Milton Country Park ‘will not cope’ with extra residents from new North East Cambridge district

Fears have been raised that Milton Country Park could be overrun with visitors if a new district is built in North East Cambridge.

Cambridge Sport Lakes Trust, which manages Milton Country Park, said it was already often “at capacity” and called for the draft area action plan for the development to be scrapped if more green space is not made available.

This is in spite of proposals already having been changed to more than double the outdoor space.

A letter from the trust, which has also been signed by Cambridge Past, Present and Future and The Wildlife Trust, has been sent to Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, stating: “As the population of the city has grown the park has seen increased usage and is now frequently at capacity. It will not be possible for the park to cope with an additional 15,000 people on its doorstep and will have a serious and negative impact on the facilities, habitats and quality of experience at Milton Country Park.

“It will not only be Milton Country Park that is affected. There will be increased impact on the other large scale parks in the area, including Anglesey Abbey and Wicken Fen, which are also frequently at capacity.

“We request in the strongest terms that the draft (area action plan) is not adopted in its current form and that it is acknowledged that it is not possible for the green space provision to meet the needs of residents within the development area.”

They acknowledge that following recent changes the proposals now meet planning guidelines for green space. However, they explain that according to Natural England’s Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards, “a development of this population size should be provided for with approximately 100 hectares of accessible natural greenspace. The draft AAP falls far short of this standard and also provides no significant areas for recreation, instead what is being offered is a bridge over the railway with a path to the River Cam towpath and that from there people can walk to other green spaces for recreational activity.”

Cllr Katie Thornburrow, executive councillor for planning policy at Cambridge City Council, denied there was a lack of green space. She said: “As a result of our major consultation on the plans last year, the amount of open space included in the North East Cambridge Area Action Plan has been increased almost three-fold and all homes will be within a five-minute walk of an open space. While the aspirational figures given by Natural England for their calculation on Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards are suggestions, our plans for open and green spaces within North East Cambridge is fully compliant with both national and our own local planning requirements, using the Cambridge Local Plan 2018 adopted open space standards as a guide.”

Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We fully recognise the importance played by having access to informal open space for health and wellbeing. This is why our plans also include good access to the green and open spaces in the wider area for those living and working in the new neighbourhood and also for existing adjacent communities”.

She added there would be sports facilites and “growing areas” around buildings.

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