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Cambridge cows going hungry because of cattle grids gaffe




A farmer who grazes his cows in the city claims his herd is getting hungry because they are barred from a field where ineffective cattle grids have been installed to improve active travel.

The cattle grids at the entrance to Laundress Green at the corner of Mill Lane in Cambridge were designed to allow better cycle and wheelchair access through an entrance that was previously closed with a gate.

The new cattle grid on Mill Lane by Scudamore's which is questioned about it's effectiveness. Picture: Keith Heppell
The new cattle grid on Mill Lane by Scudamore's which is questioned about it's effectiveness. Picture: Keith Heppell

But it was quickly discovered cows could escape over the new low-profile cattle grids and the whole field has now been fenced off, preventing cows from grazing on the pasture.

There are also concerns that due to weight limits on the cattle grids, larger emergency services vehicles may be too heavy to travel over them, although there are separate vehicle accesses on to Sheeps Green via Fen Causeway.

Farmer Mark Drew, who pays Cambridge City Council to graze his herd on the field, now says his cows are hungry and that he is having to feed them hay while the situation continues.

They are being fenced off on Sheep’s Green and not allowed to roam onto the pasture at next door Laundress Green, where they normally graze every year.

He said: ”The cattle have now eaten off the grass on the Newnham side. We have had one stuck in a ditch which we had to lift out with a JCB because it was trying to reach for willow as it was hungry. There is masses of grass round the Mill Pond side of the common which will probably have to be mowed at the taxpayers’ expense now and wasted.

“I am now going to have to start feeding the cattle hay at my time and expense as they’ve nothing left to eat. All this seems absurd when we could just fence the cattle grids off until the council has paid to remove them and reinstate new ones. Until then if they were fenced off it would be the same as it always had been - with a gate across the entrance - so hardly much of an inconvenience.”

Mark pays to rent the land at Sheep’s Green and Laundress green from Cambridge City Council from April 1 until the end of October. However, he was shocked to be told at the end of March that the cows would have to wait to go on the grass because Cambridgeshire County Council was installing thee new cattle grids.

He said: “We were told we couldn’t put the cattle out on the April 1 as per the agreement. This was because the council, after five months of no cattle on the common and ample opportunity, were about to start work on installing the grids. After a week or so with no food left to feed the cattle, the council agreed to let us graze the Newnham side and block off the cattle part of the Fen Causeway underpass, not the pedestrian part. Unfortunately, the gate was left open on the pedestrian side of the Fen Causeway underpass and the cattle got through. The grids were installed, they were immediately deemed not fit for purpose for two main reasons. The cattle could walk round them as they weren’t sited centrally between the posts and there was too big a gap between them and the fence.

Cows have also escaped onto the Chisholm Trail over a new active travel cattle grid installed in Cambridge. Picture: Hilary Cox Condron.
Cows have also escaped onto the Chisholm Trail over a new active travel cattle grid installed in Cambridge. Picture: Hilary Cox Condron.

“The council refuse to block the new grids off until they are redesigned, and new ones installed.

”Not fencing these off until they are sorted seems ridiculous it would only be reverting to how the access has been for years. Where the new grids are has always been a locked gate.”

The Cambridge Independent asked Cambridgeshire County Council the purpose of installing the new cattle grids.

It confirmed that it replaced the vehicle and pedestrian gates with the grids so that cyclists can ride through, to provide better access for disabled people and to create a more open walking route, as part of its active travel programme.

A council spokesperson said: “This style of cattle grid was chosen for the Laundress Green entrance as a very similar grid has been used successfully at an entrance to Midsummer Common from Maids Causeway. This style of cattle grid is used around the city and those installed more recently have wheelchair tracks whilst some of the older ones have had wheelchair tracks retrofitted.

“We’re working hard with our contractor to solve the situation with the cattle grids. We will know next week how long it will take to install the railings and we’re looking at a temporary gate so the cows can use the area and vehicles can still get access if the railings can’t be installed sooner.

“Work will be carried out on the cattlegrids to allow for up to 20-ton vehicles and we’re working with Cambridge City Council about the wheelchair tracks and what we can do to reduce the risk of cows escaping.

“We will fix this as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Cambridge City Council said: “We are working alongside Cambridgeshire County Council to determine what can be done to reduce the risk of cattle escaping. Placing a barrier at the Mill Lane entrance to Laundress Green would cause an obstruction to pedestrians and vehicles, therefore it has been decided that this is not a practical solution. The county council has confirmed that they will be carrying out work on the cattle grids as soon as possible to resolve these issues.

“Once the cattle return to Laundress Green, we anticipate that their grazing will mean that we do not need to undertake additional cutting of the common.

“As there are already alternative access points that can be used by emergency vehicles - and in the case of the heaviest vehicles these access points are more likely to be used anyway, due to a weak bridge next to the new grid - our understanding is that access is therefore unaffected by the cattle grid.”



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