There is a round up report back session on Tuesday at 1845 Holiday Inn Express, Coldhams Business Park, 15-17 Norman Way, Cambridge CB1 3LH . 

The Lakes were open again on Sunday  25th November 1100-1430 over 250 people visited

I attended both the Community Planning Sessions and listened to the report backs.  

Get involved with the consultation on Romsey Lakes and Building more homes

Report Back Presentation
When: Tuesday 27 November 2018, 6.45pm – 8.30pm  at Holiday Inn Express, Coldhams Business Park, 15-17 Norman Way, Cambridge CB1 3LH

More about this

The Land South of Coldhams Lane, including the lakes south of the railway and land parcels to the north of the railway, is identified as an “Area of Major Change” in the new Local Plan. As well as built development, ideas include the ecological enhancement of parts of the “Area of Major Change”, outdoor recreational uses and a new urban country park. Anderson Group, who own part of the “Area of Major Change”, are holding a community planning process through the autumn and has appointed architects and masterplanners JTP and other consultants to work with the local community to create a new Vision for the “Area”.

The Community Planning Weekend will be an opportunity to share local knowledge and contribute to shaping the plans through workshops, site tours and hands-on planning groups. There will also be an exhibition explaining the background to the proposals. Participation is on a drop-in basis – there is no need to pre-register – and you can stay for a short while, a few hours or for the whole event as you choose. Team members will be on hand to answer questions.

As part of the Community Planning Weekend, the lakes will be open to the public from 10.30am until 3.30pm on Sunday 25 November. Please sign in on arrival and visit the exhibition where team members from JTP will be on hand to talk about your ideas for the future of the lakes and the “Area of Major Change”. There is no car parking available at the lakes.

Following the public workshop days, the JTP-led team will analyse and summarise the outcomes and draw up a vision for the Land South of Coldhams Lane, including an illustrative masterplan and other matters required by Local Plan Policy 16. This will be presented back to the local community on Tuesday 27 November at the Holiday Inn Express. Doors open at 6.45pm and the presentation commences at 7.00pm.
Following the Community Planning Weekend, the Anderson Group team will move forward to prepare a planning application for the land parcels, which it is anticipated will be submitted to Cambridge City Council in Summer 2019.

For more information please visit www.landsouthofcoldhamslane.co.uk

There will be a community planning weekend, due to commence Friday 23rd November.  This will seek to engage local stakeholders and the community in shaping a vision for the Coldhams Lane Area of Major Change.
Community planning puts people at the heart of the creative process, unearthing the needs and aspirations of the community and building community capacity and consensus. As part of this, we have agreed with Cllr Baigent to investigate the possibility of opening the lakes to public access on Sunday 25th November.

Previously
Well done to all those people who in the past have made it possible to open the Lakes on a number of Sundays through this year.
Thank you also to all the people who have visited and made it such a wonderful event.
Thanks especially to Guy and the volunteers who made it possible.
Thanks to everyone for leaving your cars at home.

From Capturing Cambridge website. 

http://www.capturingcambridge.org/mill-road-area/coldhams-lane/norman-cement-works/

http://www.capturingcambridge.org/mill-road-area/coldhams-lane/saxon-cement-works/

Saxon & Norman Works:

http://www.capturingcambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/East_Romsey_Cement_Works_2nd_edn.pdf

if you decide to visit, please don’t bring your car – there is nowhere to park.

Children must be escorted and no dogs.

I am not the first person to try to achieve this opening.  I have stood on the shoulders of others who went before me and prepared the way for me to succeed.

The following from the local plan may be of interest to people viewing this page.

I went down to the lakes on Thursday to check everything was OK for the open day on Sunday. In the background are ‘Romsey Cliffs’.

January 2018

On the 16th January I chaired a meeting of the wider committee that has helped to organise the opening the lakes.  At that meeting I was able to announce that we are almost ready to open the lakes on a trial basis.

Volunteers have been working at the lakes to prepare for the opening

There have been a number of setbacks which have stopped the opening in the past, but watch this space for a date to be announced in March 2018.

Thank you to the volunteers who have helped to make this possible

February 2017

For three years now Romsey Labour Councillors have been working to get the Romsey Lakes open to the public.  We have held a number of public meetings and worked closely with council officers and Anderson to recognise what the public want and achieve this in a safe and efficient way.

The planning application which recognises our wishes will soon be in the public domain and this includes an application to provide 450 homes 40% of which will be affordable.

The next phase of the public consultation is happening at the Holiday Inn, Coldhams Business Park , CB1 3LH between 1600 to 2000 on Thursday 24th February and 1000 to 1600 on Saturday 25th February 

http://www.coldhamslane.co.uk/

http://www.andersongroup.co.uk/case-studies/underwater-and-overlooked/

December 2016

There has been a great deal happening with Labour’s plans for the lakes.  A series of meetings with Andersons have been taking place over the past three months and we hope to announce something extremely positive in late January early February.

Unfortunately the content of the meetings is confidential and we are at a delicate stage, but I am very confident that people will be extremely positive about the announcement when it comes.

What I can say is that we have followed the steer given by the public meetings that have taken place.

30-6-16

A meeting is arranged with Anderson for the 11th July
Watch this space

18-6-16

The local and PCC elections and now the European Referendum have meant that I have had to focus elsewhere but this does not mean I have let this matter drop.  I am in regular touch with officers to try to get communications working properly with Anderson but they do not seem to be responding effectively.  The ball is very much in Anderson’s court as we are ready to proceed to a plan to open the Lakes for visitors.

2-3-16

Met again with officers and we are still having difficulty obtaining the ecology report from Anderson.  I have reached out to the owner and communications have been re-established.

Plans are still moving forward from our perspective.

Our Health and Safety report has raised some issues that are not significant but will need to be addressed.

Officers are working hard and we have a plan, but first we need the ecology report from Anderson.

We have a meeting scheduled for next month.

2-2-16

I had a meeting today with council officers.  

• Anderson appear to have stalled on their promise to release the ecology report
• Meeting with Peterhouse is arranged for later in the month
• A full Health and Safety inspection is now under way to build on the preliminary all clear that we received from the insurance company
• Conversations are taking place about controlling anti-social behaviour
• Communications plan will be in place by the end of the month

I have asked for a further meeting with officers before the end of the month to update me

Follow this link to read about the history of the cement works whose workers dug the hole that is now full of water and which we call The Lakes

UPDATE 19-11-15  Next Steps Committee

A successful and well attended meeting last evening at Mill Road Depot.

There were updates from

• City Council
• Andersons

There was also wide ranging discussions on a number of topics. In particular there was a concern over rumours that were being circulated about further uses for the lakes.  It was agreed that all members of the committee would provide the same message.

The lakes will be opened for walking only – there is no other agenda

The actions that are required as a consequence on the discussions from last night’s meeting.

• The City Council, Anderson and Peterhouse are to meet  and encourage Peterhouse to support the aspirations to open the lakes for walking in the short term and for the longer term entering into an agreement on how the collective ownership manage the site to the approved Masterplan.  Alistair Wilson/ Craig Rought and Rob Linney
• The Risk Assessments completed by City Council Officers and Zurich Municipal will be shared with Anderson.
• A long term and a short term plan may be needed and supported by a Communication Plan, to manage local expectations.
• The City Council will discuss and agree a policy on dogs using the site, and with the help of the Enforcement Team consider the use of Dog Control Orders.
• There will a follow up meeting with the East Cambridge Urban Park group when the ecological reports are available.
• Meet with the Angling Club to discuss ecological improvements they wish to make.
• The City Council will make arrangements for a further series of Open Days for Spring 2016.

UPDATE 4-11-15

NEXT STEPS MEETING

I held a successful meeting with Carina O’Reilly and council officers yesterday to report on the displays and consultations that have taken place at East and South Area Committees and the 4 tours public tours.

It has been agreed that the time is approaching for council officers to start negotiations with Anderson’s and to this end the forecast ‘Next Steps’ committee on the 18-11-15 will now take place.

This is how I see the future

• Next Steps meeting 18-11-15 will bring people up-to-date
• Anderson and the City Council will discuss terms and the Master Plan
• Anderson will apply for planning permission
• City Council will consider the planning application

3-10-15 Two more visits to the lakes – this time in the sun

29-9-15 More residents viewed the lakes today – more trips at the weekend

24-9-15  Residents viewed the lakes today – more trips next week

🙂

There were questions about current ownership and these are answered below

AN INVITE TO SEE THE LAKES – LIMITED OFFER

Proposed East Cambridge Country Park

Public guided tour

The City Council would like to invite interested members of the public to attend a guided walk around the former Cement Pits at Coldham’s Lane, to hear about proposals to allow public access for quiet recreation around this attractive and wildlife rich site.

Thursday 24th September      14.30—16.00

Tuesday 29th September       12.30—14.00

Saturday 3rd October            10.30—12.00

Please register your interest to attend one of the above tours at: parks@cambridge.gov.uk or call

01223 458520 during office hours

A year ago to have thought we would be this far down the line was difficult.

But the potential opening of the lakes is now becoming a reality

(25-7-15)

We are mindful of the potential difficulties in just opening the lakes so we are going to open them for one or two days as a trial for people to see the potential.  

When the dates are agreed people will be asked to apply on a first come first served basis and visitors will be organised in groups to be taken around the lakes

(8-7-15)

This afternoon the ‘Next Steps’ group met at Mill Rd Depot to consider an open day date for the lakes.

We also considered an agenda for getting the lakes open to the public for walking.

Although progress seems slow be assured we are moving forward.

🙂

(23-6-15)

We took the Lake’s Committee around the lakes last night.

Zoe Moghadas, Colin Wiles and Baroness Worthington visiting the lakes

below

Sue Wells (Chair of Friends of Cherry Hinton Brook) and Dave Baigent (Chair of the Labour led council group working to open the lakes to the public)

In two weeks time the ‘next steps’ group will be meeting to consider how to open the lakes.

(8-6-15)

Met with officers today as Chair of the East Area Urban Park Committee and suggested:

• We immediately carry out a health and safety inspection
• We offer an opportunity for those who attended the public meetings to walk around the lakes
• We ask Anderson’s for an interim ecological report
• We set a date for a meeting of the ‘next steps’ group 

(7-6-15)

Now that the General Election is out of the way I am meeting with officers tomorrow to discuss the next steps we shall be taking, and to find out how much the delay in the City Plan will influence the opening.

Wait for the update.

(21-5-1)

I have to say that nothing would have happened if it hadn’t been for the local campaign group led by Steve Turval and his colleagues.  They campaigned locally for over three years and it was one of their group who persuaded me to take up the campaign if I got elected as City Councillor.

I pledged to help, and during my first year on the council I have established a public committee to bring people together.  This committee has council support and now it only a matter of waiting for the result of the local plan before we can put proposals out for a proper public debate. Then it is a matter for Cambridge City Council to make the final decision and hopefully we shall open the lakes for walking.

Anderson’s invite to public consultation 27-2-15

Dave Baigent attended the consultation meeting at the David Lloyd Centre and spent over two hours having lively debates with some of the 350 people who attended.
It is important to note that nothing is set in stone but that following Dave getting the interested parties together at two meetings at the Guildhall there has been a considerable activity.
This consultation is the next step towards a potential opening of one lake for walkers.  There are a lot of hurdles to cross, including keeping safety at the top of the agenda. People are invited to respond to Anderson’s Questionnaire as part of this next phase of consultation.

The website is available at www.lakesrecreation.co.uk and comments can be made here or to enquiries@lakesrecreation.co.uk

17-2-15

People will have been monitoring the meetings Chaired by Dave Baigent at the Guildhall on the lakes.  It now seems likely that walking access will become available this year subject to health and safety approval and agreement about how to protect the ecology of the site.

This of course is part of a wider scheme to develop the land at the back of the lakes adjacent to Coldhams Lane.  To ensure people are up to date the Anderson Group will be providing a public consultation event for their draft plans for the whole site as follows

–       Saturday 28^th Feb @ David Lloyd, 11am to 4pm.

–       Monday 2^nd March @ Queen Emma Primary School, 5.30pm to 8.30pm.

for further details go to http://romsey.cambridgelabour.org.uk/l

Dave Baigent City Councillor for Romsey

29th January at the Guildhall.

Cllr Dave Baigent chaired a second public meeting to discuss the future of the lakes. Committee room one was filled to capacity by representatives of over 30 groups and individuals.

Dave was able to inform the meeting that there had been a considerable progress since the first meeting and that it was now possible to see a light on the horizon in the move to get the lakes open to ‘walkers’.

Patsy Dell head of planning at Cambridge City Council advised the meeting that the draft city plan laid out a vision for the future, and that her and Dave were meeting regularly with interested groups on the council and outside to make this proposal a reality.

Cam Lakes reported on how their survey had almost 1000 responses and that the vast majority of these were positive.  Fiona gave a detailed explanation of some of the trends shown in the survey and Dave thanked her and the rest of her team for carrying out this important work.

The Managing Director of the Anderson Group Andrew Jay explained that he was in favour of opening the first lake.  Discussions were already in hand with insurers and Andrew also spoke about how advice was being sought on what a management group would look like.  Anderson’s will be holding a public consultation late in February at which they will be providing their initial thoughts for the whole site.

Patsy, Andrew, Fiona and Dave responded to a wide range of questions in what proved to be an friendly, informed and lively debate.

Towards the end of the meeting Dave asked for volunteers for a smaller project group to look in more detail at the proposal.

In summing up the meeting Dave said “The prize is clear: the opening of the first lake to walkers, early consideration to disabled access, the protection of the ecology and foremost in the minds of all would be the safety of those using the site.“

Before closing the meeting Dave thanked Patsy, Andrew Fiona and the wider meeting for their support.

Addendum  CEN are running a story about Romsey Beach, this is not on the agenda.  Current thinking is to get a lake open for walking in the first instance. Talk of beaches, donkey rides and public water access are misplaced at this time.