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
What became of the 6 proposals for this corridor
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, shared with the Waterbeach Greenway
- 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, November 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. One short pinch point remains: the link from the south end of Wadloes Path to the eastern entrance of Ditton Meadows, which carries traffic from all three eastern greenways, is still narrow, with tight bends and short sight lines.
Every proposal on this route
| Proposed intervention (2016) | Type | Scale | Status 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New River Cam bridge north of Baits Bite Lock, linking the Waterbeach and Horningsea greenways | New structure | new bridge | Not in current programme | Recommended in both the Waterbeach and Horningsea sections of the 2016 review — one bridge serving two corridors, and the piece that would have joined the network either side of the Cam. Never entered the funded programme; GCP states funding is limited to the twelve set routes, and its FAQ acknowledges 'further opportunities' it cannot fund. |
| 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 | Scaled back | Partly done. GCP lists the Wadloes Path work as new edgings, signage and bollards rather than widening (programme update, February 2025). Local cyclists report that the link from the south end of the path to the eastern entrance of Ditton Meadows, used by all three eastern greenways, is still narrow, with tight bends and short sight lines. New cattle grids were added there in 2025; the path was not widened. |
| Raised tables in the Howard Road / Fison Road area | Upgrade | 2 tables | Built and open | Delivered as part of the Fen Ditton works. |
| 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. |