Ten years ago this month, the review that planned this network was published. In the time it then took Greater Cambridge to appoint the consultants who would design its routes, Copenhagen's equivalent partnership of councils built a finished cycle route connecting one of its towns to the capital. A decade on, Greater Cambridge has finished one route of twelve.

Finish the Greenways

Corridor 1 of 12

Waterbeach Greenway

The review's Option 3 won, the towpath and railway options lost, and after ten years only the Cambridge end is open.

In design or planning

Map from the 2016 review showing the proposed Waterbeach Greenway and its links
The corridor as drawn in 2016. Reproduced from the review commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council; base mapping © OpenStreetMap contributors. See the full document →

What became of the 8 proposals for this corridor

Built and open · 1 In design or planning · 3 Not in current programme · 4

What the 2016 review asked for

  • Three route options: resurface the towpath, follow the railway via Car Dyke, or build a new route east of the A10
  • New route east of the A10, Milton to Waterbeach, 1.8 km
  • Milton highway works — cycle lanes, traffic calming, 600 m of reallocated road space
  • A new River Cam bridge north of Baits Bite Lock
  • Links to Waterbeach Business Park, Denny Abbey, Landbeach, Cottenham, Stretham and Ely

What happened

  • 2019First public consultation on the greenway.
  • June 2020Waterbeach is among the first routes approved by the GCP Executive Board.
  • 2022Cambridgeshire County Council contracts with Urban&Civic for a new cycle/pedestrian bridge over the A10, funded as a Waterbeach New Town planning obligation — separate from the GCP Greenway scheme.
  • 28 September 2023The Board approves a new preferred route for consultation — off-road behind the A10 and through Milton, abandoning the railway alignment because the earthworks needed to lift it above flood level would be too costly and damaging. The towpath is ruled out as flood-prone and indirect.
  • 2025The Cowley Road segregated cycle track opens at the Cambridge end, with priority crossings to the business and science parks.
  • December 2025Northern-section designs progressing; surveys, lighting specifications and landowner consultations under way.
  • 2026The new A10 bridge and the upgraded Mere Way byway to Landbeach open, giving Waterbeach New Town a direct off-road route into north Cambridge and the Science Park. Neither is part of the GCP Greenway programme; the Greenway's own Milton-to-Cambridge leg remains in design.
  • 2026/27£1.8m budgeted — the largest year-on-year increase in the programme.

Where it stands, September 2026

In design for the leg into central Cambridge. Separately, and unrelated to this programme, the Waterbeach New Town development has built its own good active travel infrastructure into north Cambridge: a new bridge over the A10 (open 2026) and an upgraded Mere Way byway to Landbeach — developer-funded planning obligations, not part of this Greenway. The GCP scheme's own job, the route through Milton to central Cambridge, remains unbuilt north of Milton, and the Cam bridge at Baits Bite Lock that would connect this corridor to Horningsea and the villages east of the river is still not in any programme.

2026/27 budget £1,800kRoute length 5.5 kmOpen Cowley Road only
Audit

Every proposal on this route

Proposed intervention (2016)Type ScaleStatus 2026What happened
New off-road route east of the A10, north Milton to south Waterbeach New route 1.8 km In design or planning Became the spine of the adopted scheme; preferred route confirmed by the Board in September 2023, northern-section designs and land talks ongoing.
New route on the railway / Car Dyke alignment (Option 2) New route ~4 km Not in current programme Rejected in 2023 — the earthworks needed to raise it above flood level were judged too costly and damaging.
Resurface and widen the existing riverside towpath (Option 1) Upgrade ~8 km Not in current programme The towpath route was ruled out in 2023 as flood-prone, indirect and requiring railway crossings.
On-road cycle lanes and traffic calming through Milton Upgrade 1.1 km In design or planning Retained in the adopted route through Milton village.
New off-carriageway route north of Milton by reallocating road space Gap-fill path 600 m In design or planning Part of the northern section now in detailed design.
New River Cam bridge north of Baits Bite Lock, linking to Horningsea New structure new bridge Not in current programme Never entered the funded programme. GCP states funding is limited to the twelve set routes.
Links to Waterbeach Business Park, Denny Abbey, Stretham, Ely, Landbeach, Cottenham New route various Not in current programme Outside the funded scheme.
Cowley Road segregated cycle track (Cambridge end) Gap-fill path ~1 km Built and open Not in the 2016 recommendations but delivered as the Cambridge end of the greenway; open since 2025.
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