Ten years ago this month, the review that planned this network was published. In the time it then took Greater Cambridge to appoint the consultants who would design its routes, Copenhagen's equivalent partnership of councils built a finished cycle route connecting one of its towns to the capital. A decade on, Greater Cambridge has finished one route of twelve.

Finish the Greenways

Corridor 2 of 12

Horningsea Greenway

The only one of the twelve finished — and the one whose two ambitious links were both abandoned.

Built and open

Map from the 2016 review showing the proposed Horningsea 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 6 proposals for this corridor

Built and open · 4 Not in current programme · 2

What the 2016 review asked for

  • Widen paths in Fen Ditton along the B1047, 650 m
  • New toucan crossing north of Fen Ditton Primary School
  • Widen Wadloes Path and the Howard Road links, 350 m, plus two raised tables
  • A new River Cam bridge north of Baits Bite Lock
  • A 4.5 km link from Horningsea to Lode via Lode Fen

What happened

  • Autumn 2019First consultation.
  • December 2022Camcycle publishes its consultation guide; the scheme is essentially the 2016 highway-land package.
  • March 2023Executive Board approves construction.
  • 2023–24Works on Horningsea Road reach halfway stage.
  • 2025Completed — 'the first of our twelve routes to be fully open for use'.

Where it stands, September 2026

Open. Fen Ditton and Horningsea have continuous paths, a parallel crossing on the B1047, improved junctions and traffic calming. The scheme delivered the review's highway-land recommendations almost exactly. What it did not deliver is the reason the review gave for investing here at all: the Cam bridge and the Lode link, which together would have connected Horningsea to the Science Park, Cambridge North and the villages east of the river. The review explicitly warned against building one without the other; in the event neither was built.

2026/27 budget £68k residualRoute length ~3.5 kmStatus Complete 2025
Audit

Every proposal on this route

Proposed intervention (2016)Type ScaleStatus 2026What happened
Widen existing paths within Fen Ditton along the B1047 Upgrade 650 m Built and open Delivered. Horningsea was finished in 2025 — the first of the twelve routes fully open.
New signal-controlled crossing of the B1047 near Fen Ditton Primary Gap-fill path 1 crossing Built and open Delivered as a parallel crossing on the High Street arm of the B1047.
Widen paths between Fen Ditton and Howard Road (Wadloes Path) Upgrade 350 m Built and open Delivered, with Fen Ditton church junction improvements.
Raised tables in the Howard Road / Fison Road area Upgrade 2 tables Built and open Delivered as part of the Fen Ditton works.
New River Cam bridge north of Baits Bite Lock, linking to Milton New structure new bridge Not in current programme Not included. GCP's FAQ acknowledges 'further opportunities' it cannot fund.
New Greenway link from Horningsea to Lode via Lode Fen New route 4.5 km Not in current programme Never taken forward; the review had warned that building either this or the Cam bridge without the other would sharply reduce the benefit.
← Previous corridor All routes Next corridor →