Corridor 5 of 12

Fulbourn Greenway

The urban improvements survive; the rail-corridor vision that would have transformed journeys does not.

In design or planning

Map from the 2016 review showing the proposed Fulbourn Greenway and its links — The corridor as drawn in 2016. Reproduced from the review commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council; base mapping © OpenStreetMap contributors. See the full document →

What became of the 7 proposals for this corridor

Built and open · 1 In design or planning · 5 Not in current programme · 1

What the 2016 review asked for

Path widening and junction work between Orchard Estate, Railway Street and Cherry Hinton High Street
New 200 m of path to the Tesco / Yarrow Road crossing, and widening behind Tesco
A new bridge over the railway on the Tins Path
A new railway crossing and paths along the rail corridor towards the Chisholm Trail, Cambridge North and the Science Park

What happened

Autumn 2018First public consultation.
February 2020Executive Board approves funding.
2023Outline business case: 6.4 km route, £21.7m capital cost at Q1 2023 prices, benefit-cost ratio 2.75:1, opening year 2026. 85% of respondents support improving the Tins Path.
Summer 2023Four-week consultation reaching 9,600 households and businesses.
January 2024Board agrees to progress phase 1.
June 2024Phase 1 construction starts — resurfacing on Cow Lane and Apthorpe Street.
11 February 2025Proposals to re-route phase 3 along Mill Road are first put forward.
19 March 2025Board approves a new alignment for phase 3, between the A1134 and Carter Bridge, re-routing it via Mill Road.
Early 2026Phase 2 consultation launches.

Where it stands, September 2026

Phase 1 resurfacing has not been confirmed complete; phase 2's promised early-2026 consultation has not been confirmed as launched; phase 3 is in design following a Mill Road re-route agreed in spring 2025. The business case's opening year of 2026 has not been met, no revised date has been published, and the route has not appeared in a monthly Greenways update since December 2025. The 2016 review's judgement that a new rail crossing here 'could transform some journeys' remains untested: the Tins Path bridge is still unbuilt, and the wider rail-corridor route to the Chisholm Trail and Science Park is still dropped.

2026/27 budget £1,345kCapital cost (OBC) £21.7mBCR 2.75:1

Audit

Every proposal on this route

Proposed intervention (2016)	Type	Scale	Status 2026	What happened
Widen the path between Orchard Estate and Railway Street, Cherry Hinton	Upgrade	100 m	In design or planning	In the later phases; phase 2 consultation launched early 2026.
Cycle slip, path widening and junction changes near Cherry Hinton High Street	Upgrade	—	In design or planning	Retained in the scheme.
New paths to link with the signalled crossing at Tesco, Yarrow Road, and upgrade that crossing	Gap-fill path	200 m	In design or planning	Retained in the outline business case.
Widen the path to the rear of Tesco, Yarrow Road	Upgrade	150 m	In design or planning	Retained.
Resurfacing on Cow Lane and Apthorpe Street (phase 1)	Upgrade	—	Built and open	Phase 1 began June 2024; resurfacing completing through 2026.
New bridge over the railway on the Tins Path	New structure	new bridge	In design or planning	Kept: the outline business case identifies the Tins Path railway crossing as a critical bottleneck and includes its upgrade. Still unbuilt. A new alignment for phase 3 was approved on 19 March 2024.
New railway crossing plus paths along the rail corridor towards Chisholm Trail, Cambridge North and the Science Park	New structure	new bridge + route	Not in current programme	The long-term rail-corridor vision — the review's most transformative Fulbourn idea — is not in the adopted scheme.