Highways Agency

A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick Improvement

2.0 Background

Historical Background

2.1 The A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick Scheme is the remnant of the A428 Eaton Socon (A1) to Hardwick (M11) Improvement. The latter scheme was added to the trunk road programme following the publication of "Roads for Prosperity" in 1989, but was divided into two schemes by the time "Trunk Roads In England 1994 Review" was published and was removed from the programme as a consequence of the 1995 review.

2.2 The Highways Agency invited tenders for a Consultant's Commission for the development of the A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick Scheme at the end of 1996. However, the General Election and subsequent Trunk Roads Review delayed the award of the commission. In 1997 Ministers accepted a recommendation that the Commission be awarded in advance of the completion of the Review and the Commission was awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff (formerly P.B. Kennedy and Donkin and Rust Consulting Ltd) in May 1998.

2.3 Ministers accepted the recommendation because, in April 1994, outline planning permission had been granted for a large new settlement to the south of the A428. The settlement, now known as 'Cambourne', will eventually comprise over 3300 houses and include both business and industrial parks. The planning consent for Cambourne required the developer to improve a 2 kilometre length of the A428 adjacent to the development to dual carriageway standard by the time 700 dwellings and 18,600 square metres of gross internal business space had been occupied. This dualling, which includes a new grade-separated junction providing access to the development, was completed in May of this year.

2.4 Under their Commission, Parsons Brinckerhoff examined options for improving the A428 at each end of the developer's proposed 2 kilometres of dualling. In November 1999, options were presented at a Public Consultation. These included on and offline alignments to the west of the Cambourne dualling and an off-line alignment to the east of the Cambourne dualling. Full and partial junctions were presented at Hardwick. The Consultation indicated a high level of support for the improvement of the A428 to dual carriageway standard. Having considered the results of the consultation, the Secretary of State announced the Preferred Route in June 2000.

2.5 In November 2000, Parsons Brinckerhoff were commissioned by the Highways Agency to develop the Preferred Route into a design of sufficient detail to allow publication of draft Line, Side Roads and Compulsory Purchase Orders.

The Road in its Regional Context

2.6 Figure 1 shows the Scheme location. The A428 forms part of the Core National Route connecting Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Ipswich. It is also of strategic importance to the local road network linking the M11, A1, A14, A1198 and other local roads.

2.7 The Scheme consists of two parts: the western section would commence at Caxton Gibbet roundabout and tie into the western end of the Cambourne Dualling; the eastern section would commence at the eastern end of the Camboune Dualling and finish at the existing dual carriageway to the north west of Hardwick.

2.8 The Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi Modal Study (CHUMMS) reported in August 2001. The preferred plan includes on-line widening of the A14 to provide additional highways capacity, the construction of a new dual 3-lane carriageway to the south of Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton, and also considers Junctions 13 and 14 on the M11.

The Road in its Local Context

2.9 Excluding the Cambourne dualling and grade separated junction, the existing A428 between Caxton Gibbet and the dual carriageway at Hardwick is a 7.3m wide, 2 lane single carriageway with grass verges and occasional footway. It passes largely through open countryside but is partly bounded to the south by the limits of the new Cambourne development and at the southeast end by Hardwick. There are 4 side roads and several farm and property accesses joining the trunk road so that local and agricultural traffic mixes with trunk road traffic.

Public Consultation

2.10 The Highways Agency published a Public Consultation leaflet (Deposit Document No. 24) in November 1999. In this leaflet, for ease of explanation, the Scheme was considered in three parts, described as Western, Central and Eastern Sections. Two options were presented for the Western Section: an on-line and an off-line solution. Two options were also presented for the Eastern Section: a full junction and a partial junction. Only one option - a southern off-line route was presented for the Central Section. Other options had been examined earlier but discarded.

2.11 A leaflet delivery company were employed to deliver consultation leaflets and questionnaires to every home and business within the Study Area (see Figure 2) on 8 November 1999. During the course of the following week and at the first exhibition it became apparent that the leaflet delivery had not been undertaken as planned and many homes within the Study Area had not been visited. A further leaflet delivery to all homes was therefore undertaken on 22 November 1999. On this occasion, the District Council's network of deliverers (used for Council tax bills etc) and members of Parsons Brinckerhoff staff delivered around 4,000 leaflets within the Study Area.

2.12 Free exhibitions of the Scheme were held at Hardwick pavilion on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 November 1999 and at Bourn Village Hall on Thursday 25 and Friday 26th November 1999. Exhibition times were advertised on local village notice boards and in the press, and were also given in the consultation leaflet.

2.13 A total of 495 completed questionnaires and 44 letter responses were received. Responses received from the public indicated a high level of support for the Scheme: 95.9% believed that an improvement is necessary. Of the public responses, 59.8% preferred the off-line option for the Western Section, 90.7% believed that the offline southern Central Section option was acceptable and 64.7% preferred the full junction at Hardwick.

2.14 Cambridgeshire County Council and South Cambridge District Council both supported the principle of dualling and preferred the off-line route for the Western Section and a full junction at Hardwick. All 7 Parish Councils supported the need for the Scheme, 5 preferring the full junction at Hardwick although the 2 adjacent to the junction (Hardwick and Dry Drayton) preferred the Partial Junction. Local landowners and businesses were generally supportive: there was a high preference for the offline option at the Western end and almost all preferred the full junction at Hardwick.

2.15 As a result of the Public Consultation, the Secretary of State concluded that the Western and Central Section off-line options and the Eastern Section full junction should be taken forward. These were officially announced as the Preferred Route in June 2000.