5 July 2023

Save Wenny Meadow

 

We attended the Fenland District Council planning committee meeting today while they discussed the application to build 93 houses on Wenny Road Meadow. We were left feeling disappointed.

The Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Strategy in 2011 described Chatteris as being deficient in all standards of Accessible Natural Greenspace, things haven’t improved since then and the meadow is the last Natural Greenspace within the town, and the ecologists for the applicant stated that it is "county level importance” for some species of wildlife and "district level importance" for others.

Amendments have been made to the original planning application but as noted by Natural England, “The proposed amendments to the original application are unlikely to have significantly different impacts on the natural environment than the original proposal.”

Many residents and environmental groups have voiced their concerns about the proposed development, highlighting the vital role it plays in sustaining the local ecosystem. The meadow is home to a range of species, including bees, butterflies, and birds, and is an important part of the local ecosystem. The impact of losing Wenny Road Meadow would be felt far beyond the local area. Protecting such green spaces is essential for addressing the wider environmental challenges we face, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

We heard from campaigners from the Friends of Wenny Road Meadow group who gave compelling testimony and presented evidence from experts. From the campaigners we learn that there are inaccuracies in the Health Impact Assessment, which relies upon a “new health centre” (which was cancelled a long time ago) and inaccurate information about the availability of NHS dentists. That the applicant’s ecologist and The Wildlife Trust’s ecologist disagree on on-site biodiversity loss. We also hear that the applicant intends to “offset” the biodiversity losses at a site in March, which is 11km away. That off-setting is not intended to be used for sites like Wenny Meadow that are home to protected and priority species.

The committee seem to agree that off-setting is a bad idea and spoke about road safety issues at the potential development. But the biggest concern seemed to be the 106 developer contributions and the agent for the developer was given an opportunity to increase the amount given after the committee expressed indecision. The agent and a caseworker went into a private room to talk about the matter.

Once an offer of £1,000 per house (not including affordable builds) was made, the decision seemed to be made.

There are no spaces in our local schools, there are no spaces at our doctors, there are no NHS dentists. Our sewers are running at full capacity.  Our green spaces are disappearing.

We deserve better.

The Friends of Wenny Road Meadow group are now seeking legal advice on whether they can apply for a judicial review of the council’s decision to approve the application and will need financial support to make that happen. It’s not too late to save Wenny Meadow and we are going to be whatever we can to help.

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