RLW Estates has submitted a planning application to South Cambridgeshire District Council for the relocation of the existing Waterbeach Station.
The new Station, set to open in 2021, will be built for eight carriage trains from day one (with land safeguarded to allow the future expansion to twelve carriage platforms), provide enhanced pedestrian and cycle routes, car and cycle parking with modern facilities and infrastructure. The existing Station will close when the new Station opens.
The relocation of Waterbeach Station is proposed in the emerging South Cambridgeshire Local Plan and recommended in the Greater Cambridge Partnership Cambridge to Ely Corridor Study.
The emerging South Cambridgeshire Local Plan, with respect to the strategic site allocation for the proposed new settlement at Waterbeach, calls for the “…provision of a relocated Waterbeach station with appropriate access arrangements by all modes to serve the village and the new town”.
The Greater Cambridge Partnerships Ely to Cambridge Transport Study Outline Business Case, published in January 2018, also recommends relocating the existing Station. It features prominently in a package of measures that can be implemented to support the future growth of the region.
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer, said:
“The success and future growth of our region will depend on improvements to our transport infrastructure. With the amount of homes planned for the north of Waterbeach we certainly need an improved Station, delivered as soon as possible.
“A new station at Waterbeach with increased capacity and facilities will encourage more people to use public transport to travel into Cambridge and hopefully a soon to be delivered new Station in the South of the City. This will enable a modal shift to get people into Cambridge yet also help to free up capacity on the A10 as we progress the options to increase capacity on the road”.
The relocated Station, a mile north of the existing Station, will be a considerable improvement on the poor facilities that are at the current Station, as well as being safer. Network Rail’s own assessment of the level crossing currently serving the Station puts it in the highest risk category for this type of crossing (Automatic Half Barrier) and there is considerable congestion at the moment due to the short platforms and poor facilities.
As well as submitting the planning application to South Cambridgeshire District Council for the new Station, RLW Estates are soon to be submitting a planning application for up to 4,500 new homes as part of the proposed Waterbeach New Town. A planning application for 6,500 new homes has already been submitted by Urban and Civic and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on the site of the former RAF Waterbeach.
Chris Goldsmith, of RLW, said:
“The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan and Cambridge to Ely Corridor Study both call for the relocation of the Station and we are looking to ensure that it is open in 2021 to coincide with delivery of housing at the New Town.
“The relocated Station will provide greatly enhanced facilities over the current Station in Waterbeach but we recognise that some residents in the Village will be further from a Station than they are presently.
“To mitigate the impact we are proposing a series of measures including a shuttle bus and improved cycling and pedestrian access.”
For more information please go to the Waterbeach New Town website.