Court date for council in busway deaths case
AUTHORITY IS BEING PROSECUTED BY HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE
CAMBRIDGESHIRE County Council has been served with prosecution summonses after the deaths of three people on the Cambridge Guided Busway.
The authority is being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after three people died following collisions on the busway.
The county council said it continues to extend its “sincerest condolences” to the families and friends of those who died, and said safety on the busway remains its priority.
The HSE is the country’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, which works to prevent workrelated death, injury and ill health.
Last year the HSE announced that it would be charging the county council under s3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, after an “extensive investigation” following the deaths of three people.
Jennifer Taylor, 81, died after she was hit by a bus as she crossed the busway on foot at Fen Drayton on November 17, 2015.
Steve Moir, 50, a cyclist, died after colliding with a bus on the section of the busway between Cambridge railway station and Long Road on September 13, 2018.
Kathleen Pitts, 52, who was on foot, died after being hit by a bus on the section of the busway, also between Cambridge railway station and Long Road on October 26, 2021.
A teenage cyclist was also seriously injured when he collided with a bus in the guided busway section of the busway parallel to King’s Hedges Road on November 9, 2021.
Earlier this year the county council revealed that it was expecting to face legal costs of more than £1.6million in relation to the prosecution.
Papers published by the authority in February said it had incurred costs of £617,000 for legal advice relating to the prosecution and that it estimated it would need to spend a further £1m on legal costs in the event of a trial.
The county council has now confirmed that it has been served with prosecution summonses from the HSE and that a court hearing date has been set. A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire County Council said: “We can confirm the HSE has served the county council with prosecution summonses and a court hearing date has been set.
“The HSE, following their investigation, informed us of their intention to start legal proceedings in May 2023. We continue to extend our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of Jennifer Taylor, Steven Moir and Kathleen Pitts.
“Safety on the busway is and remains a priority for the county council and the operators that use the busway.
“Since its opening in 2011, the Guided Busway has seen 33 million passenger journeys, the number of bus services has more than doubled, and during that time the council has worked with experts and made regular safety enhancements.
“We will now consider the evidence presented against us, the offences listed in the summonses and prepare for the first hearing date.
“For legal reasons it would not be appropriate to comment further in light of the decision taken by the HSE.”
The county council recently reopened a closed section of the guided busway after it installed a new safety fence between the pathway and the guided bus lane.
Safety on the busway is and remains a priority for the county council and the operators that use the busway. County council