Road through new Cambridge development will not become a 'rat run'

Cyclist and pedestrians have been prioritised

Measures will be taken to prevent a new link road becoming a "rat-run" in a city suburb, a council said.

Plans for roads and cycleways through a new housing development in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, have been approved.

The 1,200-home project, on the edge of Cambridge Airport, was given outline planning permission in 2020.

The development includes a retirement village as well as primary and secondary schools, the Local Democracy Reporting Service heard.

Councillors from Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council considered the plans at a meeting of the joint development control committee on Wednesday.

The application included plans for a primary route through the new Springstead Village development connecting Airport Way and Coldhams Lane, on land by the airport just north of Cherry Hinton.

They were the first detailed plans for the housing project, with further specifications on the housing itself expected to follow.

Planners said the new Springstead development would be within a 10-minute walk of the centre of Cherry Hinton

Councillor Dave Baigent told the meeting he had concerns about the new route becoming a "rat run".

He said both councils were trying to reduce the amount of through traffic on minor roads and argued this would open up these minor roads to the major route.

Officers said the through road had been agreed by the county council and the highways authority at the outline application stage in 2020.

They also highlighted that measures were being planned to make the through route "as unattractive as possible" to car drivers, while also encouraging others to use the route, such as cyclists and pedestrians.

Daniel Fletcher, representing the developer Bellway Latimer LLP, said the proposals "clearly follow the vision and objectives set out in the design code for the site".

Planning officers said there was the potential for everyone within the development being able to walk to the local centre within 10 minutes.