In the mid-1980s, the Papworth Village Settlement was persuaded to give the village a new lease of life by allowing some of its land to be included in South Cambridgeshire District Council's 'Local Plan' for development.
As part of this deal it was agreed that some of the proceeds from the sale of this land for new housing would fund 50% of the cost of a bypass of the village. Much of the proposed development has now taken place, however, at the time of writing (June 2009), a large development to the west of Ermine Street South and south of the Church has yet to be started. After many delays, construction of the bypass was finally completed in Spring 2007.
Other potential future development includes the construction of new offices between Pendrill Court and Jubilee Green. Also, a large area to the west of Ermine Street is being considered for redevelopment, including the old Printers' factory, the Methodist Church, the old Tallyn centre (Papworth Arts Centre) and Robert Ellis House, as well as some smaller areas on the west side of Ermine Street North - e.g. the Catholic Church site. Any development here will take many years to complete and residents were asked to give their opinions when a 'master plan' was prepared during 2005.
In 2004, the Strategic Health Authority and Papworth Hospital began promoting a proposal to relocate the Hospital to the Addenbrooke's Hospital site in Cambridge. Although such a move has been talked about since as early as the 1950s, it now looks very likely that it will actually happen within the foreseeable future, but probably no earlier than 2012. If the relocation does go ahead it will have a major impact on the village, particularly in terms of local employment opportunities and the economy. And what will the existing Hospital site be used for once it is gone? The Hospital has initiated a 'development brief' for the site, which will outline the potential (likely?) use of the site when it becomes vacant.
Revised June 2009