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 12 of 12

St Ives Greenway

The 'jewel in the network' got three quick wins, lost its flood fix, its bridges and its highest-priority link.

In design or planning

Map from the 2016 review showing the proposed St Ives 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 14 proposals for this corridor

Built and open · 3 Approved, construction due · 1 In design or planning · 3 Paused on cost · 2 Not in current programme · 5

What the 2016 review asked for

  • Review and integrate signage along the whole route
  • New flood-relief paths in at least four locations, 1.5 km
  • Links to Oakington (300 m), Rampton (800 m), Willingham (2 km), Histon and Impington (850 m)
  • New Swavesey–Over route with a 20 m-plus bridge, 1.6 km
  • New Great Ouse bridge to Holywell, 40 m-plus, plus a 10 m bridge and 1.2 km of path
  • New link to Fenstanton, 1.6 km — 'give this new link high priority'

What happened

  • 25 June 2020Board approves the route at £7.5m.
  • 6 Feb – 31 Mar 2023Consultation on the Oakington to Cottenham spur and the Over and Fen Drayton spurs.
  • 2023–25Quick wins delivered: the Girton to Oakington link, Willingham improvements to the busway link, and the Rampton Reynolds' Drove link.
  • September 2025Board decision suspends the Over spur on rising construction costs.
  • December 2025Detailed design finalisation; delivery targeted for 2026; Oakington to Cottenham design continuing.
  • 9 July 2026Full business case for Oakington to Cottenham approved by the Executive Board.

Where it stands, September 2026

Quick wins open, the Oakington to Cottenham spur approved, everything structural stalled. The 2016 review identified flooding between St Ives and Swavesey as the single biggest threat to the corridor — 'if people get out of the habit of using the greenway during long periods of closure they may never return as regular users' — and recommended raised paths on the busway embankment. Flood monitoring continues; no paths have been built. Fenstanton, named the strongest case of all the links, is absent. So are the Holywell bridges.

2026/27 budget £700kApproved 2020 at £7.5mRoute length 12.2 miles
Audit

Every proposal on this route

Proposed intervention (2016)Type ScaleStatus 2026What happened
Review and integrate signage along the whole route and its links Upgrade 19 km Not in current programme The review's first priority for this corridor; no integrated signing scheme has been delivered.
New flood-relief paths in at least four locations using the busway embankment New route 1.5 km Paused on cost Flood monitoring in the Swavesey area continues; no paths built.
Replace low-level bollards with taller, more visible ones Upgrade — Not in current programme Not reported as delivered.
Address path-edge subsidence near Longstanton Upgrade 200 m Not in current programme Not reported as delivered.
New and upgraded links to Histon and Impington Gap-fill path 600 m + 250 m In design or planning In design as part of the wider St Ives Greenway.
New path link to Oakington New route 300 m Built and open Delivered as a quick win — the Girton to Oakington link.
New path link to Rampton New route 800 m Built and open Delivered as a quick win — the Reynolds' Drove link.
New path link to Willingham New route 2 km Built and open Improvements to the busway link delivered as a quick win; the full 2km new path was not built.
New route linking Swavesey and Over, with a new bridge of 20m-plus span New structure 20 m + 1.6 km Paused on cost Consulted in 2023, then suspended on rising construction costs following a Board decision in September.
Resurface the 600m track linking to Swavesey Upgrade 600 m In design or planning 'Any opportunity worth taking'; not yet taken.
New bridges to Holywell and Needingworth — one of 40m-plus span over the Great Ouse, one of 10m-plus, and 1.2km of new path New structure 40 m + 10 m Not in current programme Not in the programme.
Improve the surfacing of the Fen Drayton byway Upgrade 1.2 km In design or planning Still an aspiration.
New Greenway link to Fenstanton New route 1.6 km Not in current programme Given 'high priority' in 2016 and named the strongest case of all the St Ives links. Not in the current scheme.
Oakington to Cottenham link New route — Approved, construction due Added after 2016. Consulted 2023; full business case approved 9 July 2026.
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