Leaving a positive legacy

One of our main objectives is to leave a positive legacy. See here how we are providing a range of benefits as part of the main scheme, as well as our work in the local community that will leave a legacy for years to come.

£2 million legacy fund

We have a £2m legacy fund to support non-for-profit groups and organisations in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

With this fund we want to maximise the wider benefits of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements for local communities, the environment, and the local economy. All local not-for-profit groups can apply for the grants, including local schools, charities, community groups and environment and heritage groups.

The two funds available are the Community Fund and the Social Value Fund. For both funds, the applications will be assessed and awarded by two independent panels.

Find out more about the funds and how to apply on our Social Value Fund and Community Fund page

We understand the importance of the natural environment and will work with communities to:

improve biodiversity
enhance habitat connectivity and ecological features
improve water quality and flood attenuation

Throughout construction, we will continue to seek ways that we can improve biodiversity around the main scheme.

More information can be found on our environment page.

We are sensitive to the needs of our neighbours and the communities who live and work near to our project, so we are working with our partners to:

enhance connectivity and accessibility for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders
improve different modes of transport journey choices
increase investment in local community groups and voluntary organisations

One aspect of this work is the St Neots town centre regeneration project, where we have secured an additional £3.5m to support upgrade. This funding will support:

Pedestrian and cycling improvements to St Neots Road Bridge
High Street improvements including tree-planting, improved crossings and safer loading and parking bays
Market square improvements
Improved public realm and connectivity enhancement for buses and taxis

More information can be found on Huntingdonshire District Council website

We’re keen to support local economic growth around the area of the scheme and will work with partners to:

Improve local employment opportunities through upskilling
Increase awareness of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) career opportunities within National Highways and the construction industry

We have created a Minecraft video game which sees players jump in and explore the proposed A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements scheme.

The A428 Minecraft package is aligned to the National Curriculum and available to all teachers and schools. We hope that the games and workshops will inspire the next generation of talented tech experts, engineers, scientists and mathematicians. If you have Minecraft Education Edition, you can access the games and lesson plans here.

We understand the importance of local heritage given that the area has a vast amount of history. We are working with partners to:

improve awareness of local heritage
increase preservation of historic and heritage assets

We are working with MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) to excavate and record any archaeological features found on the scheme. See more about our fascinating finds on our archaeology on the A428 page.

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