The council is proposing to employ a consultant to help them interpret their own lottery bid document!

Cllr Bick,

Today’s Cambridge Evening News reports that you are critical of those attempting to conserve the trees and green space on Jesus Green in Cambridge. You are quoted as saying: “They are trying to wreck the plans before we have even had the chance to find out whether we can get the money ” and that you consider a “a wide consultation exercise” has taken place. You have also stated; “These individuals, having participated in the consultation exercise and presumably not got what they wanted, are setting about denying any benefits to the rest of us.”

I would like to point out to you that key elements of the plans submitted to the lottery were not included in the consultation. For example neither the consultation documents nor documents currently available via the council’s website mention the fifty-nine threatened trees. The proposed new entrance courtyard which will result in the loss of a significant amount of green space was also omitted from the consultation.

As for people not getting what they wanted; I am aware that many groups and individuals submitted comments stating that they did not want to lose grassed areas, these concerns were not even expressed in the summaries of the consultation responses never mind taken account of.

You are reported as holding the belief that the plans were modified as the result of the consultation. Two changes were made which councillors have been told were as a result of consultation comments, one was the removal of the new cycle bridge from the plans which was never a serious prospect as it was outside the scope of the funds being bid for.

I encourage you to look at the profligacy of the proposed plans, and at some of the trees destined to be felled via the below links:

http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/jesus-green-trees.html
http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/jesus-green-lottery-bid-document.html

–

Richard Taylor
Cambridge
http://www.rtaylor.co.uk

Mr Brassett has said:

The only “old and frail” trees on Jesus Green are the horse chestnuts!

He commented on the proposal to remove all the recently-planted trees adjacent to Victoria Avenue he says he thought the point of them was to develop a kind of woodland glade with uncut grass.

He suggests that timing is the key, and if the new planting goes in first, then any felling required occurs a decade or so later once the new trees have become established that would be fine.

Mr Brassett also warns of the dangers of planting monoculture avenues, due to the risks of disease and points to previous large losses of trees on Parkers’ Piece and Jesus Green as historical events we should learn from.

I think Mr Brassett’s observations are all emminently sensible.

Although your guest (Tamsin James) from the Horticultural Trades Association wasn’t aware of it - Cambridge City Council already has a Free Trees for Babies scheme.

While the trees for babies scheme appears a bit nuts to me, I am big tree fan, I’m just off out to take some photos of the 59 trees on Jesus Green which Cllr Julie Smith the executive councillor for Arts and Recreation at Cambridge City Council has condemned as “old and frail, poorly formed or diseased” and wants to fell.

I didn’t catch all your tree piece, but did the amount of trees being lost on and around the Science Park get a mention; some are describing what’s happening in that area as deforestation.

This prompted a number of fathers to call in asking if it was true they could swap their babies for trees!