Clare Hall has spent £537,483.75 lobbying against a busway route running next to the College.

The graduate college ran a multi-year campaign to prevent the off-road Cambourne to Cambridge (C2C) Busway running down Rifle Range Road. Clare Hall withdrew its formal objections to the busway on 29th October.

Varsity previously reported that Clare Hall’s spending on services to oppose the busway route had exceeded £66,000 by March 2025. The updated figure was revealed in a freedom of information request.

The money was spent on commissioning surveys and reports from a variety of service providers, including law firm Dentons and engineering consultancy Create.

In its original objection, Clare Hall argued that the busway would interrupt college life, including plans to develop new facilities. These included proposals for a 364-400 seat auditorium and new postgraduate accommodation.

Clare Hall is one of the poorest colleges in Cambridge. The College reported net assets of £41,069,076 in the financial year ending June 2024.

On 4 December, Clare Hall launched the Clare Hall 60th Anniversary Campaign Fund ahead of its Diamond Jubilee in 2026. The fund has been established to enable the College “to respond dynamically to emerging needs and opportunities as they arise”.

A spokesperson for Clare Hall said: “Clare Hall and Cambridgeshire County Council have concluded a comprehensive agreement regarding the proposed Cambourne to Cambridge busway scheme, and the Charity Commission is fully aware of the process and outcome.

“All of the specialist reports commissioned by the College were submitted as evidence to the public inquiry and placed in the public realm on the inquiry website.”

Around 300 individuals and organisations have opposed the proposed C2C busway, including Cambridge and South Cambridge Green Party, and the Woodland Trust. In particular, stakeholders have complained about the cost, the destruction of green belt land, and the busway’s proposed final destination at Grange Road. The busway would be built through Coton Orchard, one of Cambridgeshire’s last traditional orchards.

In November, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s Mayor Paul Bristow claimed the project was at risk of becoming a “£200 million white elephant”.

A petition to scrap the busway, started by Cambridge Past, Present and Future, has now surpassed 24,000 signatures.

Greater Cambridge Partnership, the delivery body for the project, hosted a two-month-long public inquiry into the C2C busway. They argue that the busway is necessary for housing growth, sustainable transport, and reducing congestion.

The inquiry closed on 21st November, leaving the final decision on whether the scheme will go ahead to the Transport Secretary.