Cambridge South station plans backed by government

The Department for Transport has approved plans for a new railway station to improve connectivity to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The Cambridge South station will be next to the campus and connect it with destinations such as central London, Stansted Airport, Ely and Birmingham.

The secretary of state said the station would "significantly contribute to sustainable transport" in the region.

Work can begin once the local planning authority approves the full details.

Network Rail submitted its plans to the Department for Transport in its application for a Transport and Works Act order and deemed planning permission.

The station and associated infrastructure are projected to cost £183.6 million.

The plans detailed the construction and operation of a new two storey, four-platform station which would include step-free access, a ticket office, ticket vending machines, accessible toilets, a waiting area and space for retail and catering.

Network Rail said the station would "provide access to a growing area of high-quality employment and help relieve congestion in the local area".

It predicted that the station would be used by two million passengers each year.

It was concluded the new station would "present significant benefits in terms of sustainable transport, highway congestion, integration with other schemes and a reduction in the need to travel into the city centre".

The Department for Transport said the scheme would "significantly contribute to sustainable transport, support rail connections regionally".

It would "support the development of environmentally sustainable transport in Cambridge".

"The scheme would also reinforce the role of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, contributing to its further growth and sustainability," the department said.

It was predicted that construction work for the station and necessary infrastructure would lead to the temporary loss of about 0.26 hectares of mature trees and the loss of 0.45 hectares of broadleaved plantation woodland.

There would also be "a significant loss of habitat and disturbance to birds", but the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper concluded with mitigation the "impact on breeding and overwintering birds would be minimal".

The station would be built next to Hobson's Park and the planning inspector said the project would have a "significant adverse effect" on the park.

But the department said the effects would be temporary and that they were outweighed by the "very considerable public benefits" of the station.

Mr Harper and the planning inspector concluded that the scheme "would not give rise to significant harm to biodiversity overall".

"The secretary of state agrees with the inspector that the station's very considerable public benefits and the geographical need for the station outweigh its harms to combine to provide very special circumstances to justify the harm to the green belt," the decision said.

The Department for Transport has granted permission to build the Cambridge South station and carry out improvements at Shepreth Junction.

Work will also take place to create a new connection between existing lines at Hills Road to improve access, but construction cannot begin until full details have been approved by the local planning authority.

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