Petition to Cambridge City Council 2013 - the fences, gating and grazing - again!

The new petition restates our previous position

Our position is that we object to and will oppose :

1. Any grazing that takes place on Coldham's Common Barnwell Road end ( also known as the Local Nature Reserve = LNR )  - see where we mean on the map below
2. Any additional fencing that is placed on the common anywhere 

We ask that the council support us by confirming :

1. That no grazing will take place on the Coldhams Common Barnwell Road end LNR, ta;
2. That the kissing gates will remain removed to allow easy access to the site, thanks;
3. That the extensive lengths of unnecessary fencing will be removed here and elsewhere on the common - - you can see why on the second map below.;
4. That the common is managed properly by a management plan with genuine consultation and reference to legal obligations, if its all the same to you.

Map showing areas we want left ungrazed, ta.

Where fencing has been put up without consent and the public excluded

Why we are doing this new petition

Friends of Coldham's Common has been engaging with the council for over a year now.


We have received no rationale explanation as to

• why the fencing works were so necessary as to be erected without proper public consultation; 
• why there are no alternatives to the LNR being grazed instead of cut for hay (as has historically maintained its biodiversity for the past decade ), and finally
• why they continue to maintain them in the face of strong public opposition and outcry. 

Instead there has been :

• a proposal for the erection of an additional 600m of fencing; 
• two proposals to build on the common; 
• the placement of hard core on the LNR for the Folk Festival vehicles; 
• a major fire of brash and straw requiring attendance by a fire engine; 
• the ignoring of access complaints by a disabled local until a feature in the Cambridge Evening News ; 
• the continued overgrazing on the north side with 22 cattle on 7.5 hectares for the whole summer. 

Our research

We have conducted our own research into the common and its state, which has revealed many interesting facts as to the common's state :

• The bee orchids on site have been destroyed by fencing works. 
• Grazed cowslips and spiny restharrow are in decline and Japanese knotweed and New Zealand pygmyweed have been introduced and/or are spreading around the site.
• Only 29% of the common remains open for informal access without the worry of grazing cows or horses and the confinement of fences, compared to 36% with fenced grazing and 30% for football pitches, BMX tracks and playgrounds etc. 
• Our common is littered with unnecessary "improvements", broken benches, overgrown footpaths, and severed or poor access, and is suffering degradation and subdivision by around 3000m of unnecessary fences, destroying it's character and our enjoyment of it.  
• The public are presently wholly excluded from 2.5 hectares of previous open common or 4% of the common. 
• We estimate that at least 1534m [ around 1 mile ] of footpaths on the common are overgrown, poorly accessible or obstructed.  
• There is no functional signage for 85% of the common. 
• The access bridge from Galfrid Road is inaccessible to people with poor mobility from the Abbey ward, and other access points are poor or in shabby repair.