Biodiversity and amenity improvements to Histon Road recreation ground

Open for comments from Friday 8 November to to Sunday 8 December 2024.

This is a Cambridge City Council Environmental Improvement Programme (EIP) funded project for biodiversity and amenity improvements to Histon Road recreation ground.

We have developed these improvements to bring people and nature closer.

Working together with stakeholders and colleagues, we have developed a proposal to enhance biodiversity, promote local wildlife, encourage visitor interest, and improve accessibility.

Together with our colleagues in the Housing Development Agency, we will deliver a variety of Environmental Improvement Programme and developer funded improvements which consider the whole of the green space for people and biodiversity.

• More information and a survey about developer funded improvements

The EIP funded biodiversity improvements are outside the grass cutting area, to keep space for play, while the amenity improvements consider convenience for users of the rec.

This proposal offers rich and diverse habitat creation for a variety of local wildlife, and enhances the value of the rec for its visitors.

EIP funded biodiversity enhancements include:

• bee bank with wildflower meadow on the eastern side of the rec, to the right of the ball games area (red dot on above image)
• fern garden in a shady, cool and damp area beneath the tree canopy near the Canterbury Street entrance (yellow dots on above image)
• log pile around an existing decaying tree trunk, with second fern garden (blue dot on above image)
• variety of planting between the Canterbury Street and Richmond Road entrances
• range of bat and bird boxes in the many mature trees within the rec
• interpretation signage as a point of interest for visitors and an educational opportunity for people of all ages, including school groups

EIP funded amenity improvements include the installation of:

• three wooden picnic style benches - two near the children's play area, and one close to the central path through the rec (green dots on above image)
• two cycle parking areas - one near the children’s play area, and one close to the central path (purple dots on above image)

Full details about the proposals can be found in our supplementary information document.

Have your say

Your voices will help us to gauge local interest and respond to your feedback to shape the proposal further. We welcome your opinions and suggestions: they will help us to understand the level of local support and identify desirable alterations to the proposal.

Please show your level of support for this proposal by completing a brief survey.

Select the 'Take the survey' button on this page to have your say.

Next steps

After the consultation closes, we will review all comments received and make any necessary changes to the proposal.

Your support and comments are valuable to us. They will help us plan and deliver the expected benefits of this project.

Initial survey work will be undertaken in the meantime.