5,000-home development and railway station plans for Waterbeach on show at exhibitions

RLW Estates proposes new homes east of further 6,500 planned by Urban & Civic.

Waterbeach residents will this month get a better look at how a 5,000-home development and relocation of the railway station could change the village.

RLW Estates is proposing up to 5,000 homes on a site to the east of a further 6,500 homes that are being planned for the former barracks site by Urban & Civic.

Nick Dines, director of Belgrave, which co-ordinates consultations for the project, said: “The exhibition will be looking more at the vision we have for Waterbeach, and we’ll be looking in more detail at how we would move the railway station. It’s a very exciting development.”

The masterplan for the development includes a primary and secondary school and retail, leisure and business space.

The developers have also mentioned a community facilities and a sixth form college.

A mix of tenures for the development’s homes has also been proposed, and the developer has said that 40 per cent affordable housing can be achieved on the site.

There is also a sewage treatment facility to the north of Cambridge that would have to be moved.

The developers have previously said that the railway station suffers from poor connectivity via all modes of transport and increased use of it as it stands is not an option.

They propose moving it north of the current site, which means Station Road residents would face a walk of 15-20 minutes or a bike ride of six to eight minutes to reach it.

They envisage a local shuttle service running along the tracks between Ely and Cambridge that would be utilised by residents and commuters.

Public exhibitions on Friday, November 24 and Saturday, November 25 will be held at The Salvation Army, 7 Station Road Waterbeach.

More information will be available on a new website to launch next week at waterbeach.co.uk.