‘Vandalised’ buildings are set for revamp in East Barnwell
A revamp of community buildings in East Barnwell could help tackle anti-social behaviour and vandalism which has blighted the area.
Cambridge City Council is holding a public consultation on their proposals for a huge renovation project that will include new housing – of which they say 40 per cent will be affordable or council homes – plus a new library, community centre, nursery and bowls club to replace run-down buildings, some of which are regular targets for break ins and vandalism.
The east area committee of the city council heard in June about “ongoing concerns in relation to youth-related ASB (anti-social behaviour)” in East Barnwell.
Abbey Bowls Club secretary Jackie Russell says she welcomes proposals to move the club and rebuild it close to the Abbey Leisure Centre: “We’ve had a lot of trouble with local youths breaking in and it gets vandalised all the time, which can be quite depressing, so it would be great to have more security and CCTV cameras.
“Kids just go into the club house and smash it up – they just throw stuff around and break things. We don’t keep anything of any value in there but they just make a mess. That’s why moving it to the new position will be good because it will be moved to the next to the other facilities at the leisure centre and I believe there will be CCTV.
“We also need somewhere the youngsters could go, so they’re not causing trouble because they’ve got nothing nothing better to do.
“I also hope they build good, affordable housing because young people are having to move away from the area because they can’t afford houses here.”
The area, which sits in Abbey ward, would also have shops replaced with a new business centre and would have new green spaces, if local people agree to the changes outlined in the consultation. But some homes will have to be knocked down and rebuilt.
Cllr Alex Collis, deputy leader of Cambridge City Council, said: “Back in 2020 and 2021 we asked local people and community groups for their views and ideas on potential changes to improve East Barnwell.”
She added that the relocation to Abbey Leisure Centre “could help address some of the concerns raised by the bowls club” and that while “nothing has been decided yet” public feedback would help shape the plans.
Cllr Naomi Bennett (Green, Abbey) said: “The proposals could be really exciting for the area. People have been waiting ten years to get our dilapidated community centre replaced. At the moment the nursery has had to move out of the building because it’s not safe.
“The proposals for the area include a new library, new public toilets – which people are very keen to have – and a new bowls club which has really suffered because it got used by local teenagers as a sort of informal clubhouse and they did quite a lot of damage in there.”
She added that many people in flats nearby were desperate to move out and that some people from Ekin Road, where the council is rebuilding homes and will move people out while the work takes place, could move into new homes in East Barnwell.
“We would like to speed up the East Barnwell development project and slow down the building at Ekin Road a bit so that there are some opportunities for people who want to stay in the area to move across and continue to enjoy local social networks.”
See thefutureofeastbarnwell.co.uk.
