Fenland regeneration projects ‘going extremely well’

Improvement works at March station are expected to begin in January while building of a new station car park in Manea is due to start a month later.

That was the update given at the transport committee meeting of the Combined Authority, which is paying for much of the upgrade, on Wednesday.

Councillor Chris Seaton, chair of the Fenland Regeneration Project Board, welcomed the pace of delivery as many of the projects have already been completed or are well under way.

He praised Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, headed by Mayor James Palmer, and its officers, for pushing forward the upgrades to March, Manea and Whittlesea rail stations.

He said: “I’d like to give my thanks for all the work that’s going into this. I chair the project board which is overseeing the improvement on these three stations and it is going extremely well."

Waiting shelters have been installed at both Manea and Whittlesea stations, and Whittlesea and March have had additional cycle parking put in, plus improvements to the footpath and to the lighting.

Larger schemes, which include station car parking at March, Manea and Whittlesea, and a revamp of the Platform 1 building at historic March Station, have also successfully completed the preliminary design stage.

Members also heard that the Outline Business Case for March and Manea Station will be submitted to the November 2020 Combined Authority Board to gain approval of funding for the construction phase.

The March Station improvement is being delivered for the Combined Authority by Fenland Council and the train operator Greater Anglia. Construction is expected to begin in January 2021.

The Manea Station car park is also being delivered by Fenland as the land will be within the council’s ownership. Construction is planned for February 2021 while the business case for Whittlesea Station will be submitted to the Combined Authority Board in January 2021 for approval of funding for construction of Phase 1.

Mayor Palmer is a passionate champion of Fenland rail regeneration and has had it high on his list of priorities since being elected mayor in 2017. It remains one of the 12 key projects in the Combined Authority business plan.