A parent has threatened she will “do a Swampy” and chain herself to railings on a children’s playground if plans that she says will reduce space in a recreation ground go ahead.
Mum-of-one Katyuli Lloyd is leading a campaign to prevent a new entrance being made into Histon Road Recreation Ground from a planned housing development which does not have its own large green space.
Katyuli Lloyd, seen at the perimeter, is campaigning against the loss of some of the land Picture: Keith Heppell
According to Ms Lloyd, chair of the Save Histon Road Playground Steering Group, the new entrance would require around 700 square metres of the park’s space, although Cambridge City Council puts the figure at 650 square metres. She is also concerned that this sets a precedent for developers to piggyback on existing park space rather than provide their own.
She has also set up a petition against the park changes which has attracted almost 1,200 signatures.
Ms Lloyd said: “We are unhappy with the loss of 700 sq m of playground space due to reconfiguration of the railings to create an entrance to Histon Road rec from the new housing development.”
“The development does not allocate its own (large) green space, so in order for it to receive planning approval they propose to ‘borrow’ biodiversity net gain and the amenity park land of Histon Road Recreation Ground adjacent to it. This entails creating a new access point leading directly into the playground and reconfiguring the current railings.”
She added: “Basically, if they start this work, we will just start doing a Swampy and chain ourselves to the railings. That is the next stage. I have four people who have told me that they will stand in the way of any bulldozers or chain themselves to fences.”
Swampy was an environmental activist in the 1990s who became famous after taking direct action against expansion of the A30 in Fairmile, Devon, by occupying the site.
Permission was granted in September last year for 70 new homes to be built on the site of the former Murketts car dealership, next to Histon Road rec in Cambridge, despite more than 130 formal objections against it.
The developer is Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP), which is a collaboration between Cambridge City Council and the housebuilder, The Hill Group. The development will include 28 council homes and 42 market-sale properties.
Plans for the housing development have not yet been finalised as the S106 developer money that CIP must provide for the community has not yet been agreed.
Ms Lloyd hopes this delay could still give the campaign time to prevent the changes to the recreation ground.
Her petition says: “A rough triangle of land will be annexed off and will no longer be accessible to the local children. This is in spite of the land being originally bought as a children’s recreation space, being under covenant and one of Cambridgeshire’s protected green spaces.
“The local community has already fought long and hard and our efforts have been rewarded: two of the proposed three access points have been stopped. However, one still remains; and this not only takes land away from our children, but allows CIP to get away without having to contribute their own green space or biodiversity in the area.”
Cllr Gerri Bird, executive councillor for housing, said: “I do understand that change can be challenging, but change can be beneficial for everyone, which I believe it will be in this instance.
“The Rec will be improved overall in terms of biodiversity, and no recreation space or play equipment will be lost – in fact, S106 funding resulting from the new development will ensure improvements, including accessibility into the Rec and play areas, and ongoing maintenance of the facilities on the Rec for years to come, benefitting existing residents and new residents alike.
“If we didn’t include an access point for new residents, we wouldn’t be doing our duty to help them access open space and facilities that will support their wellbeing. And we have been working with existing residents throughout, adapting our plans to find solutions that we think will work for everyone, and we are grateful for their input to get to this point.”
A Cambridge City Council spokesperson said: “None of the open recreation space or play equipment will be lost from the Rec. The reconfiguration of the metal railing will make way for the new access point but will divert around trees to limit impact. Due to these proposals, biodiversity and the quality of play equipment are in fact going to be improved due to financial contributions from the developer. We have been listening to local people and adapting our plans as the project has developed. Following a consultation in November 2023, a meeting was held with residents in April 2024, and following feedback from that meeting the designs were amended from two access points to one from the new homes, and to keep the play area enclosed. In November 2024 we further consulted with residents on the enhancements to the Rec on accessibility, safety and play features.
“Enabling easy access to the Rec for residents in the new homes doesn’t ‘set a dangerous precedent’. There is an urgent need for new homes in Cambridge, including market homes and council homes, as are planned for at this development, and people living in new homes just as people living in existing homes need access to open spaces, play facilities, and biodiversity, to benefit their wellbeing.”
The council spokesperson added that 650 metres, not 700 metres, would be affected and that the development would have “an open space in the centre and landscaped areas”.
They said the entrance won’t lead directly onto the children’s playground area of the rec and add that the land used will still be accessible “it will just be outside of the enclosed play area, which was a key requirement raised at the public consultation. It will still be open recreation space, and will also benefit from a new path and improved lighting.”
The council added that bulldozers will not be used to remove the railings create the new entrance to the rec from the housing development.