Junction plan at 'impasse' over worries about bats

Proposals designed to improve safety on a section of road in Cambridgeshire are at an "impasse" because of a "trade-off between bats and lighting", councillors have been told.

An application to realign the junction between the A1307 Babraham Road and Haverhill Road, near Wandlebury Country Park, has been withdrawn by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), alongside plans for a new crossing.

It was first submitted in 2022, but the county council's biodiversity team objected, saying permanent lighting would amount to "unacceptable illumination" of a "potential bat crossing point".

Thomas Fitzpatrick, GCP's head of programme, told a meeting on 12 February the plans were still at an "impasse".

"It's a technical planning issue where there's been a trade off between bats and lighting, which has been a significant issue," he said.

A spokesperson for the GCP, a delivery body made up of local councils and the University of Cambridge, said it was "now considering our options at the junction".

The junction proposals were part of a GCP project to improve safety on the A1307 between Haverhill and Cambridge.

Paul Bearpark, a Liberal Democrat member of South Cambridgeshire District Council, told the GCP meeting he wanted to "highlight the importance of the scheme".

"It is addressing a road safety issue, so it is important that this does progress and it's unblocked," he said.

Cambridgeshire County Council has been contacted for comment. The next GCP meeting is on 5 March.

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