With Stonebond launching its show home and marketing suite at Waterbeach, the new entrance to the development has been opened, off the A10 roundabout by Cambridge Research Park, and new signage installed. This will help direct people to both the new development and the historic village of Waterbeach.
The naming for the new town was formally agreed as Waterbeach in July 2021 following a 12-week public consultation and workshops with the parish council and local elected county and district councillors, Waterbeach Heritage Group and local interest groups, and younger people representing the past, present and future of the communities. The former barracks and airfield sit within the boundary of the existing parish, with extensive historic ties to the village and its community through the centuries.
The majority of respondents to the consultation (87%) also felt the name of the original village of Waterbeach should be updated to Waterbeach Village, to mark the historic area of the village and ensure it retains its village identity and culture.
Rebecca Britton, Communities and Partnerships Director for Urban&Civic, said: “The new signage of Waterbeach and Waterbeach Village has two very important roles. Firstly, in seeking to enforce a very important sense of culture and identity within the village, and still to mark its historic ties to the area now being developed. And secondly a deeply practical approach to managing traffic for the development away from the village.
“Both of these reflect the feedback from the Parish Council and the community through the consultation and workshops, and while we know this is quite a big change, we hope it comes to mark the connections and relationship between the historic core of the village and the latest growth within its boundaries.”
The temporary signage that has gone up will be replaced in the next few months with gateway features that are being co-designed with the Parish Council and a public realm working group that is looking at a series of interventions in the village to slow traffic and give more space to pedestrians and cyclists – in work funded by Urban&Civic.
The new signage of Waterbeach and Waterbeach Village has two very important roles. Firstly, in seeking to enforce a very important sense of culture and identity within the village, and still to mark its historic ties to the area now being developed. And secondly a deeply practical approach to managing traffic for the development away from the village.
