Cambridge South East Transport Background

CAMBRIDGE SOUTH EAST TRANSPORT PROJECT BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This page provides further background information on the Cambridge South East Transport project. A more general overview and updates can be found on the main project page. 

THE SCHEME DETAILS

Phase 1

Phase 1 looks at road safety, walking cycling and bus priority measures along the A1307 between Haverhill and Cambridge. Some of these elements are low cost and do not require extra land, as they are within the highway, or planning consent. These can be completed quickly.

More details on the phase 1 elements can be downloaded from the 2018 consultation brochure below. Please check on the main project page for the latest progress updates of these phase 1 elements.

A continuous multi-user path for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders is planned from Cambridge to Linton and will form part of the Linton Greenway. More information on Greenways is available on the Greenways project page.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of the scheme includes:

• a new public transport route between the A11 and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus via Sawston, Stapleford and Great Shelford and 
• a new travel hub near the A11/A1307 junction.
• Alongside this new public transport route will be a new path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, similar to the ones along the existing guided busways.
• The new public transport route would most likely form part of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro, which is being proposed by the Combined Authority.

Scheme details

The proposed new public transport route would link the Cambridge Biomedical Campus via Great Shelford, Stapleford and Sawston to a new travel hub near the A11/A1307 with connections to Babraham, the Babraham Research Campus and Granta Park.

The route would be entirely off-road, only interacting with other traffic at junctions. Junctions between existing roads and the new public transport route would be controlled by traffic lights.

A new shared-use path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, generally 3 metres wide, would be built alongside the new public transport route.

At the Cambridge Biomedical Campus the route would run on prioritised public transport lanes on Francis Crick Avenue, connecting to the existing Busway and enabling services to continue to the station and Cambridge city centre via the Busway.

Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM)

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s plans for a wider, regional CAM are at an early stage and action is needed now to tackle worsening congestion. A future CAM network proposes electric, rubber-tyred tram-like vehicles using dedicated, off-road routes to bypass congestion.
This scheme would be part of the emerging CAM, which would extend underground through Cambridge to provide traffic-free, fast transport. The proposals here are the first phase of CAM, with ambitions to extend CAM to Haverhill in the future. GCP will continue to work closely with the Combined Authority as proposals for the CAM develop.

Bus journey times & reliability:

Current Bus Times

Route	Journey Time
Sawston to Cambridge	43 to 53 minutes
Sawston to Cambridge Biomedical Campus	23 to 33 minutes

*Citi 7 scheduled inbound journey times from Sawston, Link Road to Addenbrooke’s bus station and Emmanuel Street.

Estimated future journey times*

Route	Journey Time
Sawston to Cambridge	30 to 32 minutes
Sawston to Cambridge Biomedical Campus	10 to 12 minutes

*Estimated journey times are calculated between proposed public transport stops. Further measures to reduce congestion in Cambridge would lead to even quicker journey times.

Journey Reliability

The proposals would offer more reliable journey times, avoiding congestion on roads.

Costs

The scheme is estimated to cost £132.3 million.

Stops along the route

The image below shows the typical layout of a stop along the proposed public transport route. Stops would have:

• platforms with shelter and real-time passenger information
• drop-off facilities
• disabled parking
• cycle parking and cycle lockers

Locations of stops are proposed on Babraham Road in Sawston, Haverhill Road in Stapleford, Hinton Way for Shelford and near the Busway bridge on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The proposals have been developed to ensure stops are as close to villages as possible, whilst trying to limit the impact on the environment, for example avoiding hedgerows. Connections to the stops will be improved and integration with existing bus services enhanced as far as possible.

Travel hub

Travel hub site B between the A11 and Babraham with access from the A1307 has been chosen as preferred option. 

The site would have a minimum of 2,000 car and 200 cycle parking spaces.

Our proposed travel hub would be as sustainable as possible and use renewable energy as much as possible. It would provide for future expansion, if needed.

Environment, potential impact and enhancements

Landscape: There would be an impact on the green belt. The design of the final scheme would ensure it is integrated into the existing landscape as much as possible to minimise the impact. An independent Green Belt Assessment has been carried out which concludes that the proposals will cause minor to moderate harm to the Green Belt, with the greatest impact coming from Stops and the Travel Hub. Overall the proposals are considered to meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework for development in the Green Belt.

Please see indicative landscaping proposals in the Document Library on the right for more details.

Environment: Some sections of the proposed route would provide opportunities for creating linear parks. In these, shared-use paths would be integrated with environmental mitigation to create more pleasant areas. Options for improving biodiversity through the scheme design will look into opportunities to connect existing habitats along the route with appropriate planting.

Please see indicative landscaping proposals in the Document Library on the right for more details.

Biodiversity: GCP is committed to ensuring the scheme delivers a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain with a target of at least 20%. This would be achieved by designing a scheme that incorporates new habitats that are connected, where practical, with existing habitats and increase the potential biodiversity of species along the route and around the potential travel hub. GCP is committed to preserving the Old Railway County Wildlife site.

Nine Wells Nature Reserve: The scheme would create opportunities to enhance the setting of the Nine Wells Nature Reserve and improve access by better signposts and links with shared-use paths. The route past Nine Wells Nature Reserve provides an opportunity to buy the land immediately next to the reserve up to the existing shared-use path. This area could be returned to a more natural state that complemented the habitat in the nature reserve.

River crossings: The proposed routes involve up to two crossings of the River Granta which would be sympathetically designed with full consideration for landscape and habitat. The new crossings would not increase flood risk in the area.

Heritage: The proposals being consulted on have been selected to avoid direct effects on the important Wandlebury and Gog Magog Hills area and avoid going through any conservation areas.

Noise: The use of electric vehicles is proposed which would reduce noise impacts along the route. As the design develops noise impacts would be assessed and suitably landscaped noise barriers included where required.

Air quality: There is potential for an improvement in air quality in Cambridge and surrounding areas if quicker, more reliable and more frequent public transport services encourage more people to use public transport rather than private cars. The use of electric vehicles would also improve air quality.

Construction: The majority of construction would be
off-road. There would be some disruption at junctions and side roads. All construction impacts would be assessed and minimised through robust management plans, which would be promoted locally.

The GCP is continuing to meet with local and environmental representatives to work on the details of any potential enhancements and to lessen impacts of the proposals where possible.

Environmental Impact Assessment consultation

As part of the scheme development process a full Environmental Impact Assessment is being undertaken. In the autumn of 2020, through a public consultation, we sought people's views on the design of the proposals and how we could best manage and mitigate possible impacts. This included consideration of any changes to the scheme's design. 

The consultation closed in December 2020 and the results are currently being analysed. We will publish the consultation results here in due course.

Your views will shape the Environmental Impact Assessment for the scheme, which is planned to be submitted to Secretary of State for Transport as part of the Transport and Works Act Order Application in Summer 2021.

Documents from the consultation can be downloaded in the document section or viewed in the virtual consultation room.

Outline Business Case

Since the 2019 public consultation, the scheme details have been developed and the project’s Outline Business Case can now be viewed in the document section below. The Outline Business Case makes the case for securing City Deal funding for the delivery of this project.

Public Consultation 2019

A public consultation on the details of the proposal was held in late 2019. Over half of respondents (56%) indicated they support the more detailed proposals presented for consultation.

The response for each of the three travel hub locations was as follows:

• 46% of respondents supported ‘Site B’ with 30% opposing it
• 37% supported ‘Site A’ with 37% opposing it
• 44% opposed ‘Site C’ and 30 % supported it

There was no majority of support for any of the five routes for accessing the Travel Hub sites:

• Respondents were not clear on their support for the ‘Purple route (Site A)’, ‘Pink route (Site B)’, or ‘Brown route (Site B)’
• Respondents were opposed to both ‘Site C’ routes (‘Black’ and ‘Blue’ routes)

 The detailed findings of the public consultation can be viewed in the document section below.

After reviewing the consultation feedback and assessing the scheme further, Travel Hub site B and the Brown route have been recommended as the preferred option to the Greater Cambridge Partnership Executive Board. Travel Hub site B is closest to the A11 and A1307 junction, and avoids the need to bridge over the A11. Consequently it is significantly less costly than Site C. Site A, while less costly, has poorer connectivity to the A11 and is less convenient for Babraham Research Campus.

Previous proposals

Two further strategies were consulted on in the public consultation in 2018. These were

Strategy 2

• a new dedicated public transport link between the existing Babraham Road Park & Ride and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
• an inbound bus lane from Babraham Research Campus to the Babraham Road Park & Ride site
• a Park & Ride near the A11/A1307 junction 

Strategy 3

• an inbound bus lane along the A1307 from Babraham Research Campus to the Addenbrooke’s Hospital roundabout
• a Park & Ride near the A11/A1307 junction

More information and visualisations of all strategies can be found the in the consultation brochure document below.

EARLY PROJECT STAGES

The Greater Cambridge Partnership initially considered what could be done to improve the levels of congestion, journey times and air quality along the A1307 between Haverhill and Cambridge. 

In 2015, key stakeholders including politicians and employment site representatives identified transport problems and ideas for potential improvements and for links between major employment sites in that area (Granta Park, Babraham Research Campus and Cambridge Biomedical Campus).

As a result, a range of different options were put forward, including re-opening the Haverhill to Cambridge railway line, a bypass for Linton and creating a dual carriageway along the A1307 route. Initial technical work helped to determine and compare the benefits of different ideas and to develop concepts. The benefits and costs of these concepts were considered against their ability to meet the objectives of the Greater Cambridge Partnership programme. The rail and road dualling concepts were found not to be affordable or deliverable within the scope of the Greater Cambridge Partnership. 

Following an initial public consultation which took place in the summer of 2016,  further options development and engagement with local representatives, it was decided that three options would be carried forward which the Executive Board agreed to in November 2017. These three strategies were the focus of public consultation in 2018. 

All three strategies include bus priority, junction improvements, walking and cycling measures and road safety improvements along the A1307 between Haverhill and Cambridge. It is intended to progress these works as quickly as possible.