clash of mandates
Mr Bristow, however, insists he is responding to public opinion. He points to traders who say the restrictions have crippled trade and residents who feel the scheme was imposed without sufficient local support.
Yet a 2022 consultation by Cambridgeshire County Council found that 72% of respondents supported the bus gate. The council approved a new permanent Traffic Regulation Order in October 2024, following earlier legal challenges that cost taxpayers over £225,000.
For Carling, that history underscores the need for democratic safeguards before granting new powers.
“Will the Minister consider introducing safeguards to prevent such issues,” he asked, “by more clearly defining what criteria a road should meet to be eligible for designation as a key route network road? Should it perhaps have to be an A or B road, or else be subject to more detailed justification?”
“Local empowerment must not become local autocracy”
The clash between Carling and Bristow highlights a deeper national question about devolution — whether empowering mayors could erode the influence of local councils and communities.
As the Devolution Bill continues through Parliament, few places illustrate its political stakes more vividly than Mill Road — a half-mile stretch of Cambridge asphalt that may soon become the first real test of where mayoral power ends and local democracy begins
