– Cllr Martin Smart, Chair of the Cambridge City Council Planning Committee, 6th November 2024
A Third Victory!
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.
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.
The cherished Plane trees of St Matthews Piece were fiercely defended – and remain preserved and protected.
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:
- 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
See also Delight as councillors vote to protect St Matthew’s Piece trees in Cambridge – Paul Brackley, Cambridge Independent, 15th November 2024
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.