FACELESS bureaucrats have been accused of trying to “trash” a medieval riverside village mentioned in the 11th Century Domesday Book – where a popular ITV crime series is filmed.
Officials want to splash out £8.5million building a greenway – a safe countryside track for walkers, cyclists and horse riders – smack through the middle of the village.
12
12
12
But angry residents fear the scheme will destroy the “unique character” of picturesque Grantchester – where the series of the same name starring Robson Green and Tom Brittney is set.
Locals in the village – which nestles by the River Cam little more than a mile from the centre of Cambridge – claim it will be an eyesore with road humps, chicanes and “yellow paint all over the place”, next to the neat Victorian cottages.
And, even worse, it will make driving, walking and cycling through the village dangerous.
The only people to benefit, they argue, will be an extra 20 or so cyclists each day who will be able to trim perhaps five minutes off their commute to work in the city.
“It’s madness,” said former newspaper executive Ray Steward, who lives a few yards from the 18th century Blue Ball Inn, the oldest of three hostelries in the village.
“Why is it that every Green initiative seems to start with tons of concrete being poured everywhere?”
The villagers took their fight to the Royal Courts of Justice in London last month in a bid to stop the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) – a Quango made up of Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council – going ahead with the Haslingfield Greenway.
They told the judge that they had already held two polls over the plan. The first time 85 per cent of the village’s 550 residents voted “No”, while in the second 73 per cent were against it.
And, crucially, they claimed officials had promised them that the greenway would be rerouted round Grantchester if local folk didn’t want it.
That promise has been broken, according to former parish councillor Sally Greaves, 84, who has lived in the village for 15 years and gave evidence during the three-day court hearing in London.
12
12
12
Part of the greenway, she said, would be carved out of the already narrow road running past her picturesque Victorian cottage, which overlooks Grantchester Meadows and the River Cam beyond it.
Buses already have to slowly squeeze past parked cars and Sally, a psychoanalyst, argues the proposed greenway will only make things worse.
“They’re planning to spend a huge amount of money on something that is totally unnecessary,” she said.
“But worse than that, it’s dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
“Buses often clip the wing mirrors of parked cars as they go past. It’s not the drivers’ fault, it’s because the road is so narrow.
12
12
12
“Narrowing the road further to accommodate the greenway and putting in chicanes in a bid to slow traffic will just make things a thousand times worse.
“I really can’t understand how anybody can argue it won’t be dangerous.”
Community support worker Lisa Ellis, 54, was busy collecting clothes for a jumble sale in the village hall to raise money for a local hospice when we spoke to her.
Her family has lived in Grantchester for generations and grandmother Lisa couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. But she fears for the character of the village if the greenway is routed right through it.
“Why can’t they route the greenway round Grantchester instead?” she said. “Traffic is already heavy here and the roads are narrow, with people double parking. Most people living here are totally opposed to the idea.”
Historic ties
During the 1960s, rock group Pink Floyd recorded a song called Grantchester Meadows, written by bass player Roger Waters, which conjured up an idyllic scene.
One verse goes: “In the lazy water meadow I lay me down, All around me golden sun flakes settle on the ground, Basking in the sunshine of a bygone afternoon, Bringing sounds of yesterday into this city room.”
Cyclist Kevin Beeby 60, was pedalling leisurely across the famous Meadows on his way to Cambridge when we spotted him. “It’s a lovely ride into the city,” he told us, “and I enjoy it.
Why is it that every Green initiative seems to start with tons of concrete being poured everywhere?
Resident Ray Steward
“I just don’t see the need for this proposed greenway. They’d be better off spending a fraction of that money resurfacing this track and filling some of the potholes.”
Long before Roger Waters came along, the First World War poet Rupert Brooke lived in Grantchester, and the village’s Rupert Brooke pub is named after him.
It was busy with lunchtime diners when we called in and, between pulling pints, the young barman admitted with a smile: “Some of our customers do have very strong opinions on this.”
The exasperated judge who heard the case in the High Court commented on the intense cross-examination that at times resembled a criminal trial more than a judicial review, saying: “This is just verging on insanity.”
Meanwhile, “insanity” or not, the villagers are crowdfunding to keep up the fight against the greenway.
“Theoretically, greenways are a good idea,” admitted Ray Steward. “But this one is in the wrong place. All it will end up doing is trashing a conservation area.
“And spending all those millions making life easier for a handful of extra cyclists a day ? Well, it would be much cheaper to hire a helicopter and fly them in!”
Mrs Justice Lieven said that the parish council was “supportive of the greenways proposal in principle but considers the ‘through Grantchester’ route to be unacceptable”.
But she ruled there was “no binding promise of the requisite level of clarity and unequivocality” and it would have been “extraordinary” if there had been.
The project is now in its final design phases.
The GCP website reads: “Once complete, the greenway will be a place full of nature’s vibrancy for all to enjoy, whether you’re cycling to work, going for a run or simply enjoying a leisurely walk along a greener, more sustainable route. The full planning application will be submitted in the spring.”
12
12
12
