Preferred route for Waterbeach to Cambridge busway announced

The preferred route for a new off-road busway between Waterbeach New Town and Cambridge will be debated next month.

The revised central option was chosen following a public consultation by the Greater Cambridge Partnership on two potential routes - running either side of Landbeach - held earlier this year.

Peter Blake, GCP transport director, said: “The A10 is a key and heavily congested route in and out of Cambridge, which is likely to get even busier with the creation of thousands of new homes at Waterbeach New Town. The challenge we have is to make sure we deliver a package of interconnecting infrastructure improvements to manage the growth which is coming to the area.

“It was great to see the responses which we had to our consultation earlier this year with the feedback helping to develop our plans further. Our proposals for a new busway and active travel route with links to the park and ride will complement the railway to give people travelling in and out of the north of the city more reliable options, with faster and frequent services to the places they need to go.”

The revised central route was the most popular among the 388 responses to a survey as part of the public consultation.

It was the second consultation on the project, after people were asked for their views on route options in 2020, alongside further engagement in 2021.

A petition was launched by the Cambridge Independent and signed by almost 1,700 people in support of the villagers in Waterbeach after it was discovered that three of the four initially proposed routes would go directly through a small group of historic cottages on the edge of the village.

In 2021, the GCP ruled out all potential corridors for a public transport route that could affect homes or the allotments in Waterbeach.

A new park and ride site (option C) located to the west of the A10 and Waterbeach New Town - which could include cycle parking, electric charging points and click and collect services - would also be created as part of the busway project.

The preferred route and P&R site are to be recommended to the GCP’s joint assembly and executive board, which meets in September, alongside a proposal to hold a further public consultation on a revised route for the Waterbeach Greenway.

Both projects aim to cut congestion on the A10 and support the planned Waterbeach New Town development, where up to 11,000 new homes are expected to be built.

Subject to the approval of the executive board in September, GCP officers will carry out further work to refine the busway route and develop preliminary designs for the preferred route and P&R site, in addition to holding a consultation on the revised Waterbeach Greenway alignment later in the year.