Villagers fear major roads ‘won’t cope’ as 11k homes planned at former RAF base nearby

Up to 11,000 homes are planned at a former RAF site that neighbours the Cambridge village

Residents in a Cambridge village feel a major A-road “won’t cope” when 10,000 new homes are built on its border. Milton is home to more than 4,000 people.

It is often considered a cheaper alternative to living in Cambridge, while still providing good transport links to the city centre. It’s also next to major roads including the A10, A14, and M11.

Some residents in the village think Milton is a “quiet” place with “good facilities”, including a big Tesco. However, some of its residents have concerns about a new development nearby.

Up to 11,000 homes are being built in neighbouring Waterbeach, which Milton residents fear could affect traffic. The development is planned at Waterbeach Barracks, a former RAF site.

Tom Herring, 76, has lived in Milton for 25 years. He feels that major roads “won’t cope” with increased traffic from the new development. He added: “We have everything right here, with the science park and Cambridge North.

“There is going to be quite a lot of people who will want to move here. There are going to be more houses [at Waterbeach] and the road is not going to be able to cope.

“Every morning on the radio you hear that there are hold ups on the roads. There will also not be enough infrastructure.”

Chris Olie, who has lived in Milton for a year, finds the community to be “impressive” and says the village’s facilities are “modern”. However, he thinks the addition of the new Waterbeach homes could “congest” Milton.

He added: “Usually I see traffic – maybe building houses around is going to make it worse.”

A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said Milton is a “nice quiet place to live”. She added that it’s good as it’s “not too close to Cambridge, but it’s still easy enough to get to”.

She also believes it’s a cheaper place to live. However, she fears the effect of the new Waterbeach homes on Milton.

She said: “I am worried as it could affect the traffic when the new Waterbeach homes are built. 11,000 homes is a lot and that is almost guaranteed to have some sort of affect on getting onto the roads in and out of Milton.”

Another major development coming to Milton is a new £45 million police station being built next to Milton Park and Ride. Residents are happy to see this open in the village.

Josh Eyles, who “really likes” living in Milton, said: “It’s positive. We used to get a lot of car meets near Tesco. It’s not as bad in the day, but it’s worse at night.”

The woman who wished to not be named also thinks the new police station will be “good”. She added: “It sometimes feels like there is a bit of crime around here and the police are not there at the right time. It will be good to have them closer by.”