Waterbeach busway advances towards Transport and Works Order application
Cambridgeshire County Council has agreed to progress a busway linking Cambridge with the Waterbeach development of up to 11,000 homes.
By Planning desk · 15 Oct 2026 · Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Council has approved progressing the Waterbeach to Cambridge Transport Scheme, moving the proposed busway a step closer to construction and a Transport and Works Order application.
The route would connect a new travel hub at Waterbeach with Milton Park and Ride before joining the existing guided busway between Cambridge and St Ives. The council agreed to advance the scheme at a meeting on Tuesday, according to the BBC.
The project will now be submitted for a Transport and Works Order, which is needed to build and maintain major transport infrastructure. The council’s decision therefore marks a step in the approvals process rather than the completion of the scheme’s statutory requirements.
The proposed travel hub will provide park-and-ride spaces for 1,600 cars. New junctions will also be built, including one on Landbeach Road.
The busway would serve Waterbeach New Town, where up to 11,000 homes are being built on former barracks and airfield land north of Cambridge. A new railway station serving the community is also set to open in 2028, with plans to close Waterbeach’s existing station.
Supporters said the busway would help reduce car use and emissions, while critics questioned whether it would overcome congestion once services entered Cambridge’s road network.
Alex Beckett, the Liberal Democrat chair of the council’s Highways and Transport Committee, said residents needed a “real alternative to sitting in traffic”.
He said: “The Waterbeach Busway means sustainable public transport, fewer cars on the road and lower emissions.”
Darren Green, a Green Party councillor for Romsey in Cambridge, questioned whether busways were the right response to the city’s transport problems.
“I think now is the time to really question whether Cambridge deserves a better solution for its public transport issues than busways,” he said.
Green said buses would still face rush-hour congestion after leaving the busway for city centre roads.
“Our busways will essentially just hit the same traffic that everyone else is stuck in as soon as they reach Cambridge,” he said.