Bus gate fines reach £1 million

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that £1 million of driving fines have been issued to vehicles illegally driving through the Mill Road bus gate since restrictions came into effect in March 2025. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 15,483 fines have been handed out by Cambridgeshire County Council. A spokesperson for the local authority said the restrictions were “clearly signposted” in order to maintain the safety of the local area. An attempt to remove the bus gate failed last summer, following a legal challenge and petition from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor, Paul Bristow.

Attenborough turns 100

The broadcaster, natural historian, and writer Sir David Attenborough has turned 100, celebrating his birthday on 8 May. Attenborough attended Clare College in 1945, reading natural sciences, and was later made an honorary fellow in 1980 for his services to the environment. He has continued to be involved in college life, notably returning in 2019 and 2024. Throughout his career, he has retained strong links with the University more broadly, with the Cambridge Conservation Institute unveiling the David Attenborough Building in his honour in 2015. Clare College said: “his alma mater sends Sir David its congratulations and warmest wishes on this happy occasion.”

Waste to watts

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have successfully broken down waste car battery acid and plastic into useful products using a solar-powered catalyst, which they said they discovered almost by accident. The approach operates under ambient conditions without fresh industrial chemicals, which provides two avenues of minimised energy loss; it also ran for more than 260 hours without any loss in performance. Professor Erwin Reisner, a fellow of St John’s College, said: “this shows how waste can become a resource” and calls the discovery “a really promising process”.

Refill revolution

A couple from Cambridge have set up a zero-waste refill business, delivering straight to customer’s homes. VanJarred Refillery, run by Alice Lightowlers and her partner, sells food and other essentials without packaging. They say the idea was driven by the closure of many zero waste shops in the city. Alice says that, when shopping zero-waste and organic: “it’s probably cheaper to go to a refill shop because there is a bit of a premium on it in the supermarkets.” The van visits various sites in Cambridge, including the Biomedical Campus and Babraham Campus. On getting people to transition to zero-waste habits, she said: “it’s about just getting out there and explaining to people how easy it is to make the switch.”