125-year-old St Matthew’s Piece trees in central Cambridge under threat again
“We are back to square one,” said a despairing Ben Grieg, of Friends of St Matthew’s Piece, following the most recent application to fell three London Plane trees on Sturton Street.
The Petersfield residents could be forgiven for thinking they were stuck in a Groundhog Day situation when they heard that the three 125 year-old trees – each of which has a tree conservation order and is in a conservation area – have been subject to yet another planning permission attempt to fell them.
This is the second roll of the dice in terms of cutting the trees down. Other application proposals were filed to pollard them and to install a root barrier.
This fourth attempt to deal the trees a blow from which they could not recover. The first campaign, in 2021, saw residents set up a 24-hour watch to protect the trees. has nothing to do with safety or their condition – it is solely because an insurance company has declined cover to the owner of a property on the corner of Sturton Street and Petworth Street.
Friends of St Matthew’s Piece point out that:
- The application is from the same insurance company as previous applications in 2022, 2023 and 2024;
- The application has been made by the same landlord for the same multiple-occupation rental property (at 193 Sturton Street);
- The same evidence as before has been refused – even though it has been rejected three times; and
- Residents fear “the same disregard for our precious park, environment and conservation area”.
Friends of St Matthew’s Piece has submitted an objection.
Dr Valerie Neal, from the group, said: “The new content for the planning application, 25/0432/TTPO, offers zero new evidence to support its allegation that damage at the property is ‘more extensive and has worsened’.
“It focuses instead on threatening the city council – three times – with underpinning costs of £279,500… were the application to be refused.
“However, planning judgments and decisions may not lawfully be influenced by ‘cost considerations’. Costs are not material to planning decisions. We have also analysed the application in detail: about two-thirds of this 23 April 2025 document has been taken verbatim (or nearly so) from a variety of documents that were previously submitted.”
Ben Grieg, also a member of the ‘Friends’ group and co-founder of On the Verge Cambridge, which initiates pollinator-friendly planting around the city, added: “I am exasperated and disappointed that this threat has resurfaced and it is a truly devastating threat to remove three mature trees and to suggest that the city council would be liable for costs of over a quarter of a million pounds.
“But I am equally very confident that there is no new evidential material in this latest application.”
A spokesperson for Cambridge City Council said: “The council has received a second application for consent to fell three trees at St Matthew’s Centre in relation to alleged damage to 193 Sturton Street, which the council is obligated to determine.
“There is understandably significant public interest in the application, therefore a report will be put forward to the planning committee in due course to aid a decision.”
St Matthew’s Piece, one of the smallest parks in Cambridge, is the only park in Petersfield.
Petersfield is one of the city’s most densely-populated wards, with 78 people per hectare. For 4,300 residents, this is the park nearest to their home.
