It is noted that this proposed allocation responds to the East West Rail proposal which includes a new station at Cambourne. However the preferred route for the new rail line has not been announced.

The National Trust supports the principle of improved access to green transport and is neither for nor against the proposal of EWR. However, any such growth and development could place additional recreation pressures on Wimpole Estate and have potential impacts on our nature conservation assets (notably SSSI/SAC but also priority habitat and species, and County Wildlife Sites (CWS)), infrastructure and visitor management of the site.

Located in South Cambridgeshire, the Wimpole Estate is owned and managed by the National Trust. It lies approximately 13 km to the west of Cambridge and prior to the pandemic attracted some 400,000 visitors per annum. Wimpole Hall is a Grade I Listed Building set within a Grade II* Registered Park and Garden which includes the farmed estate and extends over an area of 1,200 ha. The property as a whole contains 30 listed buildings and structures of which three, including the Gothic Tower (Folly Castle), are Grade II*, and a Scheduled Monument comprising the remains of the Romano British settlement at Arrington. The estate is the largest of its kind in Cambridgeshire and a key attraction is its landscape setting, including the 4 km long South Avenue, with extensive views to the Royston Hills.