Yesterday East Cambridgeshire District Councillors voted by eight votes to three to approve a boathouse complex at Ely (although subject to addressing ecological conditions via conditions and with the approval delegated to the Head of Planning).
It is exceptionally unusual for a planning decision to go ahead in this way when the statutory advisor on nature conservation, Natural England, maintains its objection to the development. It is to be hoped that NE take this matter further and exacts onerous, perhaps even impossibly onerous, conditions on the development so that it must go back to the committee.
75% of the large number of comments on the application were against – the university couldn’t even whip up enough enthusiasm for the proposal amongst its rowing enthusiasts, past and present, to make the proposed development look as if it were popular.
The Beds, Cambs and Northants Wildlife Trust and the RSPB must consider what further action they will take on this issue as it seems to raise plenty of issues of principle let alone of nature conservation importance. At the very least, writing to the top of NE and directly to Defra and CLG Ministers on this subject would seem appropriate.
The EA are also culpable in this mess. They, remember, owned the land in question (ie as far as I am concerned, you and I owned it) until they sold it to the Cambridge University Boat Club, presumably for a sum not very different from the £67,500 of the valuation by the District Valuer. It is unclear that EA (and E stands for Environment in this case and not Economic) gave any consideration to the ecological value of the land – which they should have done.
At this stage we are left, I think (but others may know better), hoping that Cambridge University can be shamed into withdrawing their plans and selling the land back to the EA. Vice Chancellor – have you no shame?
[registration_form]
Is there grounds for appeal on this ruling, if so maybe this is the way forward? The RSPB etc tie this decision up in appeals, going if possible all the way to Brussels for a ruling, given the enviromental concerns and the SSSI designation, perhaps as the costs stack up Cambs Uni may be forced into a re-think?
There’s another huge issue here. When public land like this is sold it is normal – to the point that it would be culpable incompetence not to – to include a ‘claw back’ should the land receive planning permission. £67,500 hardly looks like the sum anyone could hope to pay for the site of a multi-million pound development, especially on the scale in terms of not just buildings but parking. And what exactly did EA expect a boat club to do with a green field site ? Farm it ?
EA would appear to have some very serious questions to answer.
Hello Mark, I doubt if shame comes into the equation, money, money, money is all universities care about these days.
Just running my calculator over the figures, valued at agricultural value – maybe £15,000/ hectare – £67,000 would buy you 4 hectares – about right for the university’s grandiose plans. Planning permission currently (and when you bear in mind this is a huge part of the cost for first time buyers, quite immoraly) raises values perhaps 50 – 100 times depending on where you are – and Cambridge is a very high demand area – so multiply agricultural value by, for sake of argument, 75 X and you reach a figure of roughly £5m – that is the cost to the taxpayer if this land was sold as agriculture & has now gained planning permission. Of course, there can be exceptions: when Forestry Commission land was first sold there was an arrangement for ‘sponsorship’ for environmental reasons where conservation bodies could buy at District Valuer prices without having to compete – but, as with any such deal, that arrangement was signed off by Ministers – and as far as I’m aware, that is still the case – there are (officially) no sweetheart deals in British politics.
So, given DM & RL comments and factoring in the EA ‘deal’ will the WT, the RSPB et. al. support NE and take up and defend various principles? Bring it on ….
NE standing firm, that’s excellent news! How long before the top management put paid to that, watch your backs lads.
Shamed, ha – not these days and not where money is involved. Principles are nearly always prostituted for pecuniary gain. Re-think, pah – they’ll call in favours from their old boys network.
Keep up the excellent updates Mark.
Seems to me that there is a conspiracy here.First the land sold off cheap to University who obviously had something already in mind so E A and University in bed together then the biggest culprits E C D C give planning permission which they could surely have turned down so they are in bed as well.
Did any back-handers change hands?.
Don’t expect Natural England to make any sort of stand. They will roll over and claim they are assisting with socio-economic re-generation.
Cambridge University accused of polluting river (by the EA)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-22652955