Our Chair’s response to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan submitted 27 September 2019
1 The CPCA Local Transport Plan includes a proposal for a Third River Crossing between Huntingdon and St Ives. This idea was previously proposed partly in order to accommodate the planned residential development of the Wyton Airfield site.
2 Following very strong objections from many sources the proposal was dropped. The Great Ouse Valley Trust is dismayed to see that it is now included in the Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan and is equally dismayed that a study is about to be commissioned on the feasibility of the crossing.
3 The landscape of the Great Ouse Valley between Huntingdon and St Ives is of national importance and is now being considered as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is loved by artists and is rich in biodiversity. It defines the area and gives the Great Ouse Valley towns and villages their identity.
4 Cambridgeshire has the smallest area of non arable landscape in any rural county in the United Kingdom. The county and the East of England cannot boast grand landscapes. The area in the Great Ouse Valley is small and fragile but also unique and precious. It compares very favourably with Dedham Vale and other special protected areas.
5 The impact assessment refers to a new network giving better access for tourism whilst ignoring the fact that a road would destroy the very thing that brings tourists to this area. The quality of the environment is of course a very significant factor in attracting businesses and a skilled workforce to the area. There is very strong business case for protecting this environment.
6 In the month that has seen the publication of the Glover Report on our fragile national landscapes and international demonstrations about climate change the need to protect these special areas is brought into focus.
7 The proposed plan ignores Government manifesto commitments to leave the natural environment in a better state than it was in when the Government took office. It ignores the Government Wildlife recovery plan and it ignores the Government 25 year environment plan.
8 As the towns and villages on either side of the valley expand and become more urbanised the need to protect this small, unique landscape for the mental and physical health of our community is even more pressing.
9 The value of the landscape to the future success of Cambridgeshire is too significant to be sacrificed for short term convenience. As the urbanisation of the towns on either side of the valley continues the protection of this special landscape is absolutely vital.
10 The starting point for the Local Transport Plan must be the nurture of the resources that already exist in Cambridgeshire and which make it an area that people want to live in and businesses invest in.
11 The Great Ouse Valley Trust believes that a new road across the unique and tranquil landscape of the area between Huntingdon and St Ives is not a legitimate option for the transport study.
Graham Campbell
Chairman
Great Ouse Valley Trust
The following email was received by GOVT on 3 December from Rowland Potter, Head of Transport, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority.
Tel: 01480 277210 Mobile: 07923 250202
Dear All,
Further to our meetings over the last few months, at which time we were undertaking a procurement exercise for a supplier to deliver the Huntingdon Third River Crossing study, as per the brief issued to yourselves for information.
We have now decided to place the supplier award on official hold for reconsideration of an alternative way of delivering the Huntingdon Third River Crossing study requirement.
Kind regards
Rowland
[GOVT would like to thank all those who took advantage of the consultation process for the CPCA Local Transport Plan to express their views on the proposals for a Third River Crossing. We await further announcements from Roland Potter.]
Now read Further Comment from our Chair .....
The Great Ouse Valley Trust Partners’ Update meeting and workshop at Hemingford Abbots Village Hall on 30th November was attended by 35 representatives from our partner members and potential partner members. Parishes, towns and national organisations all participated to help the Trust focus on the issues that really matter to them.
The morning session was chaired by GOVT Chairman Graham Campbell. Three speakers helped to stimulate ideas and concerns for discussion. Mark Nokkert of Cambridgeshire ACRE gave a presentation (CLICK HERE) on the current status of its application to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for recognition of the Fens Biosphere project. Martin Baker spoke about the work of the Wildlife Trust in the valley and spoke of the challenges now faced following years of biodiversity loss. Finally, Michael Krause from Plantlife encouraged us to value the rich plant life that does still exist in the valley and explained how meadows rich in biodiversity can be regenerated in a surprisingly short time span. Graham Campbell mentioned that landscape has a great cultural and aesthetic value that is not always in tune with the wildlife but that this has a great significance in the Trust’s aim to gain AONB status.
Attendees were asked to indicate what they considered to be the top three key benefits and threats for the Trust. This was followed by two sessions of round table discussion. Each of the five tables had a good mixture from our partner members. The first session centred on the main aims of the Trust and the second session on how the individual members could deliver some of these ambitions.
Special thanks to Helen Boothman, Bridget Flanagan and Phil Rothwell for structuring the event.
The group discussions produced a quantity of ideas and concerns which are being carefully analyzed in order to establish a clear direction for the Trust in the coming year and beyond. We hope to publish this ‘manifesto’ early in the New Year.
With the data coming out of this session the Trust is confident that it can develop as a coalition of all those who are committed to promote, protect and enhance this wonderful landscape.
See links:
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk http://www.cambsacre.org.uk/ https://www.wildlifebcn.org/
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Scenes from the workshop: Delegates discussing the options left and the Trust banner with post-it note preferences right. Photographs by Chris Bowden.
The St Ives Town Team is proud to announce that six years after the Town Council agreed to name the conservation area The Old Riverport, this new exhibition The Port on the River, has now opened in the Norris Museum. It traces the significance of the Great Ouse to the origin and history of the town and explains how it became one of the most active river ports on the river. It also shows how the river remains the town’s greatest asset. The exhibition runs until 14 March.
Please check www.norrismuseum.org.uk for opening times.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE? WHAT ARE WE DOING?
An update from our Chair, February 2020
There is a lot going in the Great Ouse Valley as we seek to PROMOTE, PROTECT and ENHANCE this wonderful landscape.
- We are completing a survey of the entire route of the Ouse Valley Way long-distance footpath through Huntingdonshire and working with the County Council to improve maintenance and implement new signage.
Copyright Stephen and Lucy Dawson https://www.luphen.org.uk/walks/ouse_valley_way/houghton_earith.htm
- We are working with the Godmanchester Freemen on a project to plant new willows on Westside Common.
- We are working with the Environment Agency and Huntingdonshire District Council on a new ‘fish pass’ at Godmanchester to facilitate movement of fish upstream.
- We have had a successful book launch of our first publication A Commanding View: The Houses and Gardens of Houghton Hill by our trustee, Bridget Flanagan.
- We have asked searching questions at the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority Board meetings to argue against the destruction of our treasured landscape by the proposed third river crossing.
- In our continuing campaign to achieve Area of Outstanding Beauty designation we have given evidence and ensured recognition within the government’s Glover report on our national parks and protected landscapes.
- We will be producing informative maps on the Ouse Valley Way footpath plus a visitors’ guide to other features of the Valley.
- Our Partner Members represent most of the Ouse Valley towns and parishes as well as national organisations such as the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Horse Society. Over 40 representatives from the Partner Membership met before Christmas to discuss and agree our way forward and to produce a Business Plan for the coming years
. - The Great Ouse Valley is one of the most precious landscapes in the East of England and in a county with less ‘natural’ landscape than any other rural county. Please help us to gain the national status it deserves
. - Please stay in touch and keep up to date here with our news and activities. You can also follow us on Facebook. Your views, ideas and photographs are always welcome.
- If your organisation is not already a Partner Member please get in touch!
Graham Campbell, February 2020
We are delighted to announce that during March, GOVT will be one of three local good causes selected to benefit from the Waitrose green token scheme. Every month the supermarket donates £1,000 to local organisations which is divided between the groups in the proportions indicated by customer choice – reflected by the numbers of green tokens in each container at the checkout. Each customer is given a token every time they shop.
So, if you are a regular customer at this branch, please watch out for our container. And if you are not, perhaps you could consider varying your shopping habit this month to benefit our cause?
Thank you Waitrose.
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Recently your Trustees surveyed the long-distance footpath section from Holywell to St Ives. As you know this section has been of concern to us for some time (scroll up to ‘Background’ above). The Meadow Lane section has now recently been blighted by fly tipping in a big way.
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This is both an eyesore and illegal. Your Trustees have discovered that the District Council is as concerned as we are about this antisocial behaviour and encourages the public to let them know of every new incident. How do we do this? The procedure is easy. Simply visit the HDC website www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk and register to use the new customer portal. Then access ‘Bins and Waste’ and from there ‘Reporting fly tipping’. There you can use a map to pin point the location and provide a description.
We received a quick response, a promise to investigate and a subsequent message to say that two sources of the tipping had been identified and the businesses concerned had been invited in for ‘interview’. Removal of the waste depends on identifying the landowner and in this case a promise of removal had been received.
We encourage you to use this reporting technique wherever you spot fly tipping in the Great Ouse Valley. If you can photograph a suspicious vehicle in the act or record a registration number the District Council is even more pleased!
MESSAGE TO ALL PARTNER MEMBERS
The news and updates in this letter have been completely overtaken by the national emergency of the coronavirus pandemic. I would like therefore, on behalf of the Trustees of GOVT, wish you all well and hope that you, your families and communities stay safe in these very difficult times. I think the open spaces of the Great Ouse Valley will be used by many people in the coming months. And I am sure they will find the beautiful meadows and river to be an invaluable amenity – and needed now more than ever.
But first - back to 2019 - and thank you for attending the Great Ouse Valley Trust Event on 30th November in Hemingford Abbots. It was a very stimulating and enjoyable day – and exceeded our expectations (see Partner Meeting Success).
Over 40 delegates from our Partner Members attended. The morning began with inspirational talks by Martin Baker of the Wild Life Trust, Mark Nokkert of the Fenland Biosphere Project and Michael Krause from Plantlife. These were followed by lively round-table discussions with members and trustees; there was quite a buzz in the room as each table summarized their ideas.
We have collated all the input from the discussion groups and this will form the basis of our five year strategy that we are to publish in the coming months.
The key issues that emerged from the day are as follows:
- The coalition of stakeholders in the Great Ouse Valley should be a mouthpiece for publicising information on the Great Ouse Valley, and promoting the activities, events and projects created by our partner member organisations through national and social media and publications. Similarly GOVT will share such information amongst its members.
- GOVT should continue to seek AONB status through lobbying Natural England and supporting our partner organisations to do the same. GOVT should also work to achieve funding for the creation of a Great Ouse Valley Landscape Partnership Project.
- GOVT should campaign to protect the Great Ouse Valley from any new developments that diminish the quality of the landscape, its biodiversity and public amenity. This will be achieved in partnership with the local planning authorities.
- GOVT should develop and encourage projects to reinstate high quality natural landscape that has been ‘lost’ from previous developments and/or insensitive farming practices. These projects would include new woodland planting, hedge and meadow reinstatement, and the continuation of work started in 1996 to restore the ancient Ouse willows.
A first attempt to establish new willows on Westside Common, Godmanchester, along Cooks Stream using pollards from the willows on Godmanchester Recreation Ground.
- GOVT will encourage public use of the Great Ouse Valley landscape for the mental and physical well-being of both local people and for tourism. GOVT will encourage, through education, publicity, promotion and participation, all members of the community - the young, the old, the disabled and people from diverse backgrounds - to appreciate the beauty of our landscape.
- GOVT will, wherever possible, organise and promote public events that celebrate the landscape. These could include a summer festival in 2021 that would incorporate walking the Ouse Valley Way, arts connected with the valley and a general celebration of Ouse Valley culture.
Summer festival Dragonboat racing and autumn illuminated boat parade on the Great Ouse
- GOVT will support local business enterprises that help to identify the character of the Ouse Valley, for example, boatyards, galleries, museums, tourist locations, restaurants historic houses etc.
- GOVT will endeavour to establish an office with at least one paid staff member who will forge links, establish and administer the various projects and seek funding.
- GOVT will promote and advertise events and projects organised by our partner members such as the Ouse Valley Way Marathon, regattas etc. and will also offer direct support to our partner members’ projects.
- GOVT will continue to promote the Ouse Valley Way Long Distance Footpath and ensure that it is properly maintained and way-marked. GOVT will provide information boards along the route, and promote new maps and leaflets. This work will continue in association with the County Council assisted by the grant from the A14 Legacy Fund.
The route of this stretch of the footpath, from Holywell to St Ives, is under review (see Update to Great Ouse Valley Way GOVT – CCC discussions)
NOW FOR 2020
GOVT was formed in September 2018 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and is now required to hold an AGM. This was planned for 22 April 2020 when we were to meet in Houghton Mill. After the business of the AGM we were to have a presentation by Chris Howes, Chairman of the Eastern Region of the Inland Waterways Association. The current pandemic means that we cannot hold the AGM as planned.
However, our charitable status requires us to hold an AGM within 18 months of incorporation. It is therefore our intention to carry out the business of the AGM electronically and details will be forthcoming shortly.
Graham Campbell, March 2020
The Cambridge Independent features Mayor's Ouse Valley road plan issue
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE SHOWN BELOW AS A PDF
See also Planning Matters/Proposal for River Crossing between Huntingdon and Houghton
From The Hunts Post website 16 April 2020
Concerns about “fragile landscape” if third river crossing goes ahead
Julian Makey
Campaigners say beautiful countryside will be destroyed if the third river crossing goes ahead
Fragile countryside near Huntingdon would be “destroyed” if an elevated third river crossing was built, a conservation group has claimed.
The Great Ouse Valley Trust said it was “extremely concerned” that mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer still had the proposed link on his agenda despite strong opposition.
It said reports, including the third crossing, between Godmanchester and Wyton, were still tabled and approved by a meeting of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) held electronically because of the coronavirus.
The trust said reports on the growth of Huntingdon and St Ives contained measures for improving the towns, but also a third river crossing through a “most beautiful” section of the Ouse Valley.
Graham Campbell, trust chairman, said: “The landscape of the Great Ouse valley between Huntingdon and St Ives is of great national significance and arguably Huntingdonshire’s greatest asset. As we deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the special value of this tranquil landscape for our physical and mental wellbeing comes into focus. Hopefully it will soon be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It cannot be sacrificed on a whim.
“Cambridgeshire is a county with less natural environment than any other rural county in the UK yet the countryside between Godmanchester and St Ives has rare meadows, and lakes rich in biodiversity.”
Mr Campbell said: “This fragile landscape would be destroyed by an elevated dual carriageway on enormous concrete supports raising it above the floodplain, bringing noise, pollution and ugliness to our most valuable asset. Yet this is what is proposed by James Palmer, the Mayor of the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority.”
Mr Campbell said the thinking behind a third river crossing was about the proposed redevelopment of RAF Wyton for housing and the need for a link to the A14 but there was now a growing awareness of the environment and the climate change emergency.
He said: “Even if a case for a third river crossing could be made, the value of this irreplaceable landscape would still override the argument. There is no economic argument that the road is needed in the national interest.”
Mr Campbell said assurances had been made in January that there had been no decision on the river crossing and that town and parish councils, the Wildlife Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Great Ouse Valley Trust are all campaigning against the new road.
Despite several attempts mayor Palmer’s office has not responded to the newspaper.
See also Planning Matters/Proposal for River Crossing between Huntingdon and Houghton
www.greatousevalleytrust.org.uk
Media Release 23 APRIL 2020
WHAT PRICE THE NIGHTINGALE’S SONG?
The Great Ouse Valley Trust fears for our beautiful landscape
PHOTOGRAPH © NIGEL SPROWELL
To whom it may concern
This week a Nightingale sang. Not in Berkeley Square (although it may do again soon!) but in Godmanchester Nature Reserve. It was recorded by Great Ouse Valley Trust trustee Phil Rothwell who spoke of his emotional reaction as the amazing liquid song with its soaring pin and contrasting low jug notes poured from deep within a thicket, just a few minutes from his front door. For a rarely seen, shy bird this sound is truly amazing and has to be heard to be believed. It has lifted hearts for generations and particularly during times of crisis. For Phil it was a moment of pure joy and for a minute or two he forgot his Covid-19 worries. If you have never heard this iconic bird perform then you can listen to Phil’s recording on the GOVT Facebook Page or we can send you the file by WeTransfer.
For more and more people whose normal life has been turned upside down and for whom enormous worries loom large, the healing power of nature has become very significant. Our enforced restrictions, limited travel and more available time has resulted in increasing numbers of us really appreciating the natural world in our locality for the first time. And especially at this beautiful time of year in glorious weather. With less traffic and other general noise diminished some people are hearing birdsong for the first time.
But this may all change. If the Cambridge and Peterborough Mayor has his way, his Local Transport Plan, which includes a major new road and enormous elevated road bridge cutting through the site where the Nightingale sang, would destroy the peace and value of this fragile section of the Great Ouse Valley forever. And future generations would then only hear the song of a nightingale electronically. We cannot allow this to happen.
Editor/Producers
Please contact Graham Campbell, Chair of the Great Ouse Valley Trust, for interview at or on 01480 394933 or 07952 754763 and/or make an appointment to come and listen live to the Nightingale with Phil Rothwell!
References
Godmanchester Nature Reserve is managed by The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Contact or 01954 713500
The Great Ouse Valley Trust (GOVT) is a charity (registration number 1179977) formed in October 2018 with the charitable objective:
“To promote for public benefit the conservation, restoration, and enjoyment of the landscape, wildlife and heritage of the Great Ouse Valley and environs in the county of Cambridgeshire.”
Members include local councils, the local Wildlife Trust, individuals and environmental groups. Visit
The Trust’s Vision recognises the Great Ouse Valley is a fantastic place to live and visit, with off the beaten track areas to explore by foot, cycle or horse. The area is nationally recognised and valued for its wildlife, leisure, natural and heritage attractions which contribute to the county’s natural green spaces. This is achieved by GOVT being the catalyst which brings national organisations, local communities and individual people together for the common good.
GOVT’s mission covers:
- Enhancement of landscape – increased biodiversity
- Promotion - sense of place, tourism and local economy, health benefits
- Protection – active conservation and campaigning
- Access for all – residents and visitors, disabled
- Partnerships and alliances: groups working together
- Increased engagement – education, volunteering
www.greatousevalleytrust.org.uk
How you can voice your opinion on the proposed Third River Crossing
We have had success recently in gaining local media coverage of the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan, and in particular the recent adoption of two local Prospectus for Growth reports (Huntingdon and St Ives). These contain references to a proposed river crossing between Huntingdon and St Ives and our concern is that the only suitable ‘non-built-up’ site for such a construction is between Houghton and Godmanchester. This has naturally attracted attention and we have received a number of requests from local residents who ask,’ What can we do’?
If you are as concerned as we are about this proposal and the way it is being processed through the Local Authority’s approval systems, then here are suggestions from the Trust to answer this question. The truth of the matter is that the current crisis and the effect it is having on Local Authority decision-making is making it difficult for the public to be as informed as usual. When the issues are as important as this then we believe it is our duty to do our utmost to bring them to your attention and invite you to contribute your voice to the forum in the following ways. Thank you for your support.
- Please write to your MP, Jonathan Djanogly , plus your District and/or County Councillor. You can find out who these are for your location from the District Council website Huntingdonshire District Council Contact Us and the County Council website Cambridgeshire County Council Contact Us
You can use the following information and the following questions plus anything else you see on the Great Ouse Valley Trust website to focus your communication:
The Mayor of Cambridge and Peterborough has proposed a new road, crossing the Great Ouse east of Huntington. The proposal has now also found its way into growth plans for Huntington and St Ives. The Mayor is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on feasibility studies for a road that in a very short length may cross or come very close to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, a Conservation Area, a proposed Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, several wildlife-rich fisheries, areas of open water, woodland and reedbed, a local Nature Reserve, a proposed Country Park and Common Lands. It potentially crosses part of the largest remaining expanses of rare flood-plain meadows in England and an ancient landscape beloved of artists and dotted with willows, wetlands and woodlands. Within close sight of the National Trust property of Houghton Mill, the proposed dual carriageway road would need to be elevated for much of its length to take it above flood level, and will constitute a massive intrusion in this picturesque part of the Ouse Valley, beloved of walkers and river users alike. The end product will be similar to the old A14 where it crosses the Ouse next to the Old Bridge in Huntington. The legality of the Mayor’s transport strategy has been questioned. The town growth plans referred to have had minimal public consultation or scrutiny. It is also unclear to what extent the public will be consulted on, or given access to, the proposed feasibility study on the crossing and associated roadworks. The cost of the feasibility study, the road and the bridge are of course colossal. The damage to our irreplaceable landscape and wildlife is incalculable.
- Please question this waste of public funds on a project of unproven and questionable value where little attention has been given either to the case or the alternative options
- Please question why the public have had so little opportunity so far to comment or object to these proposals
- Please question if such proposals for transport pass the Paris Climate Change Agreement Please question what, if any, environmental impact assessment is or will be taking place and if so demand that it be made public
- Please question how such a development supports the Government’s stated strategy for nature conservation and the environment proposed in the 25-year Environment Plan, or the proposals contained in the Government’s Environment Bill pledging to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050 (see this link for further information on this issue: Forbes Website)
- Please question where are the Cambridgeshire County Council or the Huntingdonshire District Council policies that should be protecting our precious and diminishing landscape assets
If you would like us to have a copy of your correspondence and the responses you receive then we shall be pleased to keep this in order to build a picture of public opinion to inform our planning. We of course undertake to not disclose this to any third party without your permission. Thank you for your interest in the Great Ouse Valley Trust and its efforts to preserve and protect our precious landscape. If you are interested in joining our proposed new Supporters’ Group then please use this website to let us know.
Anglian Water announce work for eels now finished and the OVW footpath reopened May 2020
Anglian Water report that work at their Offord Intake Water Treatment Site is now complete, site cabins and equipment have been removed and the public footpath has reopened. They wish to thank the public for their co-operation throughout the scheme.
Anglian Water has now completed one of their £3.2 m investment schemes to protect endangered species. The European Eel is now classed as critically endangered after a 95% declined in population over the last 25 years.
Eels spend their early years in rivers across Europe before migrating to the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic to spawn. The spawn is then thought to use the Gulf Stream to return to our rivers, by which time they have developed into very small glass eels.
One of the reasons why the eel population is thought to have declined so rapidly in recent years is because structures in our rivers, like weirs, locks and other machinery prevents the species from completing its migration cycle in order to reproduce.
The new screens at Offord D’Arcy will stop eels from entering the abstraction intake, but the size of the mesh on the screens will also mean fish and other organisms will be protected from being drawn into the machinery.
For more information or you have any queries, please contact the Anglian Water 24-hour customer helpline on 03457 145 145 and quote reference number 55920018. Information can also be found on our ‘In Your Area’ website at www.anglianwater.co.uk/yourarea
To find out what else Anglian Water is doing for the environment follow this link: www.anglianwater.co.uk/environment
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