31st August 2022
Mysterious structures have started appearing on the Phase 2 lake. What are they, what does this mean for the future and how will you and I be affected?
In recent days this structure has been observed in the distant reaches of Phase 2, a place only accessible to the telephoto lens:
It has been known for some time that developers intend the Phase 2 lake to be a sports/social amenity, rather than an ornamental feature or another balancing pond. The new picture confirms this intention: it appears to show a jetty providing access from the shore to the deep-water section of the lake, complete with a ladder descending into the water. This raises a number of vital questions.
- The access jetty is well above the current water level. This suggests that developers expect to add (a lot!) more water to the lake. Indeed, SCDC have confirmed the intention to maintain a water level of 2 metres in the lake. Where will that water be coming from?
- What sports and activities do the developers anticipate will take place there? Boating and canoeing have been mentioned, angling perhaps, but also swimming. The possibility of swimming in the Phase 2 lake opens a whole new raft of issues:
- open water swimming is dangerous, particularly with schools and houses nearby. How will it be organised? Who will be responsible for safety?
- swimming requires a reliable supply of clean water – run-off from urban streets will not do. The only available ready source of clean water is the much-depleted aquifer, the decimation of which is already causing havoc in Longstanton. So does the provision of water sports in Northstowe mean further depletion – or total destruction – of our village’s natural water resource?
The development of sports facilities in Northstowe has been a hit-and-miss (mostly miss) affair. The sports fields at Western Park stand idle, at the mercy of travellers, dogs and litter-spreaders. The all-weather sports areas remain closed and unused. Ironically, life preservers continue to decorate the defunct Kingfisher Pond where water is now totally absent – perhaps they could be re-purposed and moved to the Phase 2 lake. This probably isn’t the time to recall the lack of shops, medical facilities, etc. etc. but it does lead to the suspicion that the only thing Northstowe’s developers are good at building is houses.
It’s time for some intelligent long-term planning, with an emphasis on providing a growing community with what it really needs, rather than creating eye-candy to embellish the builders’ brochures, while treating the interests of other nearby communities with total disregard. There are huge problems that need to be confronted before any development of the Phase 2 lake as a social amenity is even contemplated.