Category: Mill Road, Cambridge

We believe the Council would be acting irrationally and opening itself to judicial review…

Three protected trees on St Matthew’s Piece still under threat of felling!

Another guest post on behalf of Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

Photo of one of the trees under threat

[W]e believe the Council really must refuse the application. It should make it clear to insurers that underpinning is inappropriate, and if that were to be a solution pursued by insurers it must have the opportunity to be fully involved with proper assessment of the genuine requirements of the house and the contribution of the trees (if any) to alleged damage. It must rationally do this to be able properly to assess the position. We believe the position is so obvious that the Council would be acting irrationally and opening itself to judicial review if it were to make any decision to fell without fully investigating the matter from an arboricultural and engineering perspective and indeed dealing with amenity values in a rational way.

Letter from Richard Buxton, Solicitors,  instructed by Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, 21 June 2025 paragraph 10

We understand the matter is (inexplicably) being expedited, also that the Council is not providing livestream, which given the controversial nature of the issues is concerning.

ibid paragraph 2

Especially considering the amounts [of money] in question, it is anyway extraordinary that the Council’s engineer has only assessed documents submitted by the applicant, rather than being asked to advise independently on the extent of alleged damage, the contribution (if any) by the trees, and on appropriate repair. On all these points it is obviously essential for the Council to be fully and independently informed, to assess the merits of the claim and if there is some contribution by the trees, how much of the alleged damage the Council should be responsible for paying for if one arises.

ibid paragraph 7

Read/download the letter in its entirety here.

Image as caption
The three trees under threat – aerial view

The fate of the three St Matthew’s Piece trees will be considered by the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee again on Wednesday 25 June 2025.

This is the link to the planning application 25/0432/TTPO.

Friends of St Matthew’s Piece campaign colleagues have risen magnificently to the extraordinary challenge: reading, thinking, discussing, coordinating, consulting, researching, drafting and redrafting speaking points and essential correspondence, while supporting each other through the last few extremely intensive days of preparation for the Committee. It has been an honour to work with such a dedicated and fine group of people.

Val Neal
  • the community – without whom none of this is possible – has given a mighty roar, with well over 100 objections simmering on the planning portal;
  • for the first time, local residents have been donating to a fighting fund, in defence of our precious trees;
  • interest in attending and observing the Planning meeting – Wednesday 25 June 2025 10:00 am Small Hall, The Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ – is high;
  • interlocking sets of speaking points have been researched, drafted, timed and carefully finalised for two Friends of St Matthew’s Piece supporters (Kit Holland and Ben Grieg) who will present the Friend’s viewpoint to the Planning Committee;
  • there has been equally close coordination with the four Cambridge City Councillors who will also each address their equivalent set of carefully crafted material (Elliot Tong, Jean Glasberg, Richard Robinson and Mike Davey); 
  • a powerful Report has been commissioned, reviewed  and finalised by an eminent Structural Engineer, Philip Cooper  [BSc (Eng), MA (Cantab), CEng, FICE, FIStructE)], with decades of experience in  “reading the signs of movement in buildings and interpreting the possible reasons for distortion or cracking of the structure” – exactly ‘what the doctor ordered’!
  • as you can read in the full copy – read/download here– his trenchant summary clearly spells out that:
    •  The reported “slight” cracking, from 2019, is stable;
    •  It was caused not by foundation movement, or by clay, or by tree roots – but by normal changes in the masonry;
    • The insurer should pay for suitable inexpensive repairs; 
    • Underpinning, using a piled raft, is not warranted;
    • “To blame the Plane trees for these minor signs of movement is simply wrong”;
    • Felling the Plane Trees would probably make matters worse (due to heave);
    • There is no evidence proving that the Plane trees are causing continuing nuisance.
  • complementary to this, we have also secured the services of Richard Buxton, the prominent specialist solicitor in planning and environmental law (see above); 
  • Buxton’s robust scrutiny of the merits of this intimidating application concludes that the Council must refuse the application, even warning of the risk of judicial review, if the felling of these Plane Trees were permitted without having pursued a more rigorous approach.
  • Cooper’s thorough, firm and clear Report has already been shared with Planning Committee Members, in anticipation of their deliberations next week, and is promised to be made available on the planning portal with all due speed. 
  • We are all desperately hoping for a comprehensive refusal of this repeated application to fell three veteran, treasured St Matthew’s Piece trees. 

If you can attend the Meeting of the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee in the Small Hall, The Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ [access the building via Peashill entrance View directions] please do.

Friends of St Matthew’s Piece commissioned a Structural Engineer’s report and of a specialist solicitor in planning and environmental law.

Please help restore Friends of St Matthew’s Piece’s depleted funds if you are able…

  • By bank transfer:
    Bank: Lloyds
    Account Name: Cambridge Friends of the Earth
    Sort Code: 30-13-55
    Account Number: 00936388
    Please also email camfoe@yahoo.co.uk, to say who paid the donation, and how much, eg “Dear Cambridge Friends of the Earth, Today I donated £[how much] for Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, by bank transfer, [your name].”
    This is because some essential information may not show in the bank statement.
    It can also help to identify your donation if it is not a round figure, eg £5.03 or £4.97 rather than £5.00.
  • By PayPal
    Send to camfoe@yahoo.co.uk
    Ref: FoSMP
  • By cheque
    Payable to ‘Cambridge Friends of the Earth’
    Marked on the back ‘For Friends of St Matthew’s Piece’
    Posted to Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, c/o lan Ralls (FoE), Suite 101, 23 King St, Cambridge CB1 1AH

THE ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND

Local residents have been fighting to protect and conserve local amenity and environmental assets via Friends of St Matthew’s Piece since 30thApril 2020 – and, before that, via Petersfield Area Community Trust, since 1998). Friends of St Matthew’s Piece stand on the shoulders of the giants who, 100 years earlier, in 1898 had established St Matthew’s Piece. This included planting the magnificent London Plane trees that provide all of us with such wonderful benefits today. Read more on the history of St Matthew’s Piece, on the St Matthew’s Piece Timeline 1890–2020.

If you would like to join Friends of St Matthew’s Piece or assist in any of the issues raised in this blogpost, kindly hosted by Mill Road Bridges, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

FOR THE FUTURE…

To be kept up to date, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, and ask to be added to the Friends of St Matthew’s Piece Supporter’s List. You will be led through a data-collection-compliant sign-up process. This will make sure you receive very occasional email updates on issues like this one.

Earlier Mill Road Bridges blogposts on the three trees are referenced below:

Please forward this blogpost to people who care about trees in or around Cambridge!

Thank you roundel

St Matthew’s Piece Trees – Rinse and Repeat?

The same three protected trees on St Matthew’s Piece are again under threat of felling!

The same three protected trees on St Matthew’s Piece are again under threat of felling!

A guest post on behalf of Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

Photo of one of the trees under threat

These same three trees on St Matthews’ Piece are again at risk of being felled.

  • Same insurance company as in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
  • Same absentee landlord and same HMO rental property (193 Sturton St).
  • Same lousy evidence as before – although already refused three times.
  • Same disregard for our precious park, environment and Conservation Area!
  • Each of these 125-year-old Plane Trees has a Tree Preservation Order, and is in our Conservation Area.

Yes, it’s exhausting, but please object this time too. Every objection counts.

Even one sentence (eg that your previous objections still stand) is truly enough.

Photo as caption
The three trees under threat – aerial view

To object to the latest planning application – 25/0432/TTPO – follow the guide, below:

  1. It’s best to act as soon as you have the time and by Monday 19th May 2025 – but it is still possible after that date.
  2. In order to comment you must be registered.
    If you’re not already registered, start with this registration link on the planning portal.
  3. Search for 25/0432/TTPO, and choose the tab for Comments.
  4. Select Make a Comment.
  5. Type in your comment.
    You might like to draft your comment in your preferred word processing app (Apple’s Pages, MS Word, etc) in case of any glitch on the Planning Portal. When you’re satisfied with your wording and have corrected eny mystaikes any mistakes and typos, you can copy’n’paste into the box on the Planning Portal.
  6. Every adult in your household may register and comment.
  7. You should receive a confirmatory email immediately; if not, something went wrong, find the comment tab and copy’n’paste again.
  8. Every adult in your household may register and comment

If you continue to experience difficulties, you can email: planning@greatercambridgeplanning.org citing 25/0432/TTPO.
Once again copy’n’paste your comments into the email.
Always include your full name & postal address in any emailed comment.

SUGGESTED OBJECTIONS

Everybody will have good reasons of their own to object. Please explain the importance of these trees to you. Here are some suggestions which the Friends of St Matthew’s Piece have previously collated.
Select the ones which really matter to you.

  1. Felling of these three, rare, mature, 125-year old trees, subject to Tree Protection Orders will set a dangerous precedent; any tree anywhere in Cambridge could be at threat of a new-build property’s insurer’s demands.
  2. Compared to the 56 official parks in Cambridge’s other 13 wards, Petersfield ward has only St Matthew’s Piece and no other park.
  3. Petersfield has a poor tree canopy, with very few mature trees.
  4. Every tree matters in Petersfield, which already suffers from the ‘Urban Heat Island Effect’.
  5. These three Plane Trees all have Tree Preservation Orders, and are in Petersfield’s Conservation Area.
  6. Changes to a Conservation Area require public benefit to outweigh public harm. There will be no public benefit from felling any of these three trees – only massive public harm.
  7. These three trees are vital to every person who lives, works or studies in our community.
  8. The City Council’s tree experts stressed in 2006 the importance of preserving all the trees on St Matthew’s Piece, individually and as a group – trees that have only grown in importance since. 
  9. Data provided by the applicant contradicts tree-related clay shrinkage subsidence as the foundations moved the wrong way!
  10. The applicant’s data showing a doubling of ‘foundation movement’ in December 2022 is erroneous. Leafless in winter, these deciduous trees take up no water so could not double the subsidence shown in December 2022.
  11. The applicant does not consider the severe risk of ‘heave’ (soil swelling) on the basement level of the adjacent old Howard Mallett building, if these three trees were to be felled.
  12. At the 6 November 2024 Planning Committee, the Chair said of that day’s (third) refusal:
    “The decision by this committee… does not mean that we are accepting liability for the cost of underpinning said property with concrete… We as a Council and Committee, the Planning Authority, have protected these trees… And I believe that the Council and residents will continue to do that…
    And we intend to protect these trees in any way we can, going forward.”
    (See the link below, for our contemporaneous blogpost on this statement.)

Let’s hope that Cambridge will avoid being the next scandal-riven city in this sequence:

For the first time, Friends of St Matthew’s Piece needs to raise money for a planning battle

Since 2019, volunteer Friends of St Matthew’s Piece have generously donated their time, expertise and energy to the community, and won planning battles on your behalf in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Now Friends of St Matthew’s Piece needs to raise money to pay for a Structural Engineer’s Report, to challenge the applicant’s weak evidence for tree-related soil-shrinkage subsidence at 193 Sturton Street.

We’re seeking quotes from Structural Engineers – but will need donations to fund this.

Please help, if you can…

  • By bank transfer:
    Bank: Lloyds
    Account Name: Cambridge Friends of the Earth
    Sort Code: 30-13-55
    Account Number: 00936388
    Please also email camfoe@yahoo.co.uk, to say who paid the donation, and how much, eg “Dear Cambridge Friends of the Earth, Today I donated £[how much] for Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, by bank transfer, [your name].”
    This is because some essential information may not show in the bank statement.
    It can also help to identify your donation if it is not a round figure, eg £5.03 or £4.97 rather than £5.00.
  • By PayPal
    Send to camfoe@yahoo.co.uk
    Ref: FoSMP
  • By cheque
    Payable to ‘Cambridge Friends of the Earth’
    Marked on the back ‘For Friends of St Matthew’s Piece’
    Posted to Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, c/o lan Ralls (FoE), Suite 101, 23 King St, Cambridge CB1 1AH

THE ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND

Local residents have been fighting to protect and conserve local amenity and environmental assets via Friends of St Matthew’s Piece since 30thApril 2020 – and, before that, via Petersfield Area Community Trust, since 1998). Friends of St Matthew’s Piece stand on the shoulders of the giants who, 100 years earlier, in 1898 had established St Matthew’s Piece. This included planting the magnificent London Plane trees that provide all of us with such wonderful benefits today. Read more on the history of St Matthew’s Piece, on the St Matthew’s Piece Timeline 1890–2020.

If you would like to join Friends of St Matthew’s Piece or assist in any of the issues raised in this blogpost, kindly hosted by Mill Road Bridges, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

FOR THE FUTURE…

To be kept up to date, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, and ask to be added to the Friends of St Matthew’s Piece Supporter’s List. You will be led through a data-collection-compliant sign-up process. This will make sure you receive very occasional email updates on issues like this one.

Earlier Mill Road Bridges blogposts on the three trees are referenced below:

Please forward this blogpost to people who care about trees in or around Cambridge!

Thank you roundel

Mill Yard Deliveries

(Mill Yard, formerly Devonshire Gardens)

Whilst none of us actively like heavy goods vehicle deliveries in and around Mill Road, we recognise that this is temporary, in the construction phase of Mill Yard.

Image as caption
Aerial visualisation of the completed Mill Yard development

The outcome will be a low-car, low motor-traffic development – a huge improvement on the previous use by builders’ merchants, which generated a daily stream of large and small goods vehicles, unsuited to a primarily residential area.

Mill Road Bridges are pleased to note that Morgan Sindall Construction – the tier one contractor – has taken the trouble to minimise the impact of delivery traffic during construction of this new development. A good neighbour, indeed!

Image is a map with delivery instructions, as below. Morgan Sindall Construction Delivering to us Project: Devonshire Gardens/Mill Yard Address: Devonshire Road, Cambridge, Cambridge CB1 2AG Directions From A1307/Hills Road, turn onto Station road, then turn left onto Tenison Road. Turn Right onto Devonshire Road and enter the site through Gate A. NO DELIVERIES TO APPROACH SITE FROM THE MILL ROAD DIRECTION (NORTH).NO VEHICLES TO USE THE NORTHERN SECTION OF TENISON ROAD Deliveries can only be made between the hours of 9:30am and 3:30pm unless prior permission is given by the site team for exceptional circumstances.

We are indebted to local resident Richard Calverley, who writes:

For the next two years Mill Road will be carrying the traffic from the [Mill Yard] Devonshire Road development. In theory all the incoming traffic (deliveries) have been instructed to arrive via Station Road / Devonshire Road.

The traffic leaving the site have been told to use Mill Road, exit to East Road.

I […] have had very good interactions with the [contractors], Morgan Sindall. When their instructions have been ignored, I have provided photos or company names / timing. They have threatened to cancel contracts and this has been a game changer.  […]  I have been very impressed by [these contractors]. […]

If you see construction traffic passing [along Mill Road, from East Road] in the direction of Devonshire Road, this is against the guidelines and you can help by reporting the “incident” to Morgan Sindall.

If you observe any delivery traffic misusing Mill Road, click this link – Construction Traffic Misusing Mill Road – to generate an email to Chris Webb, Project Director and Matt Cade, Project Manager.

Please give them as much detail as possible, for example:

  • date and time of the incident
  • company name on the offending vehicle
  • registration mark
  • photo of the vehicle
Photos of Chris Webb, Project Director and Matt Cade, Project Manager.

Find out more about Mill Yard from Morgan Sindall at Mill Yard: Cambridge’s new sustainable neighbourhood, and from the Mill Yard, Cambridge website, where you can sign up for updates.

Mill Road EcoChic Clothes Swap

(Updated)

Image of garments on hangers on a rail
Mill Road’s very own Multi-Coloured Swap Shop

Sunday 2nd March, 12.00 noon-4.00 pm

Mill Road’s Community Centre saw happy crowds of fashion lovers enjoying a fun and sustainable way to update their style at the EcoChic Clothes Swap in early March. Organised by Mill Road Fringe (funded by Love Mill Road and Anglia Ruskin University) in collaboration with Cambridge Cambridge Women’s Resources Centre and The Edge Café, this event showcased the work of these amazing Mill Road charities while providing opportunities for a wonderfully diverse crowd to spend a Sunday afternoon browsing for bargains, finding hidden gems, striking up conversations and doing their bit to help protect the planet.

Organisers Kate Collins and Ellen Pierce said: “It was a great community event, bringing together people of all ages who shared stories and left with bags full of new finds. It’s clear that these swaps are more than just a fashion fix – they’re a great way to connect, reduce waste, and make a difference. Next year the Mill Road EcoChic Fashion Show will be back by popular demand, perhaps we’ll alternate with Clothes Swaps in future?”

  • All photographs © Chryssie Greece.
  • All photographs © Chryssie Greece.
  • All photographs © Chryssie Greece.

Please contact fringe@millroadwinterfair.org if you would like to help with future EcoChic clothes events.

Cambridge Women’s Resources Centre

  • CWRC has been a beacon of hope for women in Cambridgeshire for more than 40 years, providing support, advocacy and a safe space for those facing adversity. Our work empowers women to rebuild their lives and thrive within their communities.
  • Offering a trauma informed women-only environment, CWRC provides free classes, group activities, individual support and practical advice on many challenging and complex issues impacting women, including those who are facing poverty, mental health and wellbeing concerns, homelessness, poor housing, involvement with the criminal justice system and survivors of abuse.
  • CWRC also facilitates the 12-week Freedom Programme for women who have been affected by domestic abuse.
  • As a grassroots community charity, CWRC is dedicated to educating, empowering and encouraging women seeking positive change with support, advice and learning opportunities, helping them take steps to a better future.
  • Formed in 1982, CWRC is an independent registered charity that relies on sponsorships and donations to continue its work. Charity Number: 801240. To donate or fundraise, please visit the CWRC website or email info@CWRC.org.uk.

Water Main Renewal Closes Mill Road

From Thursday 2nd January to Monday 6th January 2025, Mill Road will be fully closed to all motor vehicles for water main repairs, at the junction with Kingston Street and Devonshire Road. A burst main on Mill Road, repaired on Friday 29th November 2024, caused low pressure for nearby premises. Cambridge Water Company are now back to fix it properly.

map, centred on the site of the road closure.
Click the image to view a larger version in a new tab.

Vehicle diversion routes

Residents in the area, and their visitors, needing to drive to the streets on one side of the bridge or the other will already be familiar with diversionary routes since the implementation of the bus gate prohibitions on Mill Road Bridge. The one exception appears to be that vehicular access to Headly Street and Eagle Street (former Mill Road Depôt) will be over the bridge, from the Romsey side.

Bus routes

As a result of these works, Stagecoach’s citi 2 bus service will not be able to follow its usual route, diverting via East Road, Newmarket Road and Coldham’s Lane, thereafter following its normal route from Sainsbury’s to Addenbrooke’s.

A shuttle service run by an operator partner on behalf of Stagecoach, with funding from Cambridge Water Company, will run either side of the bridge to connect with the diverted Citi 2 service at Emmanuel Street, in the city centre, and Coldham’s Lane Sainsbury’s.

  • For Romsey Town residents, your route to either Addenbrooke’s or to the city centre, Chesterton and Milton will be to use route 2B to Sainsbury’s and change to the diverted citi 2.
  • For Petersfield (city side) residents, you route to the city centre, will be on route 2A. To Addenbrooke’s change to citi 1 or citi 7 in Emmanuel Street, to Chesterton and Milton change to the diverted citi 2.

Stagecoach have published the temporary timetables as two PDFs. Click the links below to view/download them.

And future roadworks?

To check on current roadworks use this link to Causeway one.network. To see your immediate area, use the location tool (small circle near the top left). To view upcoming works, you will need to create a (free) personal account.

“We intend to protect these trees in any way we can”

– Cllr Martin Smart, Chair of the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee, 6th November 2024

A Third Victory!

Tree image overlain with text as follows: ALL TREES NOW SAFE! 24/0413/TTPO - refused on 6/11/2024

On 6th November, the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee voted to protect St Matthew’s Piece trees. This vote prevented the cutting of a deep trench that would have eliminated a large area of roots vital to these historic trees.

This was a stunning victory for our trees, drawing heavily on the strong objections from Friends of St Matthew’s Piece Supporters.

Fence with celebratory 'saved' notices

Previous decisions prevented first the severe pruning (2022) and then the felling (2023) of three of the four trees affected by the 2024 application. 

For the third time in three years, the Committee rejected the Case Officer’s recommendation to support a planning application that would have harmed these trees.  All three applications had been submitted by the insurance company for a new-build 1997 HMO property on Sturton Street, opposite the 1898 trees.

During the 6th November Planning meeting, three public speakers presented arguments against the application: Ben Cijffers and Katherine Holland, both with expertise on trees; and Valerie Neal a local resident.

They emphasised that the root loss caused by the proposed trench would increase the trees’ vulnerability to drought and wind. The trench would significantly increase the risk to the St Matthew’s Piece trees of disease, and threaten their long-term survival.

The 1997 house was noted to have extra deep concrete foundations – unlike its Victorian neighbours. This would therefore be the last – not the first and only one – to display signs of subsidence, if this had occurred at all during the 5 years since “slight cracks” were reported (in 2019). A Site Visit by the Planning Committee on 28th October 2024 observed that these “slight cracks” had not deteriorated. Nor were there new cracks typical of subsidence.

Planning decisions rest on balanced judgements, public speakers noted. While the trench would certainly damage irreplaceable trees, this would be for the sake of  “the fanciful elimination of unevidenced nuisance”. There was therefore no valid basis for approval of the application.

For the applicant, their Agent (John Heuch) stressed his experience of 1000+ subsidence cases and 300+ tree barriers, but did not address the points raised by the Public speakers.

Three Ward Councillors spoke powerfully on different aspects of the huge public amenity value of all the protected trees on St Matthew’s Piece.

  • Abbey Cllr Elliot Tong  focused on the trees’ importance in tackling the consequences of climate change and biodiversity crises;
  • Petersfield Cllr Richard Robertson examined the tree’s roles in carbon & pollution capture, and in reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect, as well as their very high value, as formally calculated by the Council;
  • Petersfield Cllr Mike Davey, Leader of the Council, stressed the enormous value of these Conservation Area trees – individually and as a group – for the mental and physical health of local residents of all ages. He highlighted the lack of input from Building Control, and the importance of factoring possible financial consequences to the Council of any decision.

All nine Planning Committee members attended the whole of the intensive 2.5 hour session, thoroughly interrogating the issues. The Chair’s ‘summing-up’, before the voting, included:

We’ve got a recommendation which is to dig a trench [and] we’ve also got on the table the consideration of how much these things are going to cost … We are being encouraged as a Committee to think about that cost both in terms of our Council and for all Councils in the UK and the cost of claims like this… The number one thing in my mind is the trees. They are the most important thing here. And it seems to me that, in order to protect the trees completely, then we would want not to dig a trench.

Cllr Martin Smart, Chair of the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee

The final decision, to refuse permission for the trench, included a set of formal reasons that were carefully worded by Planning Committee members, together with the senior Planning Officer. 

The Chair added, at 3h 16 minutes into the online recording of the meeting

The decision by this committee… does not mean that we are accepting liability for the cost of underpinning said property with concrete. I believe that’s to be decided in the future… We as a Council and Committee, the Planning Authority, have protected these trees… And I believe that the Council and residents will continue to do that. So I hope the applicant is listening to that. And we intend to protect these trees in any way we can, going forward.

Tree with celebratory 'saved' notices

The cherished Plane trees of St Matthews Piece were fiercely defended – and remain preserved and protected.

Flowere image overlain with text as follows: So let's Celebrate! Thank you for your support, from the Friends of St Matthew's Piece

Friends of St Matthew’s Piece Supporters said:

 Great team effort. Cambridge at its best!

Wendy Blythe, Chair of The Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations

What fantastic news – an amazing job saving these trees for the community, so thank you all.

Lesley T

Huge congratulations to everyone for this decision, backed by so much hard work and dedication.

Nicky Glegg

This applicant’s Four Planning Applications in three years, concerning 193 Sturton Street:

  • 22/0271/TTPO – heavy prune – REFUSED 6 July 2022
  • 23/0119/TTPO – chop down – REFUSED 1 November 2023
  • 24/0440/TTCA – trench? – WITHDRAWN 21 May 2024
  • 24/0413/TTPO – trench/root barrier – REFUSED 6 November 2024

Earlier Mill Road Bridges blogposts on the three trees:

See also Delight as councillors vote to protect St Matthew’s Piece trees in Cambridge – Paul Brackley, Cambridge Independent, 15th November 2024

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP From Friends of St Matthew’s Piece

If you would like to join Friends of St Matthew’s Piece or assist in any of the issues raised in this blogpost, kindly hosted by Mill Road Bridges, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

The Case for Protecting Fenner’s Cricket and Sports Ground

Another guest blogpost from Protect Fenner’s Action Group.

Hughes Hall has recently bought two plots of ground on Fenner’s from Cambridge University Cricket and Athletics Club Ltd (CUCAC Ltd), and has informed local residents of its plans to build new student accommodation on green Protected Open Space adjacent to the college and near the cricket pitch.

photo as caption
Recent cricket match on Fenner’s,
looking towards Covent Garden and the land Hughes Hall has purchased for development
(photo: Lionel Sheffield)

The Protect Fenner’s Action Group:

  1. Opposes Hughes Hall plans to build on recently purchased green Protected Open Space on Fenner’s Cricket Ground.  Fenner’s is highly rated by the city council for its recreational, environmental and heritage value for the whole city.
  2. Will fight to ensure that Fenner’s Protected Open Space status remains intact so that land never built on before is kept for recreation, and a damaging precedent for the city is averted.
  3. Objects to the sale of such land for building, and will urge the Planning Authority not to support building on it.
  4. Objects to Hughes Hall attempts to enclose this historic cricket and sports ground within the college campus, to use for its private benefit what by tradition has been a community asset with open public access.
  5. Objects to the closure of public access paths and will campaign to reinstate access to this historic recreation space.
  6. Urges Hughes Hall to find alternatives, respecting local, national and university policies which prioritise the preservation of scarce green spaces for climate resilience and community well-being.

Cambridge’s Petersfield Ward lies in the bottom 20% nationally of the ‘Environment Domain’ in the government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation. Indeed, Petersfield Ward has only one public park – St Matthew’s Piece – vs 56 official parks in Cambridge’s other 13 wards.

Map of Protected Open Spaces in Petersfield Ward

Context

The President of Hughes Hall said in a recent communication that “Hughes is the only Cambridge college with a cricket pitch in the middle of it, and that is one of the things that makes our college attractive.” The college website states that the college campus surrounds the cricket ground.

In fact, Fenner’s and Hughes Hall are, and always have been, separate entities, and although the President sees the proximity of Fenner’s as an asset for the college, its enclosure within the expanding college campus would be a significant loss to the wider, non-collegiate community.

At a time when open green spaces and sports grounds are increasingly under pressure in urban communities, especially in Cambridge, we will make the case to reinstate public recreational access.

image as caption
Hughes Hall diagram of land purchased on Fenner’s for building student accommodation: proposal shown to residents, 30 November 2023

This latest purchase is part of Hughes Hall’s plan to increase and extend its estate by buying and building on land around the cricket pitch. We think that Hughes Hall actions and proposals are unneighbourly, environmentally aggressive; they represent an unacceptable loss to the wider community, and the closure of public access took place without sufficient public scrutiny.

The Protect Fenner’s Action Group‘s Supporting Arguments:

  1. Although the President of the college says that their plans will have no impact on cricket at Fenner’s, this claim is strongly contested within the cricketing community and concerns are frequently raised about the diminishing number of games now played there. Steve James, Hughes Hall alumnus and former England Test cricketer, disagrees with Hughes Hall, and told The Times, “I do think it is wrong and a great shame.”
  2. Fenner’s is owned by a private limited company, Cambridge University Cricket and Athletics Company (CUCAC Ltd). This company has sold land around the pitch to Hughes Hall, knowing that the college wants to build on it.
  3. While not planning to build on the cricket pitch itself, the President of Hughes Hall informed neighbours last year of the college proposals to build up to 100 student rooms near the cricket pitch on part of the outfield adjacent to the college – open grassland, that the college was purchasing on Fenner’s. He recently reported that the college has also bought the cricket ground car park.
  4. This is not just “private land” as described by Hughes Hall, but part of an historic site for the city and English cricket, with an exceptional status for protection. Building on this green open space would run contrary to the current Local Planning Authority, Cambridge City Council, designation of the whole of Fenner’s – on and around the pitch – as Protected Open Space.
  5. According to the local authority Local Plan 2018 it is irrelevant to Protected Open Space status whether the land is privately or publicly owned. What matters is the assessment of its recreational and environmental value to the city as a whole. Fenner’s is rated among Cambridge’s top ten Protected Open Spaces.
  6. The cricket ground is within the New Town-Glisson Road Conservation Area, and in 2011 was designated by Cambridge City Council as a significant open space and recreational asset. Fenner’s amounts to 30% of the open green space in the whole of Petersfield ward, which is a densely urban part of the city. See Open Space and Recreation Strategy, Cambridge City Council, October 2011, in particular Section 1.0 Introduction (pp 4-8); maps of Market and Petersfield Wards (pp 51, 57 respectively); Section 4.29 Petersfield Ward Profile pp 55-56.
  7. Fenner’s has been a cricket/sports ground since 1848, when it was rented and prepared for town and gown sports by Francis (Frank) Fenner. The freehold was bought by the University Cricket and Athletics Club from Caius College in 1894, by which point the ground had a defined curtilage. Hughes Hall was developed on a separate, adjacent plot of ground on the north east side of Fenner’s boundary – the first building dating to 1895.
  8. Fenner’s backs onto Covent Garden (which pre-dates the cricket ground, and is part of the Mill Road Conservation Area), and many of the Covent Garden properties face onto the open ground. The surrounding roads in the New Town-Glisson Road Conservation Area were built around it, and the ground is therefore an integral part of the jigsaw of this urban landscape and its heritage.
  9. Fenner’s is made up of the pitch itself and the surrounding outfield, which now includes the Cambridge University Cricket School. The outfield is normally used for cricket-related and other sporting/recreational activities. It has been the home of first class national and international cricket since its foundation, and a quality sports field which many local clubs and schools enjoyed the use of.  Sadly, this has diminished over recent years, with significantly fewer matches and apparent less investment in the pitch and facilities.
  10. Although private (ie owned by CUCAC Ltd), until recently Fenner’s was open to public access with ungated pathways from Mortimer and Gresham Roads. They were used by private individuals enjoying the green open space at different times of day, and sports spectators during matches.
  11. Over the last 24 years, however, Hughes Hall has progressively bought land from CUCAC Ltd., gated off public access to Fenner’s without community consultation, and built substantial blocks around the ground. These include the Fenner’s Building (2000) and Gresham Court (2014).
  12. The most recent purchase involves two further plots of ground on Fenner’s – green open space on the north east side, adjacent to the college, and Fenner’s car park. These purchases significantly increase the encirclement of the cricket pitch, and if college plans are approved it will be the first time building is allowed on Fenner’s land designated as Protected Open Space.
  13. While Hughes Hall students have right of access to Fenner’s, to walk around the pitch from the college to their accommodation in Gresham Court, the ground is no longer open and accessible to the public, and local clubs and schools are rarely seen.
  14. We think that building on open green space and closing off public access is to the detriment of the wider community, and that it has happened without sufficient public scrutiny.
  15. The campaign group strongly objects to the college enclosing what has been enjoyed by the public for nearly 200 years, and formally designated as a recreation asset within a city ward. The building on precious green open space at a time when it is an increasingly scarce and valued resource within the city, would be an irreversible set back. If Protected Open Space status can be overturned at Fenner’s when Hughes Hall’s priority is accommodation rather than an imperative educational need, then a damaging precedent will be set for Cambridge.
  16. The City Council acknowledges that these green spaces are ‘fragile, finite and irreplaceable’ (Open Space and Recreation Strategy, 2011, p 4 paragraph 1.2). Cambridge University also states that it will discourage piecemeal development on green spaces within the city in its Strategic Framework for the Estate (2016), and has worked with the City Council and South Cambridgeshire to develop a new centre called Eddington in North West Cambridge.
  17. Hughes Hall has expanded its student body nearly 4-fold since 2000, from c.270 to 900 + students. This expansion inevitably creates pressure on resources but if the college is serious about reducing carbon emissions, building on Fenner’s should not be an option. There are other choices. Eddington is being developed to cater for university and college future needs, and is very close to many of the teaching and research departments. Alternatively older buildings can be efficiently retrofitted, and there are substantial brownfield sites within the city if the college wants to build new accommodation closer to its core campus.
  18. Although the President of Hughes Hall says that there are no suitable local brownfield sites, it is worth noting that over the last 25 years Anglia Ruskin University (very close to Hughes Hall) has acquired and successfully developed local brownfield sites that could also have been available to Hughes Hall.  Hughes Hall has perhaps not been looking at these sites because it has had its eyes on acquiring land around Fenner’s cricket pitch.
  19. We understand the college wishes to expand, but think that buying to build on more land on Fenner’s is not the right place or approach; that it should pursue alternative options, which would sit more comfortably with its own climate engagement initiatives and the City Council’s policy to be net carbon zero by 2030.
  20. CUCAC Ltd has said that it has sold land around the pitch because Fenner’s is an expensive ground to run. We think that selling the outfield piece by piece is an unsustainable business strategy, and that CUCAC should seek funding elsewhere, perhaps facilitated by a wider use of the sports field.

And don’t forget the Protect Fenner’s Action Group Petition. Please read the details and sign. You can add a comment after you’ve signed and verified your signature by email.

For balance, readers are welcome to view Hughes Hall’s stated position: Hughes Hall land purchase and development (11/10/2024)

Protect Fenner’s Action Group believe that our green and open spaces are of fundamental importance to our city’s character, ecology, and our own wellbeing.  We must support all efforts to preserve them in the face of the constant drive to build and develop.

Please email protectfennersactiongroup@gmail.com to support our local campaign to save Fenner’s and green spaces in Cambridge for future generations. We will let you know when further details, including architects’ plans, are published.

See also these blogposts on behalf of Fenner’s Action Group

Protect Fenner’s Action Group in the local and national press

St Matthew’s Piece Trees – To The Barricades! (Barriers)

July’s Planning Meeting – see Not ANOTHER One! 17 June 2024 – deferred a decision on planning application 24/0413/TTPO’s proposed trench/root barrier along Sturton Street, very near St Matthew’s Piece trees, until after a Site Visit by the Planning Committee.

image as caption
One of the trees, and nearby railings, adorned with protest notices

Developments since then

  1. A new image for planning application 24/0413/TTPO suggests a root barrier might be placed somewhat closer to 193 Sturton Sreet. But this new image also shows this barrier running not for 30 meters (as before) but all the way between Young Street and Petworth Street. If allowed, this much longer barrier would interfere with the vital ‘Root Protection Areas’ of even more trees along Sturton Street.
  2. Despite pouring rain, 50+ local residents attended a Ribbon-tying Event at 11–noon on October 19th, in support of St Matthew’s Piece’s precious trees. See Residents fight fresh threat to ‘precious’ 125-year-old trees in centre of Cambridge [Mike Scialom , Cambridge Independent, 25th October 2024].
  3. The Planning Committee’s planned Site Visit took place in the afternoon of October 28th.
  4. By the morning of October 28th, 24/0413/TTPO was already on the Planning Committee’s Agenda for Wednesday November 6th at 10am. It’s the first substantive item of business.

Amputating a tree’s roots, or intrusion into a tree’s vital Root Protection Area, both risk that tree’s viability. If St Matthew’s Piece’s 126-year-old, irreplaceable, Conservation Area Plane Trees are not fully protected – then no tree in Cambridge can be safe. As many as seven of these magnificent Plane Trees along Sturton Street could be at risk from planning application 24/0413/TTPO.

ARE 7 TREES NOW AT RISK? 24/0413/TTPO - decision due 6/11/2024

How you can help

If possible, please show your support by attending the Planning Committee, at 10 am on Wednesday November 6th. A strong turnout will ensure that every member of the Planning Committee is aware of the strength of feeling to protect our trees, and the applicant will understand that resistance to any proposal which endangers our trees will never weaken.

This meeting will be held in the main Council Chamber, upstairs in the Guildhall (on the Market Square). 

The meeting will also be available via a Livestream, on the Cambridge City Council YouTube channel.

This is ‘crunch time’ for our trees

THE ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND

The area around St Matthew’s Piece lies in the bottom 20% nationally of the ‘Environment Domain’ in the government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation.

This – St Matthew’s Piece Timeline 1890–2020 (Click to open in Google Docs.) – is the history of how the land on which these trees stand was bought in the 1890s, with public money – and given to the local community forever … but then lost by our local councils. The current owners are multinational banking interests and property investors.

Local residents have been fighting to protect and conserve local amenity and environmental assets via Friends of St Matthew’s Piece since 30th April 2020 – and, before that, via Petersfield Area Community Trust, since 1998). Friends of St Matthew’s Piece stand on the shoulders of the giants who, 100 years earlier, in 1898 had established St Matthew’s Piece. This included planting the magnificent London Plane trees that provide all of us with such wonderful benefits today.

Earlier Mill Road Bridges blogposts on the three trees are referenced below:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP From Friends of St Matthew’s Piece

If you would like to join Friends of St Matthew’s Piece or assist in any of the issues raised in this blogpost, kindly hosted by Mill Road Bridges, please email Friends of St Matthew’s Piece.

Mill Road – Always Evolving

From a track leading towards Cherry Hinton, to today’s thriving High Street for the Petersfield, Sturton Town, Romsey Town and Coleridge areas, Mill Road has evolved and is still evolving. See our post from August 2018 – Mill Road – the high street of a small town within Cambridge city?

It would be pointless to attempt to replicate the work of others on the changing use of buildings, the establishment and subsequent disappearance of now long-forgotten shops.

Mill Road History Society, in collaboration with Capturing Cambridge, have compiled an impressive body of information about the origins and history of the Mill Road area. And Ainsworth Street’s HistoryWorks has done stirling work on projects involving local school students.

But what about recent changes?

Mill Road Bridge – a link or a barrier?

With the implementation of a modal filter on Mill Road Bridge, its subsequent removal and its imminent re-implementation, arguments have raged about the effect on businesses and other organisations on and around Mill Road.

Back in October 2013 the then Mill Road co-ordinator, Ceri Littlechild, compiled a list of businesses on and around Mill Road, for the nascent Mill Road Traders’ Association. What’s changed in eleven years?

With a bit of voluntary effort, an October 2024 update is now available with all shops, businesses, consultancies, and charitable premises on and around Mill Road listed and compared with what was there in 2013.

We’ve lost a betting shop at each end of the main shopping area – William Hill at Nº8 and Ladbrokes at Nº 262 – and gained places to eat and drink – Tu Casa tapas restaurant at Nº 8 and Relevant Records café at Nº 260 – with a hairdresser – Salon 262 at Nº 262.

The Sally Ann charity shop has moved from 44A Mill Road to 5 Tenison Road, whilst the Co-op has opened a second Mill Road branch in 44A, which once housed…

A Fine Fare supermarket!

Elsewhere, small business units have been redeveloped (Hope Street Yard) or refurbished (The Courtyard, Sturton Street). Cafés and restaurants have mostly occupied the same premises but with new owners and different menus, though there have been a few additions (as well as the two mentioned above).

All of this information and more is available in a spreadsheet for you to download and peruse. It is available in two formats: Apple Numbers (best for iPhones, iPads and Macs) and xlxs (for PCs and Android devices).

Download Mill Road Traders, Businesses, Charities and Other Organisations – 2013 & 2024 (V1 2024.10.11) here:

Of course there may be errors and/or omissions. Let us know, and we’ll update the spreadsheet!

Please note: the xlxs version is an ‘export’ derived from the Numbers original. It has been checked in OpenOffice (Mac) but lacks some grid lines. If there are issues in viewing it, please get in touch. It may be possible to make improvements.

Petition to Protect Fenner’s Cricket Ground

Another guest blogpost from Protect Fenner’s Action Group.

Hughes Hall have confirmed that it has purchased land on Fenner’s and plans to extend the college campus, including student accommodation, onto the ground adjacent to the cricket pitch.  This is currently designated as Protected Open Space in the Glisson Road-Newtown Conservation Area, used for all sorts of cricket-related activity, and is a precious green lung in an increasingly built up city.

image as caption
Recent cricket match on Fenner’s,
looking towards Covent Garden and the land Hughes Hall has purchased for development
(photo: Lionel Sheffield)

Hughes Hall is proposing to build accommodation blocks for up to 100 students on the iconic Fenner’s Cricket Ground. 

This means scarce and precious green space in the most densely populated part of Cambridge will be lost forever. 

In planning jargon, Fenner’s is Protected Open Space with a quality rating similar to the Botanic Garden and Parker’s Piece. 

If protected recreational grounds like Fenner’s are developed it will set a dangerous precedent for the whole city. If this is allowed, what green space is safe in the future?

Protect Fenner’s Action Group Petition – Read full details.

Please read the details and sign. You can add a comment after you’ve signed and verified your signature by email.

Image as caption
Diagram of land purchased by Hughes Hall on Fenner’s Cricket Ground,
for building student accommodation
(Proposal shown to residents, 30 November 2023)

For further information, see our guest blog posted in June, on this website Fenner’s Protected Open Space – at risk?

Thank you everyone.

Our green and open spaces are of fundamental importance to our city’s character, ecology, and our own wellbeing.  We must support all efforts to preserve them in the face of the constant drive to build and develop. 

Please email protectfennersactiongroup@gmail.com to support our local campaign to save Fenner’s and green spaces in Cambridge for future generations. We will let you know when further details, including architects’ plans, are published.

See also these blogposts on behalf of Fenner’s Action Group

Protect Fenner’s Action Group in the local and national press