Are we really taking biodiversity seriously in Cambridge?
By Alex Spencer & Mike Scialom
Concerns have been raised that the biodiversity crisis is not being taken seriously enough in Cambridge after a week in which greenery was hacked down to make way for development, Midsummer Common was mowed during ‘no-mow May’ and protesters had to stay up all night to protect a willow tree.
That follows hard on the heels of councillors refusing to look at alternative routes for a busway that will slice through an orchard. Already Cambridgeshire is one of the least wooded areas in the country, with Office for National Statistics figures showing the proportion of woodland in Cambridge is half that of Haringey in North London.
And despite Cambridge City Council declaring biodiversity and climate change crises, there are concerns that its pockets of nature are slowly being erased by the pressures of development.
Liberal Democrat city councillors were aghast that some of Cambridge’s open spaces and commons had been mown in the middle of May.
Cllr Katie Porrer (Lib Dem, Market) said: “Residents contacted me to tell me how upset they were about finding Midsummer Common’s beautiful long grass, full of flowers and pollinators, chopped down last week.
“I immediately visited and saw for myself that almost all of the central areas were cut back, despite the cows being available to ‘mow’ it themselves. The Midsummer Fair won’t arrive on the common for weeks, so there is no need to do this now.”
Cllr Cheney Payne, (Lib Dem, Castle), who sits on the environment and communities scrutiny committee, added: “What is the point of the council saying that they are committed to Plantlife’s No Mow May, a national campaign calling for all of us to avoid mowing this month to show our support for biodiversity, if they then go and mow the common?”
The council said it had been mown ahead of Strawberry Fair on June 3.
Trees also came under threat this week, with a copper beech at risk on Hills Road following an insurance report that claimed it was causing subsidence at a house on the street.
Meanwhile, in the latest battle to save trees amid the region’s significant development, there were remarkable scenes on Histon Road, which resulted in one tree apparently being “saved” from a cull of the vergeway that was carried out to allow a cycleway to be built near the A14 intersection – enough for a “symbolic victory”, said protesters.The shrubbery and trees were due to be taken down near the Darwin Green development. Outline approval had been given for the Barratt development in 2015 for up to 1,593 homes: planning permission for the final 210 homes to be built on the site was granted last month.
Protesters had guarded one tree, a 50-year-old willow, during the early part of the week as a 10-man construction team carried out the works at night. At 11pm on May 18, the team were cutting the area around the willow, which was being protected by Cambridge residents Tony Booth and Sue Buckingham. The contractors left for the night, and the next day a spokesperson for Barratt Eastern Counties said: “We can confirm that the willow tree in question is not allocated for removal as part of the planned highways works along Histon Road.“One of the branches is in poor condition and will be taken down to help minimise any future problems and promote the long term health of the tree. The works are being done in accordance with our planning agreement with Cambridge City Council and under the supervision of an expert ecologist.”
One of the protesters, James Murray-White, said: “I’m still rather sad that there is so much development taking place in Cambridge at a time when we need to be protecting the environment.”In Riverside, residents are objecting to the proposed felling of a tall three-stumped beech tree in the garden within a conservation area.One said: “This beautiful silver birch gives me joy every day. We should be cherishing our trees, not felling them and digging out the roots as is planned here. Surely there is a way of saving it?”
Although Cambridge has 17 percent tree canopy cover according to Forest Research - above the national average of 16 per cent, little of the coverage is in the form of woodland. Office for National Statistics figures showing the proportion of woodland - areas of at least half a hectare - demonstrate how bereft the county is of forests.Out of 379 districts in the country, Fenland, which is dominated by farmland, has the fourth lowest level of woodland in the county, at 0.53 per cent, while East Cambridgeshire comes 363rd in the table with just 2.8 per cent.Huntingdonshire is 316th out of the 379 districts, with 4.16 per cent. South Cambridgeshire fares only a little better - 321st, with 4.44 per cent - while Cambridge is 319th, with 4.5 per cent.This is less than half the woodland found in Haringey (9.1 per cent). Overall, it means Cambridgeshire is one of the least wooded areas in Europe.
The Woodland Trust has stepped in this week to urge Cambridgeshire County Council and the Greater Cambridge Partnership to reconsider the route of the new Cambourne to Cambridge busway which is due to plough through Coton Orchard, to the west of Cambridge.Jack Taylor, lead campaigner at the Woodland Trust, said this would “have grave consequences for a number of veteran trees”, adding: “Identifying alternatives to the removal of a significant number of trees within Coton Orchard must be explored in full.”
And Cllr Jean Glasburg (Green, Newnham) has expressed her concern that a new cycling greenway planned along Barton Road will see grass verges, shrubs and possibly trees being destroyed.The Barton Greenway is being built by the Greater Cambridge Partnership for people walking, cycling and horse-riding, between Barton and Cambridge, with a spur to Grantchester.It is one of 12 Greenways projects aimed at making journeys more sustainable. But Jean explained that this should not come at the cost of biodiversity in the city.
She said: “We know from the plans that they’re going to cut one tree down. The proposal says other trees will be retained wherever possible, but that has not reassured people given what has happened on other projects such as Milton Road where trees were removed.“People are very concerned the grass verges will be going because the GCP are putting a 2.5m wide red tarmac cycleway all along where the verges are at the moment. Currently there is already a shared footpath and cycleway that pedestrians use as well as cyclists.“We do need to make it safe for people to cycle and address air pollution and climate change. It’s really important, but we’ve also declared a biodiversity emergency. So that can’t be done by ripping all the verges out. It doesn’t make sense. It’s just wrong.”
A Greater Cambridge Partnership spokesperson said: “The greenways – a new 150km network of active travel routes linking surrounding towns and villages to Cambridge to make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle to work, school and to meet friends – was approved by our executive board in 2020 following extensive public consultation.“The design of the Barton Greenway has been developed to minimise impact on trees and verges, with the route reusing the existing infrastructure wherever possible to minimise impact on the environment and wildlife.“We are proposing to remove one tree in Barton Road to deliver enhanced walking and cycling journeys and this will be replaced as part of our commitment to the environment across all of our projects.”
The leader of the Cambridge City Council, Cllr Mike Davey (Lab, Petersfield), insisted: “The city council takes biodiversity very seriously indeed.”And a spokesperson for the council pointed to the council’s biodiversity strategy, which can be seen at cambridge.gov.uk/biodiversity, highlighting efforts to reduce the use of herbicides, enhance nature reserves and make the city’s road verges, parks and open spaces more wildlife friendly.
Midsummer Common was mowed to make it safe to use at Strawberry Fair, the annual festival that attracts tens of thousands of people, the spokesperson said, adding: “Midsummer Common is also an important grassland habitat, and was purposefully left uncut during early spring, to allow the creeping buttercup to flower, for the enjoyment of people and benefit of insects. “The council has also retained areas of nettle and cow parsley on the site, as they are also an important source of nectar and food for insects. Both species are being managed by the council to ensure they don’t spread and dominate the site. The council is managing the wall barley on the site, which has become widespread in recent years, to, once again, prevent it from spreading and dominating.“The council has been undertaking a grassland restoration trial on an area of Midsummer Common, with the aim of increasing grassland species interest and so the area’s overall habitat value. The trial work is being delivered in partnership with the Wildlife Trust, with funding from the Natural England administered Green Recovery Fund; and secured in partnership with the Cambridge Nature Network.”
