Proposed changes to the Cambridge congestion charge are not enough to get everyone on side and have been branded “insulting” by one councillor.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has set out potential changes to the proposed ‘Sustainable Travel Zone’ in the hope of addressing concerns that have been raised.

Some of the changes include reducing the time the charge will apply to peak time hours only.

While some have said the changes look like a “serious attempt” to respond to the public’s concerns, others have argued the changes are just “window dressing”.

The original scheme put forward by the GCP proposed a £5 weekday charge for car drivers travelling in the city between 7am and 7pm.

A £10 charge for vans and a £50 charge for HGVs was also proposed.

A number of exemptions and discounts were proposed, including for people with Blue Badges and those on low incomes.

The charge was proposed to help fund a new expanded bus network, with more frequent and cheaper buses, offering a £1 flat fare in the city and a £2 fare in the wider network.

The GCP had also proposed to invest in other sustainable travel schemes, such as improving cycling and walking routes.

It had also committed to introducing an improved public transport system before implementing a charge.

Thousands of people responded to a consultation on these initial proposals, with 70 per cent saying they were in favour of the proposed transport network improvement, but 58 per cent saying they were opposed to the congestion charge itself.

Proposed changes to the plans were announced on August 25.

While the amount of the road charge is proposed to be kept the same, it is proposed to no longer apply to motorbikes.

The charge is also now only proposed to apply in morning and afternoon peak hours, and people will also be offered 50 ‘free days’.

Small businesses in Cambridge are proposed to get a 50 per cent discount on delivery lorries and vans, and a 50 per cent discount is proposed for people on low incomes.

Exemptions for most people who need to go to hospital by car are also proposed, and for anyone in receipt of carers benefits and mobility PIP.

Rachel Stopard, the chief executive at the GCP, said they had listened to people’s concerns, and that the revised proposals were “fair to everybody”.

In Cambridge, political leaders said they intended to discuss the new proposals further.

Councillor Mike Davey, leader of Cambridge City Council, said the city’s Labour group would be meeting to discuss the proposed changes and that he would follow the group’s collective position.

Councillor Tim Bick, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at the city council, said the changes looked like a “very serious attempt” to “acknowledge and respond” to the consultation feedback.

He said: “I welcome this because a way forward is still badly needed. There is a good deal to read and consider and I look forward to the assembly meeting on September 7, to discuss it further then.”

However, the changes were branded “insulting” by Councillor Heather Williams, the leader of the Conservative group at South Cambridgeshire District Council.

She said: “I think the claim that this is in response to having listened to the consultation when so many people said no to charging in any form is laughable.

“The consultation responses were very clear, no to congestion charging. These tweaks are simply window-dressing.

“They have not said where the cuts will be made to the bus service to compensate for reduced income, and there is no guarantee that once charging has started these things will remain in place.

“Residents have been clear when asked, no to congestion charging, the fact that they are carrying on in the face of that is insulting for all who took part in the consultation.”

The Conservative parliamentary candidate for South Cambridgeshire, Chris Carter-Chapman, said he remained “strongly opposed” to the plans, claiming the “tinkering at the edges” would not help the “significant financial impact of the congestion charge”.

Councillor Pippa Heylings, who is also the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for South Cambridgeshire, said other solutions for funding the public transport improvements should be looked at.

She said: “The voice of residents rings loud and clear, they want better buses, safer cycle ways and links between villages, work, colleges and the city centre; but there is little support for a congestion charge as the only way to pay for this.

“We urge the GCP to go back to the drawing board and rethink the solutions; with funding secured from multiple, alternative sources for the bus improvements.

“People need to see with their own eyes that they can trust public transport to be reliable, frequent and affordable.

“If the GCP presses ahead now, it will be missing a huge opportunity for alternative solutions to provide radically improved public transport that local people are crying out for.”

The revised plans are due to be debated at a meeting of the GCP’s joint assembly on September 7.