Plans submitted for park along former runway at Alconbury Weald
- 21.03.2025
Following engagement with residents and stakeholders, plans for Runway Park - which will form a central part of the third phase of the development and marks the historic line of the runway - have been finalised and submitted. Its multi-layered approach will provide spaces for nature, people, events and activities, and will stretch from The Glade local centre through the future ‘Town Centre’ Hub.
Following the route of the former airfield’s runway, the park incorporates a mosaic of habits for nature alongside parks and gardens. With quiet spaces for reflection and active spaces to support a healthy lifestyle, Runway Park will provide a wealth of opportunities for people living, working and visiting Alconbury Weald to enjoy quality time outside.
Watchtower Green, at the eastern entrance to Runway Park, will provide space for gatherings and events with a focus on play and nature. This will open up into the Runway Wetlands, an open green space with water features to help manage rainfall and create important wetland habitats to support a range of flora and fauna and enable people to connect with them. Moving into the centre of the park, Runway Meadows will provide a large, flexible parkland with a range of play, sport, community and recreational uses.
Runway Park also has a number of greenways that will connect the main park to walking and cycling routes running through the next phase of new homes coming forward in Phase 3 of the development. These routes will include their own areas for nature and play on the way, like the popular features incorporated in the first phase of Alconbury Weald.
The western end of Runway Park, Butterfly Meadows, will provide a large immersive meadow that will wrap around a play zone and open informal space. The meadow will add visual interest in the winter and create habitat areas that supporting the lifecycles of butterflies. This will include warm sheltered spaces, and plants to feed caterpillars and adult butterflies during the breeding season as well as safe places for eggs during the winter.
“Green spaces are central to the vision for Alconbury Weald, with Runway Park forming one of four strategic green areas. Runway Park will incorporate parts of the runway to reflect the heritage of the site and - with the depth of concrete being removed and recycled to help build the development out - we have worked with the team and our partners to re-design the space with wetland planting, trees and hedges: all providing a take-off for nature."
“The designs for the park have evolved with input from both heritage and nature partners and the community. We’re really excited about the wetland features; what was once concrete will be reimagined to provide habitats for wetland birds, insects and plants. The seasonally changing habitats will also engage people as they spend time there. It will take a few years for the habitats to establish, which is why we’re starting work early, before the new homes come forward, so it can establish and be ready for when that area of the development opens up.”
The other strategic green spaces at Alconbury Weald are Watch Office Green and the cricket pitch that sit at the heart of the first phase of development; Prestley Park forming a green expanse between the first and second phases of the development; and the Community Sports Hub that will come later in phase three.
Alongside spaces for people, Alconbury Weald has been designed to deliver a Net Gain for Nature, with plans currently supporting a 20% increase in biodiversity. This will be supported through the ongoing management of Runway Park and the other green spaces.
