‘Worn’ out Coldhams Common 2G sports pitch in Cambridge to be replaced with new 3G pitch

A ‘worn’ sports pitch in Cambridge is to be replaced with a better surface.

A Cambridge City Council report said the existing well-used 2G artificial pitch beside Coldhams Common and Abbey Leisure Centre had reached the end of its lifespan.

A new 3G artificial pitch, plus new lighting, 50 cycle parking spaces, fencing to reduce vandalism and pathways will be installed.

Officers told councillors 2G pitches are better suited to hockey, which was the main sport played on the surface when it was installed in 2011 or 2012, but other hockey pitches have since been created elsewhere. The 3G replacement will better suit football, with 4.5m fencing installed to stop high balls.

At a planning meeting last Wednesday (3 July), Cllr Naomi Bennett (Green, Abbey) agreed the pitch was “pretty much dead” and there was a lot of support in the area for the improvements on the council-owned land.

Cllr Martin Smart (Lab, King’s Hedges) asked about the impact from the lights on bats, but was advised that while the new lighting would be brighter on the pitch, the spillage around it would actually be reduced.

Councillors voted unanimously to support the plans.