Residents living near a proposed new life science development in Cambridge are divided over the safety of creating cut-through routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
Plans have been submitted to Cambridge City Council to redevelop the Westbrook Centre into a new science and research campus.
The four existing office blocks in Westbrook Drive, off Milton Road, would be demolished to make way for three life science buildings.
But divisions have emerged between neighbours living on streets around the proposed development over whether new access points should be created to allow cyclists and pedestrians to travel through the site.
Two petitions have been submitted to the city council on the issue, one calling for new access points to be opened up, and the other arguing that no new cut-throughs should be created.
Representatives of the developer, Forge Bio No 4 GP, said there were currently no plans to create new access points but the layout has been designed in such a way that they could be provided in future.
The representatives told a development control forum meeting on 16 April that they were listening to people on both sides of the debate, but said it was “difficult” to balance the opposing views.
Nick Flynn, representing the petitioners calling for new routes through the redevelopment, said the area needed more walking and cycling links.
He said the lack of connectivity to the Lilywhite Drive development behind the Westbrook Centre meant the places residents could walk to within 10 minutes was “significantly smaller” than in other parts of Cambridge.
Mr Flynn argued that the lack of any cut-throughs in the existing site made it difficult for people to avoid walking and cycling in “dangerous areas”, highlighting in particular Mitcham’s Corner.
He said creating walking and cycling links from the Westbrook Centre site to Corona Road, Lilywhite Drive and to Gilbert Road would help address the “recognised lack of walking connections”.
He added that the access would create safer walking and cycling routes, including for parents taking their children to school.
However, Finn Stevenson, who was presenting the petition opposing any new cut-throughs, argued the changes being called for would make things more dangerous.
He told the meeting that the entrance to Corona Road was too narrow to create a safe entry point for cyclists and pedestrians.
Mr Stevenson claimed any additional cut-throughs in the new development would lead to more people travelling on Mitcham’s Corner, which would “worsen already dangerous cycling patterns”.
He said there were also concerns from people living in streets where a cut-through has been suggested that there could be an increase in the risk of crime.
Mr Stevenson said that the proposed access points had been dropped by the developer from the initial plans after “overwhelming opposition” from people in the area.
He claimed the calls for the new access points were being made by only a “small number” of people looking to “reopen the issue despite strong opposition”.
A representative of the developer said they would take away the comments made by both sides at the meeting and consider them as they progressed the plans.
