The University of Cambridge has voiced its concern over the scrapping of plans to improve the A14, a major road connecting Ellington and Fen Ditton.

The £1.3 billion plan involved widening the road to have three lanes in both directions, which was seen as a vital prerequisite for the University’s 3,000 home development plan.

Cambridge warned several weeks before the decision was announced that any delays to the road improvements would severely compromise the success of the North West Cambridge Development Project.

The University has been looking to create a new development comprising 3,000 homes in its site in North West Cambridge, half of which are intended for academic staff and students, with the other half built for the open housing market.

Plans for the A14 will now need to be readdressed in light of the recent Comprehensive Spending Review, which deemed the A14 upgrade plans as “simply unaffordable under any reasonable future funding scenario”.

The University told Cambridge News that is was “disappointed” by the announcement and joins councillors and business leaders in its condemnation of the decision to cancel the road improvement. It will also be “continuing its discussions with the Highways Agency and the local highway authority to assess the implications of the announcement as more details are made public”.

Speaking to Cambridge News, a spokesperson from the Department of Transport promised to “undertake a study to identify cost-effective and practical proposals which bring benefits and relieve congestion – looking across modes to ensure we develop sustainable proposals”.

Sophie Davies, a student at Newnham College, regularly uses the A14 and is also disappointed by the government’s decision to axe the road upgrade scheme. She told Varsity that “at the moment the road is nearly always congested during rush hour. Only having two lanes means that any accidents or slow moving vehicles always results in massive hold-ups”.