Developers working on the first tranche of housing at Alconbury Weald have started work on key connections that will link homes to the road network.

The new road connection will open up into a landscaped area with ponds, trees and green space, which will provide the setting for the first homes and planned primary school.

The access will not be formally opened until spring 2016, but needs to be in place as soon as possible to enable the road connection and infrastructure to be put ready for when work on new homes begins, scheduled for November.

Hopkins Homes is working with Urban and Civic, the company which is managing the project, to submit an application for 128 homes.

The houses will sit in 45 acres of landscaped grounds, next to the development’s first primary school, which is scheduled to open in September 2016.

Urban and Civic says the first development will be known as Ermine Village and will eventually include more than 1,000 homes and the site’s first shops and community spaces.

The company has acknowledged that the work will cause “inconvenience” to road users in the area but insists it is working hard to “minimise the impacts”.

Urban and Civic said that, while the connections are being made, there will be traffic management in place along Ermine Street.

This will be between the northern end of Little Stukeley and the A14 eastbound slip road, running until November 30, Mondays to Fridays.

There will be two way traffic signals between 9.30am and 3.30pm, to minimise traffic delays. From October 5 to November 30 there will be, in addition to the traffic signals, a 30mph temporary speed limit on vehicles passing through the road works.

Tim Leathes, development director at Urban and Civic, said: “It is good to see all of the planning discussions we have been having, now moving into delivery.

“We know some of the roadworks associated with the works will cause some inconvenience, but we have been working with Breheny to minimise the impacts and do the work as efficiently and considerately as possible.”