Update 30th June 2025
Dear all,
Update 30th June, 2025
Election of the next Cambridge University Chancellor
In person voting in Cambridge will be on 12th July or Wed 16th July
Cambridge University’s Civic Responsibility to residents Thursday 3rd July 6.30- 8.30pm St Paul’s Church, Hills Rd CB2 IJP
Two of the local Camb Univ candidates who are standing for election are the environmentalist and Friends of the Cam, river and chalk stream campaigner Prof Tony Booth and Cambridge astrophysicist Professor Wyn Evans. Professor Evans campaign has focused on accountability and transparency and for Cambridge University to prioritise education rather than development. The candidates have asked us to share information with you about an event they are involved in on Thursday. The event will include
- The impact of the University’s support for ‘turbo charged’ growth and building 150,000 houses, on Cambs residents
- What power and influence does the Univ have? How are residents affected by Univ owned land?
- Local historian Antony Carpen on “Changing power and influence of Camb Univ”
- Prof Wynn Evans “Cambridge Univ’s “showcase” at Eddington?
- The Honey Hill decision – Liz Cotton from Save Honey Hill on the sewage works shift to the green belt and the conservation village Horningsea
- Cam Valley Forum chair Sue Wells – Developing a toxic site in Cherry Hinton chalk pits
- Friends of Paradise Nature Reserve Jean Glasberg, Pam Gatrell, Olwyn Williams – on the Impact of Queens College’s Owlstone Croft development on a loved Cambridge Nature Reserve
- Anna Gazely Coton Orchard on the alternatives to the Univ supported ‘transport corridor’ through Coton Orchard
It should be an interesting event and very topical given Cambridge University’s recent consultation about the university’s civic role and responsibilities and press reports on the university’s support for the govt’s plans for ‘turbo charged’ Cambridge growth ( FT) and thirsty data centres draining the aquifer ( Sunday Times and Varsity ) and Cambridge’s known water and river and sewage concerns ( see links below); plus the Civic Quarter plans for Cambridge, which two national newpapers have reported as ‘creating a ‘playground for tourists’.
There will be tea/coffee and snacks at 6.30 and a chance to hear flautist Michael Copley. The organisers say all are welcome. Many of you have said it’s a shame that local voters don’t have an opportunity to hear from all of the candidates given the university’s role in Cambridge’s growth and their recent consultation on civic responsibilities and engagement with residents. Some journalists have reported that local Camb Univ members will have a big say in the outcome of the chancellor election as most alumni will not have registered in time to vote on line. They have reported that Mohamed el Erian, the President of Queens has already told friends he is planning to relocate back to the States. His nominators include David Cleevely, a founder of the business group Cambridge Ahead, the Bennett Institute’s Dame Diane Coyle (who is on the govt’s New Towns Task Force) and the Provost of King’s College, Cambridge.
King’s are represented on the board of Visit Cambridge the company that controls Cambridge City Centre and the city centre green spaces, including those of the river. Professor Michael Proctor, the former Provost of Kings College has played a key role in making Cambridge a popular destination for overseas tourists. Both The Times and Varsity have reported that growth in overseas tourism, especially from China, features in King’s College’s latest business plan. See
Cambridge college love letter tree cuttings sent to China Sept 2018
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-45455426
Prof Proctor who led the University and Colleges fund raising campaign with Mohamed el Erian, has joined other former senior members of Cambridge University in appointments at national CPRE. Dame Fiona Reynolds the former master of Emmanuel College is CPRE Vice president while Emmanuel College alumna Mary Ann Ochota is CPRE President. Both the Times and Daily Telegraph have reported on a recent statement of Mary Ann Ochota that ‘the green belt is not sacrosanct’. Professor Proctor is chair of CPRE’s new National Network Assembly. The appointment of a senior member of Cambridge University to this new post came as a surprise to the local CPRE Cambs and Peterborough branch who were not consulted and whose chair Dr Alan James was quoted in this Times report.
The former Provost of Kings is still a member of Eton College’s governing body. See: https://www.donturbanisethedowns.com
He has recently initiated a new scheme at CPRE. The scheme aims to fast track people from outside the environmental charity who will have influential roles in deciding CPRE’s views on land use and the location of New Towns. CPRE’s vice president Dame Fiona Reynolds, is also chair of the govt land use adviser the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Her predecessor as chair, Sir Ian Cheshire, is chair of the We Mean Business Coalition a partner of Cambridge University. He is also chair of Cambridge University’s development partner Landsec. See blog https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/labours-green-growth-agenda-has-made-it-the-uks-party-of-business/
Landsec control the master plan for a £3 billion North East Cambridge development (which includes Anglian Water’s sewage treatment site and the development plans for Hartree) with partners Homes England ( whose outgoing chair Peter Freeman is chair of the Cambridge Growth Co), Cambridge City Council and Anglian Water.
The list of potential new town sites identified by WPI as most appropriate includes South Cambs and Milton Keynes. Links below
New Towns for England – where should they be, and how should they be funded and delivered? WPI report and the write up of FT article
https://www.wpi-strategy.com/new-towns-report
Plans for 12 new towns in England to cost up to £48bn, report says
https://www.ft.com/content/a59ae6bb-3b1d-48f7-ad8c-3d73ebe2fe0f
Will thirsty data centres drain the South Cambs chalk aquifer? Link to Times article below
Thirsty data centres are sucking up Britain’s scarce water supplies : The tech industry faces scrutiny as secrecy clouds the true cost of cooling servers and the country braces for shortages and hosepipe bans
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/data-centres-water-drought-pns6nqds2
West Cambridge Data Centre
‘The thirst to be first in AI could drain the aquifer. Cambridge’s Dawn super-computer, the UK’s fastest AI computer, uses 1MW of power and is considered energy efficient. But a single 1 MW facility can consume up to 25.5 million litres of water annually for cooling alone’ quote from the Varsity report below.
Cloudbusting: happy 10th birthday to the building you’ve never heard of
Evie Nicholson visits the West Cambridge Data Centre and explores the environmental impact of big data
https://www.varsity.co.uk/features
‘Cambridge has already become a centre for AI but has ambitions for further growth. As it stands – and until any alternative supplies are secured – water for this will have to come from the aquifer. The Environment Agency warns this is already being over-abstracted.’ Former BBC News Editor Mark Williamson reports that:
‘Innovate Cambridge is creating ‘a strong, fact-based case’ for Cambridge to become one of the UK’s Al Growth Zones.’
‘We are looking for companies on the Park who are willing to support Innovate Cambridge creating a strong, fact-based case for Cambridge to become one of the UK’s AI Growth Zones. Cambridge is already recognised in the report as being a major location for deep academic expertise in AI: Innovate Cambridge seeks to make the case for business, too. Link below.
https://x.com/markrwilliamson/status/1939237053671096496
In January 2025 the panel of experts at Landmark Chambers Cambridge planning seminar on growth in Cambs were asked if they thought the thirst of data centres would be a planning obstacle for water short Cambridge (surprisingly thirsty data centres were not on the agenda). The planning experts said yes.
Those presenting at the meeting included the chair of Landmark Planning, Rupert Warren KC, who had represented Queens College at the Owlstone Croft Public Inquiry. He is representing the Beehive developer Railpen at the public inquiry and will represent Cambridgeshire County Council at the Cambourne to Cambridge busway public inquiry. The Chair of the Cambridge Growth Co Peter Freeman is a witness for Cambs County Council. See
‘Rupert advised government for some years in relation to the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge Arc and continues to be involved in many projects across that area, including North Cambridge, extensions to the north and south of Oxford, infrastructure-related residential and mixed-use schemes from Buckinghamshire to Norfolk.
Rupert is also expert in retail, commercial, Life Sciences/R&D, logistics and data centre development.He is working on appeals and applications in both Oxford and Cambridge involving substantial provision of Life Science floorspace and offices’ link below.
https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/barristers/rupert-warren-kc
The presentation slides from the meeting on Landmark Chambers’ website here. Below are links to the speakers’ profiles and their talk titles:
Jenny Wigley KC, Landmark Chambers (Chair)
Mike Derbyshire, Bidwells – Cambridge Growth; Cambridge 2050
Matthew Reed KC, Landmark Chambers – Water law
Rupert Warren KC, Landmark Chambers – Green belt and grey belt framework
Heather Sargent, Landmark Chambers – Retrofit sustainability
Matthew Henderson, Landmark Chambers – Townscape heritage
Peter Seaborn, Mills & Reeve – Update on S106
Harriet Wakeman, Landmark Chambers – Panel discussion and questions
Stephen Kelly, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning – Panel discussion and questions
Peter Freeman, Homes England – Panel discussion and questions
England’s rivers ‘under threat’ as water extraction surges to record levels investigation finds 76% rise in water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption in two decades
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/20/england-rivers-water-extraction-record-levels
Funding plea to rebuild ‘unsafe’ Cam locks Cam Conservators say they could go bust if they are unable to find the money to repair two unsafe locks. Link below
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql0ywpng9eo
Last year a nature rights conference hosted by Friends of the Cam reported that the Cam was close to dead. Link below ,
Keeping Cambridge Special? See link below
https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/pvl/vision/blythe.pdf
Residents concerns have been raised at numerous ‘Keeping Cambridge Special” events hosted by the business group Cambridge Ahead. The maintenance of basic public services, including Cambridge’s water supply and sewage, and the overcrowding at Addenbrook’s A & E Dept, has never featured in the group’s newsletters or their growth modelling.
See short film ‘A Meeting of Rivers’ Friends of the Cam, “We’re a group that came together because we were concerned about the way in which nature in our area and around the country is being depleted”. Link below
https://vimeo.com/1077559713/a48c54c6d1
A recent Times report has asked how viable are the huge building plans for Cambridge ?
‘From Silicon Fen to Ox-CamArc – how viable are huge building plans for Cambridge?
The report stated ‘in addition to Greater Cambs draft local plan which anticipated building an average of 1,771 homes a year across 19 development areas by 2041, some of them on greenbelt sites , there was the mass development and expansion of a proposed OxCamArc with an announcement due about this and 11 other new towns next month.
The Times report said that in addition to this Michael Gove’s adviser, Nicholas Boys Smith, the founder of Create Streets consultancy (chair of the Building Better Building Beauty Commission along with Dame Fiona Reynolds and Cambridge Growth Co adviser Peter Studdert), suggests developing 183,000 to 214,000 homes by 2050. See link below
The new neighbourhoods that Create Streets propose in addition for Greater Cambridge are: South Cambridge, West Cambridge and Fulbourn. The Create Streets report with Britain Remade “Creating New Towns Fast and Well” recommended a new tram line to link these new neighbourhoods and improvements to cycle routes. Their page on Greater Cambridge page 17, includes Grantchester Meadows.
https://www.britainremade.co.uk/newtowns
https://www.britainremade.co.uk/newtowns#our_top_twelve_suggested_new_towns
https://www.createstreets.com/projects/creating-new-towns-fast-and-well/
Some good news to end with!
Cambridge City Council has refused to grant permission to fell three London plane trees at St Matthew’s Centre.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0epl95xr0po
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/glorious-cambridge-trees-saved-being-31944383
Three previous applications have been made in relation to felling the three trees in recent years. Residents who have commented to us on the number of repeat applications for these trees wasting council time say other householders have not complained about these trees. They highlight that the application for a student centre in the park, supported by officers, was turned down because of these trees. Link below.
“Ugly structure will monster our beautiful park”
https://www.fecra.org.uk/update-4th-may-2020/
https://www.fecra.org.uk/update-10th-january-2021/
Best wishes,
Wendy
Wendy Blythe, Chair, FeCRA
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