Cam Valley Forum |
The Cam Valley Forum was set up in response to concerns about the future of the River Cam and its tributaries in the face of pressure on the Cambridge area from planned future development.
See Coming Events for Free Summer courses for children on streams and plants that live in them. |
The river brings an almost continuous green corridor through the heart of Cambridge and provides links out into the countryside. © Christine Jennings | |||||||||||||
 © Christine Jennings For centuries the river's low lying wet meadows have provided valuable flood protection for the city. |
 © John Green Although parts of the riverside are carefully protected and managed, in recent years much of its wildlife value has been lost with intensive farming and the fragmentation of semi-natural habitats. | |||||||||||||
The Cambridge area is now under pressure to accommodate considerable growth of housing and employment. It is vital that this growth respects the character of the riverscape setting. The best features must be protected, and conditions improved for wildlife to flourish and for people to enjoy the river and its environs. © Christine Jennings | ||||||||||||||
Pollution concern at Hauxton
The riverside site, previously occupied by Bayer Crop Sciences, is heavily polluted with a range of
dangerous chemicals left behind by successive agro-chemical firms, including Schradan, a toxic
organo-phosphorus insecticide closely related to nerve gas used in World War 2. In 2006 the new
owners, Harrow Estates, submitted applications to demolish the buildings, clean-up the pollution and
develop the site with housing and light industry. Whereas we welcomed the prospect of this site
being cleaned up, we expressed concern about the vagueness of the remediation proposals. South
Cambridgeshire District Council gave permission for the remediation but this was quashed following a
legal challenge as no Environmental Statement was submitted. Revised applications were then
submitted, with some improvements, but forum continued to express doubts about the likely
effectiveness of the remediation strategy and urged that independent consultants be brought in to
monitor its implementation. The council granted planning permission for both the remediation
and development, despite concerns expressed by some councillors about the possible health effects
for the people who will live there. Remediation is now in full swing and, in response to complaints about the smells and dust from residents of Hauxton, the district council is making available information about its progress and the results of monitoring (see webpage).
Pollution hot-line
If you see signs of pollutants being discharged into a river or stream - or any other action which threatens the river environment - call the Environment Agency's free 24 hour hotline: 0800 80 7060
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