On Christmas Day last year, while most families in March were sitting down to festive meals, Hazel Harwin was perched high in the branches of a horse chestnut tree on Barkers Lane. Wrapped against the cold and clutching a flask of tea, she refused to come down, drawing attention to the threat facing a cherished line of trees and hedges along the lane.
Her tree-sit has become the defining image of a campaign to prevent the felling of mature trees to make way for a new 130-home development on the site of March’s former orchard.
“The trees down here make this part of town the nice, picturesque area that it is. The trees are part of the history, and we will not give up on without a fight,” Harwin said.
A strip of land at the centre of the fight
The dispute centres on a 120-metre by five-metre strip of land owned by Cambridgeshire County Council but leased to the Neale-Wade Academy. Developers say they need it to widen Barkers Lane to meet conditions of outline planning consent granted in October 2024.
Last week, the council’s Assets and Procurement Committee voted to sell the strip, with proceeds to be split 50/50 between the council and the school. The price was described as “market value,” though it has not been disclosed.
Harwin has criticised the process, arguing local residents had little opportunity to comment.
“It seems very underhand how no notice was given locally until the day before the meeting took place, which didn’t allow the local neighbours … to either attend or submit any comments,” she said.
She also rejected the committee chair’s description of the land as “arable.”
“It is an area of trees and hedges bordering Barkers Lane, a site of aesthetic beauty with an abundance of wildlife. The plight of the trees and hedges has been a high-profile case in our local area for the last 12 months,” Harwin said.
Trees, traffic, and community safety
Some of the trees along the strip, including horse chestnuts and sycamores, are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs).
“At no time during the meeting was it brought up that the area of land has trees with Tree Preservation Orders attached to them, including 10 very mature horse chestnuts and sycamores. The preservation orders on the trees were not discussed at the meeting,” Harwin said.
Residents are also concerned about traffic safety. Barkers Lane meets Wimblington Road at a four-way junction with a cycle path and footpath used by more than 1,300 pupils attending Neale-Wade Academy each day.
“There is an alternative access available at Lambs Hill Drove, via a further site which is being developed by David Wilson Homes, this will take the traffic away from Barker’s Lane, which is a very dangerous junction at peak times and no amount of widening it will improve how hard it is to get out of at peak times,” Harwin said.
“I have spent 34 years getting out of the lane, and at school times I have sat at the junction for 20 minutes where it is impossible to turn right,” she added.
Harwin also argues that financial gain has outweighed environmental and community concerns.
“The impact on the environment has not been taken into consideration when making the decision on the sale of this land. Financial gain by the council and school seems to have been the main factor in making a decision on the sale of the land to the developers,” she said.
The council responds
In a formal response, Chris Ramsbottom, Service Director for Property at Cambridgeshire County Council, defended the committee’s process.
“I can confirm that the democratic process was followed and the Assets and Procurement Committee agenda with associated papers were published five clear working days in advance,” Ramsbottom wrote.
He clarified the “arable” land reference:
“It was not intended to be in reference to the land discussed for disposal at committee which is the strip along Barkers Lane.”
Ramsbottom also emphasised that issues of tree protection, alternative access, and drainage fall under the jurisdiction of Fenland District Council.
“The issues you raise in regard to the trees and hedges … will ultimately be the responsibility of the planning authority Fenland District Council to determine,” he said.
Regarding financial benefit:
“Cambridgeshire County Council and the Academy Trust will mutually benefit financially from the sale of the strip of land,” he added.
Next steps and ongoing campaign
Harwin has filed Freedom of Information requests, is considering third-party appeals, and has contacted the Secretary of State for the Environment. She and other residents are hoping Fenland District Council will take environmental and traffic concerns seriously when deciding the full planning application.
“Neighbours and I think that this decision should be taken back to the committee to be re-assessed with all the new information provided. The committee were not given all the facts and didn’t visit the site; working from maps does not present a clear picture,” she said. “I also sent a petition to ‘save the trees’ with over a 1,000 signatures to Fenland District Council earlier this year.”
Despite the obstacles, she remains determined:
“The trees down here make this part of town the nice, picturesque area that it is. The trees are part of the history, and we will not give up on without a fight,” she said.”
Whether that will mean another Christmas in a tree remains to be seen.
