Cambridgeshire County Council's Highways and Transport Committee has approved over £14m for the delivery of 16 active travel schemes across the county.

Awarded to the council by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), the funding was drawn from the UK Government's Local Transport Consolidated Settlement (LTCS) Fund.

Five schemes have been selected as recipients of the funding:

  • Alconbury Weald to Huntingdon Railway Station – Continuation of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which will widen the existing shared-use path from Great Stukeley to Alconbury Weald, linking to Huntingdon Station via Stukeley Meadows. Completion expected by July 2028.
  • A505 Granta Park – A new shared-use path alongside the A505 slip road to create a link between the existing shared-use path on the A505 and Granta Science and Technology Park. Completion anticipated by March 2028.
  • Cromwell Road, Wisbech – A new footpath to address the current lack of a pedestrian link between the residential area, the business park and the retail area on Cromwell Road, Wisbech. Completion targeted for March 2028.
  • Ely to Soham – A new active travel route supported by East Cambridgeshire District Council and the Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust to link to the National Cycle Network and proposed Soham to Wicken Greenway, due for completion March 2030.
  • School Streets – £80,000 per annum for School Streets across Cambridgeshire, primarily to deliver signing and lining along with improvements to walking, wheeling and cycling access.

Councillors have also agreed to reallocate £890,000 to a new crossing at the A14 Histon interchange, redirecting the money from an active travel route between Whittlesford and Duxford. This has been done to tackle the lack of safe crossings for students travelling between Cambridge and Histon, but the move is still subject to further approval from Active Travel England (ATE) and the CPCA.

Councillors also approved £2.776m of LTCS cash to be spent over the current and two subsequent financial years, with most of it being directed to behaviour change initiatives such as Bikeability courses for schools to ‘encourage active travel across the county'.

Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: ‘Active travel remains one of our top priorities, so I'm delighted we've approved a programme today, supported by fresh funding from Active Travel England, which will benefit diverse communities across Cambridgeshire over the next four years and beyond.

‘Whether schemes are linking homes, schools, employment centres, leisure venues or travel hubs – when active travel is a reliable option for local journeys it leads to safer streets, less isolated and more interactive communities, cleaner air and better health.'