This is one a a series of articles published in Longstanton Life between February 2016 and the present, showing just how often dire warnings were issued about the destruction of Longstanton’s groundwater, and just how often they were ignored by those whose duty it was to take timely action.
Hilary Stroude wrote:
Northstowe: ‘Eco-Town’ or ‘Eco-Disaster’?
A useful Boxing Day walk with my brother. I am standing in what was the ‘Kingfisher Pond’ on the former golf course, now Northstowe phase 1. It is now virtually empty, all it’s small fish, the main diet of the Kingfisher, have died and it’s being reclaimed by scrub. This pond was full to the top of its banks when the developer started work out on site at the end of 2014. Now look at the state of it! SCDC appear to think this is acceptable and will take no enforcement action against the developers – the question is Why Not!!!
This is not the only pond to be destroyed over the last couple of years – All the historic ponds and wells off the Longstanton gravels have dried out, even those within the conservation area and yet the Ecology Officer, Conservation Officers and Planners at SCDC do nothing. SCDC appears to think that the loss of habitat for protected species and the threat to villagers livelihoods and buildings is no cause for concern. This is winter, when the Kingfisher Pond water level should be near its maximum, there is simply nothing here except a tiny bit of water at one end. This is simply not acceptable and I will be contacting Natural England. The developers have even spread clay over the surface of the Western Park so rainwater will be unable to trickle down through the gravels to replenish the water table and groundwater. As a result today, with all the rain, the footpath adjacent to the new sports pitch is flooded.
Someone or some organisation needs to be held to account for this environmental disaster and SCDC will need to explain their refusal to take action when this situation was first brought to their attention 2 years ago.
This is not only a failure of development planning but a failure of monitoring and governance. Longstanton faces an environmental disaster which has been allowed to happen as a result of total complacency by the planning authority.
Questions should now be asked not only about how SCDC has let this happen but also about phase 2. The drainage scheme with its swales and attenuation ponds are based on the same principles as phase 1. Will those works exacerbate the problem? Maybe Northstowe development work needs to stop until this matter is resolved properly with mitigation undertaken place on phase 1 and safeguards added to the drainage scheme on phase 2. The total destruction of Longstanton’s natural heritage assets, our protected species habitats and our environment is simply not acceptable.
Currently the developers and SCDC are blaming this disaster on low rainfall but we know this situation has never arisen over the last 60 years. The truth of that excuse will be laid bare once rainfall levels are proven to be normal and yet our ponds and wells don’t recover. Lack of rainfall did not empty the pond in the photograph you see here and to think we would believe that, is taking us for fools.