Events on the Common
in 2012

Annual General Meeting

FoMC's AGM will be held on Wednesday 14 March. We will meet at 7.30pm in Christ Church on Maids Causeway (not our usual place). Do come and join us to hear the Chairman's Annual Report on the state of the Common and, after the usual business, to hear our guest speaker Dr Pippa Noon (River Manager at the Cam Conservancy) talk about activities on our northern boundary. The meeting is open to Members and others who want to see the Common well maintained for everyone to enjoy.

Driving and parking vehicles on the Common

Only authorised vehicles are allowed to drive and park on Midsummer Common. Permission has been given for vehicles to service the Fort St George pub and Midsummer House restaurant but this is too often abused with unauthorised vehicles driving and parking on the Common. The public complains about this visual intrusion and damage done to the grassland. The Council recently installed an automatic gate to control access to the Common but this has still not become fully operational. Councillors met in January and decided to go further by installing new traffic signs and introducing enforcement procedures against offenders.

Working Group Meeting

Mid October saw Councillor Reiner chairing a meeting of the Midsummer Common Working Group which is attended by Council officers and FoMC representatives. Over two hours there was a discussion about tree maintenance and more plantings, grass cutting and cattle grazing, driving and parking vehicles on the Common, events this year and next, planning applications in the area, the Community Orchard, and proposals to improve the Common. Some of these are presented below.

Tree maintenance and more plantings

The number of trees on Midsummer Common has declined dramatically over recent years. Many trees have been removed because of old age, damage or disease. Early this year the Council embarked on a replacement programme and 50 White Willows, Black Poplars, London Planes and Silver Limes have been planted and other trees moved or pollarded. Recent dry weather promised to undo the good work but the Council and volunteers have jumped into action with emergency watering to help save the trees. The Council is now planning to add some more trees in the eastern pound to recreate the old Victorian line of trees across the Common.

Events in 2011

There are two main fairs on the Common - Strawberry Fair and Midsummer Fair - each with its own following. Strawberry Fair returned in June after a year's absence for 'bad behaviour'. The new format was deemed a success by all attendees - particularly the family nature of the fair in the afternoon and early evening. This feature should have a higher profile in future years. Midsummer Fair took place later in the month. It has a long tradition enshrined in statute and this year saw it celebrating its 800th anniversary. There were some older rides and an exhibition of memorabilia. The Council organised the event and it was opened by civic dignatories.

Royal Invitation to the Community Orchard

Soon after her marriage, FoMC invited the Duchess of Cambridge to plant a tree in the new Community Orchard on Midsummer Common. As can be seen, she has been practicing during her recent Tour of Canada. The Duchess thanked us for the invitation but said that she has no immediate plans to visit Cambridge. Our Mayor has made public his wish to organise a programme for Her Royal Highness to visit Cambridge and has told FoMC that our invitation to her is on his mind.

Improving the Common

FoMC members have suggested ways to improve the Common using s.106 money released from the Berkeley Homes development:

• more regular mowing of the grassland to keep nettles, thistles and brambles under control;
• planting of two more wildflower meadows as recommended by the Wildlife Trust;
• addition of shrubs and hedgerows in places recommended by the Wildlife Trust;
• more fruit and nut trees planted in the Community Orchard;
• improvements to the footpaths;
• clearing the area around Cutter Ferry Bridge and improving the pedestrian/cycle routes;
• creation of picnic and barbecue area in selected places;
• addition and repair of benches;
• rebuilding of boundary wall to Berkeley Homes site; and
• making the Victoria Avenue gate secure.

Improving the pedestrian/cycle routes is but one suggestion. Four footpaths converge on the Cutter Ferry Bridge from the west (two of these are public rights of way), two footpaths converge from the east (one is a public right of way), and the bridge brings pedestrians and cyclists across the river from Chesterton. It is a very busy junction for cyclists, pedestrians and push chairs. FoMC has canvassed public opinion and proposed a new layout to the Council that would ease congestion and improve safety.

Picnic time again

FoMC held its second annual picnic in September for members and volunteers who had helped establish the Community Orchard. The inclement weather kept numbers down but games for the kids and good food ensured that everyone had an enjoyable time.

Berkeley Homes Development

Those crossing the eastern end of the Common can see building work taking place on the old Regional College site. The vista is changing fast as large residential blocks appear on the scene. This will not be to everyone's liking but FoMC is talking to the Council and Berkeley Homes in order to protect certain features in the area. And the end result, which will be called Cambridge Riverside, could be quite pleasing. A sales office has been opened on the Newmarket Road and the first residents will arrive in March next year.

Changes to our website

Those of you who visit our website frequently will have noticed changes to its design over the last year. One of you has asked for an explanation. Early this year a Committee member took over the website to give it a more interactive character so that anyone could post messages for all to see. This required a new proprietary software system called Wordpress which comes with some security risks. Because of these risks, our Internet Service Provider refused to host the software so we had to buy space and time on a new server. The dynamic home page was mounted on this new server and linked to static pages on the old server. Unfortunately, this caused major problems - our Secretary lost touch with our membership list and fomc announce stopped working. And the information on our home page fell hopelessly out of date which hindered our dealings with the Council. And in the 6 months that the new system was running, no public messages were posted on the site. Given this poor performance, your Committee decided that we should reinstate the old website.