Ermine Street enhancements – public exhibitions to show plans

As part of the development of Alconbury Weald, Urban&Civic agreed to fund environmental enhancements along Ermine Street through the Stukeleys villages. The scheme aims to both provide a more rural setting for the road, and in turn deter cars from driving through the villages as a “quick rat run”. The work will be carried out in parallel with Highways England investment in the A14 at Spittals Interchange, which will improve the main route to Huntingdon and Cambridge.

Plans for these enhancements have been developed in partnership with the County and District Council Highways teams, and through a working group on traffic issues led by representatives from the Parish Council.

A series of public events have been organised by Urban&Civic and Stukeleys’ Parish Council to share the proposals before they are finalised, and to talk through the principles and process behind the planned work. The enhancements need to be in place before the 250th home is occupied at Alconbury Weald, which is likely to be in the first half of 2018.

The events will be held:

• Little Stukeley Village Hall : Monday 29 February :  1530 – 2000
• Great Stukeley Village Hall : Wednesday 2 March :  1500 – 2000
• Alconbury Weald Club Building: Friday 4 March:     1500 – 2000

The Club building is the new building next to the Incubator building and this will be the first event the building hosts.

Rebecca Britton, Communities and Partnerships, for Urban&Civic, said:

“From the earliest discussions with the Parish Council and local residents, we knew that as part of the development coming forward, we needed to develop transport plans which minimised the impact on the Stukeleys and led to real benefits for local residents. Some of those benefits will be in facilities coming forward on the site, but the Ermine Street enhancements we believe also provide a real opportunity to ensure and protect a more rural setting and identity for both villages. We look forward to testing the thinking and plans through these events.”

Michael Monk, Parish Councillor and Chairman of the Traffic Group, said:

“For too long our community has suffered from the number and speed of vehicles passing through the heart of our villages. Previous attempts to deal with this have largely failed because of insufficient finance to do a proper job. This is our chance to do something effective. I hope as many people as possible will come to see the plans and comment on them."