The Fenland Reservoir and the Cambridge Retail Park have moved to the next stages
In one sense there’s nothing to stop private companies going ahead with such things – after all, it helps concentrate the minds of people on issues likely to affect them and also force the issues onto the candidates. Talking of which, you can listen to Phil Rodgers’ latest update on Cambridge105 here.
The Fens Reservoir
Cambridgeshire is already experiencing water stress, and the proposals for the Fens Reservoir is meant to be one of the long term solutions. The location is just north of Chatteris, and the proposals state it will also provide leisure facilities. Which is great – if they get a rail-based public transport line that can also serve Chatteris and get more cars off the roads. I played with one option for a suburban/light railway line that could do this.
Above – CTO November 2022
In the grand scheme of things there are cheaper options to achieve the same thing – such as re-instating the Newmarket Chord that Rail Future have long campaigned for (instead of building new lines for the East Cambs villages), and adding a U-shaped spur from the existing Ely-Peterborough line between Manea and March railway stations.
Above – a U-shaped spur from Manea Station between Ely and March stations that would provide a rail link to a leisure facility on the reservoir in the Fens – in one of the most economically deprived parts of the region that is also cut-off from high quality transport infrastructure.
Note that such a route could also form a service from March to Wisbech – which would please the long-running Wisbech Rail Campaign. The advantage of building all three improvements is that it would help spread the private investment from an overheating Cambridge economy to a wider geographical area with firms and people attracted by the much-improved transport infrastructure alongside the new leisure infrastructure provided by the reservoir.
The Anglian Water Consultation closes on 09 August 2024
If you are an election candidate, figure out what your party’s policy is on the Fens Reservoir. If you are a voter in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, you may want to ask the candidates what their policy is. https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/ is your friend in helping you find your candidates with just your postcode.
RailPen are back with long-awaited plans for the Cambridge Retail Park
The sire was formerly a brickworks and then the town tip. In the days before tight restrictions were brought in on what could be dumped there. I found out what their main proposals were at the Dudley Road Rec Big Lunch in Abbey Ward but saved it till this blogpost to mention them because RailPen is a complex subject.
Above – from their display boards, it doesn’t look inspiring from here – but then one of the most important thing for Abbey residents and also people in East Cambridgeshire who shop at ASDA is that the supermarket moves over to the refurbished site.
Above – another display board
Why I think a new railway station should be built over and around Coldham’s Lane Bridge
I wrote about it back in July 2023 here. With the proposals for The Grafton Centre having been approved and now in the process of closing what’s left of the retail stores, it’s only a matter of time before demand for better transport access for commuters kicks in. This will only get greater when the Beehive redevelopment is completed.
Above – Coldham’s Lane Bridge, Cambridge, looking southwards
As mentioned in the July 2023 post, the image looks southwards at the top, and northwards at the bottom. A rail station over the Coldham’s Lane Bridge could (in principle) provide for four exits. These are:
- North Romsey (residential area – top left of the photo)
- The Beehive Centre (sci-tech park proposals, around 5,000 employees anticipated plus any local residents and visitors using their facilities – top right of the photo)
- The Coral Park Trading Estate and Cambridge Retail Park – depending also on what the land owners might do if such a station were built – as this could substantially increase the land value – bottom right of the photo)
- The Centre for Computing History – which is one of Cambridge’s hidden gems, (bottom left of the photo)
Personally I’d like to see the candidates being pro-active about the options and encouraging voters not only to respond to the consultations, but also learn more about the planning system. Especially given the headlines being written about Labour’s possible approach if (when?) it gets elected to government?
Strangely enough, I followed the post on the Coldham’s Lane rail station options with a post about democracy education – see here. Worth reading if you’ve not seen it and want to know more about your vote before voting day on 04 July 2024. It also has a few book recommendations too.
Debates and hustings in June 2024
You can watch the video playlist of the Cambridge Climate Hustings on 11 June 2024 here. You can also see the calendar of events that Phil Rodgers is keeping here. For the week beginning 17 June 2024 we have:
17 June 2024: The first of the South Cambridgeshire constituency hustings held in Cambridge at Cherry Hinton Baptist Church – sign up here
19 June 2024: The Friends of the Cam / Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations hustings for Cambridge Constituency on the Future of Cambridge – sign up here.
20 June 2024: The Fulbourn hustings for South Cambridgeshire constituency – sign up here
Phil has also listed two more hustings for St Neots and Mid-Cambs on his list (in St Neots, and Over respectively). Additionally, for those of you in Huntingdon constituency, there are three hustings that I am aware of:
- Kimbolton and Western Villages: Monday 17th June, 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church Kimbolton. (See here)
- Huntingdon: Tuesday 18th June, 7pm, Huntingdon Town Hall PE29 3PJ (See here)
- And possibly: Little Stukeley Wednesday 19th June, 7.30pm, The Beacon Centre, 22 Ermine Street, Little Stukeley, PE28 4BE (although I can’t find an external listing for this).
Finally, if you want to watch the Ely and East Cambridgeshire Hustings from Ely Cathedral on 30 June 2024 online, you can do so from YT here on 30 June from 6pm.
Still nothing from NW Cambs or NE Cambs to report. Keep an eye on CambsNews online here to see if this changes.
Right…still more video processing to do!
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The Cambridge Town Owl 