Greenways for Comberton and Haslingfield earn support - but there’s debate over the route in Grantchester

Plans for two new Greenways cycling and walking routes connecting Comberton and Haslingfield with Cambridge have moved forward.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is developing 12 such routes to encourage ‘active travel’ and its joint assembly discussed two last Wednesday (November 23), before they go before the executive board next month.

A report highlighted changes made following feedback, including from a consultation on the Grantchester section of the Haslingfield Greenway. A Grantchester Parish Council survey had shown that a majority of respondents wanted the Greenway to take a different route rather than one through Grantchester itself. But since there was “no clear consensus”, the report suggested a decision should be deferred for a formal public consultation on this specific part of the route.

While members were in favour of the projects, they raised questions about maintenance.

Peter Blake, director of transport at the GCP, said the completed routes would be passed over to Cambridgeshire County Council as the highways authority to maintain, but said conversations were ongoing as the GCP recognised the increased costs the authority would face.

County councillor Alex Beckett (Lib Dem, Queen Edith’s) raised questions about areas of the Greenways that would be shared between different users.

He said that shared use routes were “causing issues across the city”, saying there were areas where cyclists and pedestrians were “coming into conflict”.

Cllr Beckett asked that the amount of shared use areas along the Greenways should be limited, but where it was shared for the GCP to go “above and beyond” making it clear to users that the area was shared between different groups.

City councillor Simon Smith (Lab, Castle) said if they were to be “fully utilised in the winter” then lighting would be needed.

Mr Blake said that was not “universally supported” and that there needed to be a “balance”, particularly in rural areas. Routes needed to be safe but dialogue was needed at a local level to get the “lighting balance right”, he said,

South Cambridgeshire District Council opposition leader Heather Williams (Con, The Mordens) said if any compulsory purchase order was needed to complete the route, the final decision should be made by the elected board, rather than officers, as it would be a “controversial part of the process”.