Legacy of problems on upgraded A14 in Cambridgeshire ‘needs to be addressed’

Sinking bridges, damaged roads, missing cycle paths and lost public rights of way – these are some of the “negative legacies” of the £1.5billion A14 upgrade yet to be addressed four years on, according to Cambridgeshire county councillors.

Now these problems – described as just the “tip of the iceberg” – will be documented in a report and raised with National Highways and the transport minister.

The project to build a new A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon was completed in 2020 and was described as one that “pushed boundaries” and would offer “benefits for many years to come”.

County councillors meeting last week recognised there had been benefits, including reduced traffic in some areas after the rerouting, but shared a myriad of concerns about “the problems left behind”.

Cllr Edna Murphy (Lib Dem, Bar Hill) said despite the project being declared a success by National Highways, it had “directly caused damage and created problems which persist today”.

She presented the motion calling for the county council to put together a report highlighting all the outstanding issues. The motion also called for the chief executive to call on MPs, the new minister for transport and National Highways to be “more responsive” to problems raised by communities about the A14 project and to examine how they can be addressed.

Cllr Murphy said: “The negative legacies of the project are very diverse and broadly include things that were done that need to be fixed, things that were lost which need to be reinstated, as well as things that were promised but not delivered.

“There are defective constructions and damaged roads, which default to the council to fix and maintain, but we do not have adequate funding for that.

“Some amenities have simply been lost, from public rights of way, to even pedestrian crossings.

“There were promises made which were not honoured. For example, residents in many villages were promised NMU cycle paths. National Highways funded a first round in January 2021, but there was never a second round.

“Officers are working hard to find other sources of income for these schemes, but residents remain angry they do not have these amenities and are also deeply upset that they were effectively misled.”

Cllr Murphy called for more information about other promises made, including for tens of thousands of new trees, after a high proportion of those planted originally died.

A replanting programme was undertaken, but Cllr Murphy said there had been “radio silence” on how this was going. She said people were “extremely concerned” and wanted more information.

Cllr Murphy highlighted the commitment that there would be a biodiversity net gain of 11.5 per cent. She said it was a “specific benefit” of the project, but noted the project’s website now only mentioned “environmental improvements” with “no information to back it up”.

She said it was “vital” to learn from the experience of going through this project.

Cllr Murphy called for the council – run by a Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent coalition – to be active in trying to help get organisations to solve these issues.

Her motion said: “The project directly caused damage and created problems which persist today, affecting residents in their daily lives, and many things promised were not delivered. It is obvious that neither the original budget nor the timescale for completion were sufficient to fully alleviate the local impacts of the project.”

And the motion pointed to the deaths of many of the 860,000 trees planted, which the Cambridge Independent reported.

“Even though it was obvious there were serious problems with the number of trees dying along the A14, National Highways did not engage and only responded when there was local media coverage involved. They now need to provide a full update on what effect their revised tree planting strategy is having on the 860,000 trees,” the motion said.

It added: “The project has left behind many defectively constructed structures requiring ongoing repair or redesign work. For example, the roundabout junction at Histon, which is unacceptable for non-motorised transport, and Bar Hill, where the whole structure is sinking, and a permanent solution to the problem has not yet been fully defined.

“It has also produced abandoned landlocked buildings in Bar Hill which continue to be a blight to the local community with no sign of change or progress. National Highways refused to engage with local residents either about their concerns or about their interests in how the space could be used.

“The project was supposed to deliver improved biodiversity and reduced pollution, but there is no evidence to ensure these things have happened, and no transparency about measurements post-construction or the basis on which the project was ‘signed off’ by ministers.

“Many village communities were promised new non-motorised user (NMU) routes with National Highways funding but after an initial funding for some in January 2021, National Highways reneged on further funding, leaving many remaining villages such as Dry Drayton without NMU routes, which they greatly need and had been led to expect.”

The motion included a “formal request for National Highways to remediate the landlocked buildings at Bar Hill, to restore the cut in funding for the NMU routes intended to be part of the scheme, and to make public the information about the impact on biodiversity”.

Cllr Graham Wilson (Lib Dem, Godmanchester and Huntingdon South) said people living in his area had benefitted from the rerouting of the A14, including seeing “significantly reduced traffic in Godmanchester”.

However, he noted there was “still lots to do on the old road”, responsibility for which he said had now passed to the county council.

Cllr Wilson pointed to speed restrictions still in place on the A1307 while safety barriers are replaced and flooding issues looked at. He argued it was “time that these issues are sorted out quickly”.

Cllr Firouz Thompson (Lib Dem, Longstanton, Northstowe and Over) said four years since the new A14 opened they were still “uncovering critical gaps”, which she said was “unacceptable”.

Cllr Thompson gave examples, such as missing footpaths and road signs, “defective” structures, and said the bridge at Bar Hill was “sinking”.

Cllr Stephen Ferguson (Ind, St Neots East and Gransden) said the pathway along the River Great Ouse was also impacted by the A14 development and said it was at risk of being cut in two due to part of the riverbank failing.

He said it was “disappointing” that the “historic and well-loved walkway” was at risk of being “destroyed” due to a “lack of consideration” from those who worked on the A14 project.

Cllr Murphy described the concerns raised by councillors at the full council meeting on 22 October as the “tip of the iceberg”, but hoped a full report to the highways and transport committee would pick up the issues.

Cllr Murphy urged the county council to “stick up for residents” and try to get the problems addressed. She called on the authority to start a process of engagement with government and other organisations to start to “broker solutions for the problems we know about”.

Councillors gave unanimous support to Cllr Murphy’s motion.

National Highways responds

Following the meeting, the Cambridge Independent raised the issues with National Highways in the East.

Gareth Moores, National Highways programme manager, responded: “The £1.5billion A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme successfully delivered a new 12-mile bypass around Huntingdon and major upgrades to 21 miles of the existing A14, significantly improving journeys for thousands of drivers every day.

“As with any large-scale project, we were presented with complex engineering challenges that we worked hard to resolve during construction and after the scheme opened. Our close working relationship with Cambridgeshire County Council has been in place since the beginning of the project, and we continue to work with the council to ensure that the project leaves a lasting, positive legacy for the region.

“Beyond the scope of the main scheme, we also provided Cambridgeshire County Council with a further £2million of funding to support the delivery of separate initiatives aimed at improving routes for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders in the vicinity of the project.”

In relation to trees, a National Highways spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility to the local environment seriously and, following consultation with specialists, updated our replanting strategy to include a tailored planning preparation and aftercare programme. We’re pleased to report that the replanting of trees on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme was successfully completed in April 2024, with over 165,000 additional trees replanted.”