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.

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.

To object to the latest planning application – 25/0432/TTPO – follow the guide, below:
- 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.
- In order to comment you must be registered.
If you’re not already registered, start with this registration link on the planning portal. - Search for 25/0432/TTPO, and choose the tab for Comments.
- Select Make a Comment.
- 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 correctedenymystaikesany mistakes and typos, you can copy’n’paste into the box on the Planning Portal. - Every adult in your household may register and comment.
- You should receive a confirmatory email immediately; if not, something went wrong, find the comment tab and copy’n’paste again.
- 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.
- 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.
- Compared to the 56 official parks in Cambridge’s other 13 wards, Petersfield ward has only St Matthew’s Piece and no other park.
- Petersfield has a poor tree canopy, with very few mature trees.
- Every tree matters in Petersfield, which already suffers from the ‘Urban Heat Island Effect’.
- These three Plane Trees all have Tree Preservation Orders, and are in Petersfield’s Conservation Area.
- 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.
- These three trees are vital to every person who lives, works or studies in our community.
- 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.
- Data provided by the applicant contradicts tree-related clay shrinkage subsidence as the foundations moved the wrong way!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Sheffield council issues apology over tree-felling scandal
- Plymouth council leader quits after approving cutting down of 110 trees
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:
- “We intend to protect these trees in any way we can” 15 November 2024
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – To The Barricades! (Barriers) 1 November 2024
- Not ANOTHER One! 17 June 2024
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – Saved! 3 November 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – The Crucial Meeting 31 October 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – The Final Frontier? 27 October 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – “Why don’t the planners…?” 15 August 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – Safe? 5 August 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – STILL under threat! 28 July 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees (Again) 11 February 2023
- St Matthew’s Piece Trees – Under Threat 28 May 2022
Please forward this blogpost to people who care about trees in or around Cambridge!
