Cambridge 2000: Cam: Grantchester Meadows
Description: Cam: Grantchester Meadows |
There is very little in the way of decent scenery within
walking distance of Cambridge, and Grantchester Meadows
would be considered amongst the best. The river Cam
splits the meadow, with the city of Cambridge on the far
side in the photograph and the village of Grantchester
on the near side. This view represents the kind of rural
idyll which many people still like to believe is typical
of life in England. As can be seen in the photograph,
determined souls manage to punt here along the river all
the way from Cambridge city centre (around three km away).
In early 2003 a national government committee suggested that
some of the new housing which Cambridge is supposed to
build over the next decade or two could be placed on the
land between Trumpington Road and this meadow (currently
that land is used for agriculture and golf). This provoked
the expected reaction from the Cambridge chattering
classes, who consider this piece of land and its
surroundings to be sacrosanct. If enough trees were
planted then in half a century nobody would even notice
the housing (as nobody can now see the houses on Latham
Road from this vantage), but the main problem is that
all new housing estates in England have to be high
density with no gardens (the latest fad by the urban
planners), and this is completely out of keeping with
the current housing in this neighbourhood (populated
largely by rich people on both sides of the meadow).
As a result the new estate (like the other large estates
planned for the city) would almost certainly turn into
an eyesore, wrecking the meadow view forever.
In late 2003 the local council (predictably) decided that
housing would not be permitted in the area bordering the
meadow for the forseeable future.