News and Current Affairs

Planning applications

There are two planning applications out for consultation which will affect Midsummer Common. Berkeley Homes want to erect tall adverting signs around their building site and some of these will overlook the east end of the Common. FoMC is objecting to this visual intrusion which could last for 5 years. The Council itself wants to improve the entrance to the Community Orchard from the Newmarket road. FoMC was behind this concept so will be very supportive. But which arch design do you prefer?

Picnic time for Volunteers

Volunteers who had helped establish the Community Orchard by weeding, digging many holes, planting the trees and keeping them watered, joined together in an enjoyable picnic on the Common at the end of August. A good times was had by all.

The cattle

Commoners have a legal right to graze cattle on most Cambridge Commons. A local vet put 15 Red Poll steers on Midsummer Common this year and they made a welcome addition to the scene. Read more about them at their website. It has not been an easy year for cattle grazing - the dry weather has restricted grass growth. So they have been moved around and their numbers have dwindled as they headed to the dinner table. FoMC would like to see their absences avoided next year by keeping them in the eastern pound when the Fairs arrive.

Management Plan for Midsummer Common

Back in 2008 the Cambridge City Council engaged the Wildlife Trust to prepare a Management Plan for Midsummer Common. This Management Plan sets the Council 7 main objectives, which are to:

1. enhance the species richness of the grassland to achieve a more natural floodplain grassland habitat;
2. maintain and enhance the overall habitat diversity of the common;
3. maintain the trees so as to contribute to the character of the common and its value for biodiversity;
4. enhance the Pound through the creation of a community orchard;
5. maintain and improve the site infrastructure;
6. enhance the visitor experience; and
7. put in place administrative arrangements to ensure the co-ordinated implementation of this management plan

FoMC wants to see this Plan fully implemented and is working with Councillors and officers to make this happen.

Wildflower Meadow

The first objective in the Management Plan is to enhance the species richness of the Common. To achieve this, three areas of meadow will be created and wildflower seeds sown and allowed to spread naturally over the rest of the Common. The presence of wild flowers should improve both the aesthetic appeal of the grassland and its biodiversity. In discussion with FoMC, the Council decided to establish a trial meadow at the Butt Green end of the Common. Last November, FoMC members joined Councillor Julie Smith and Council officers in raking and seeding this first trial area. Unfortunately, the growing season was not favourable and there has been little to show for the effort. So another trial will be mounted this autumn.

Community Orchard

Recent media reports have highlighted the loss of orchards from the British landscape. The Wildlife Trust, in their Management Plan for Midsummer Common, proposed the planting of a Community Orchard on part of the Common. FoMC welcomed this idea and presented its own planting proposal using heritage trees of local provenance. Three phases of work were planned, spread over a couple of years, and a group of volunteers received the Council's blessing to carry out the work. More on this below the scrolling box.

Help when on the Common

The Cambridge City StreetScene Team is responsible for a wide range of services on the Common including litter picking, grass cutting, graffiti removal and toilet cleaning. The Council's Enforcement Team can deal with problems of illegal camping or fires on the Common. Trees are the responsibility of the Arboricultural Team. They can all be contacted through the Council's Customer Service Centre on 01223 457000 (or 457457 out of office hours). It is an offence for anyone to drop litter or allow their dog to foul the Common - bins are provided for the disposal of litter and dog mess. Any problems with dogs should be referred to the Dog Warden on 01223 457898. If cattle escape from the Common or fall in the river, please contact the Pinder on 078553 76652.

All the trees on Midsummer Common are surveyed regularly by Council Arboricultural Officers. Pollarding and pruning is an ongoing activity. The pollarded tree on the left soon recovers its foliage on the right. Damaged or diseased trees are felled. The Common lost 6 trees this way in 2008 and another 7 in 2009. The pictures below show one of these felled trees with the tree surgeon showing the diseased wood. FoMC collected £1,400 from its members and friends to have the first fellings quickly replaced by 3 Black Poplars, 2 Dutch Elms and 1 Horse Chestnut. The Council has promised to replace the latest fellings and increase the overall stock this autumn. Public consultation is currently taking place - see proposed tree planting.

Midsummer Common is bounded to the west by a fine avenue of horse chestnut trees which were planted in the last decade of the 19th century. Unfortunately, these trees are now suffering from two diseases. The first is the leaf miner moth, Cameraria ohridella, which arrived in the UK in 2002 from elsewhere in Europe. It attacks the leaves, causes extensive and unsightly blotching, and weakens the health of the tree. The second is bleeding canker which affects the trunk and branches of horse chestnut trees. This type of symptom was first reported in the 1970s, when the cause was found to be a fungal pathogen known as Phytophthora. Closer investigation of the bleeding cankers has revealed that Phytophthora is no longer the primary causal agent. Instead a completely different pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi, is responsible for the increase in these symptoms. The impact on the environment can be particularly profound when large, mature trees are infected and disfigured by the disease. If the disease is severe and the areas of bark which are killed are extensive, large trees can die. The combined effect of these two diseases could have a dramatic effect on this fine avenue of horse chestnut trees.

Recent media reports have highlighted the loss of orchards from the British landscape. The Wildlife Trust, in their Management Plan for Midsummer Common, proposed the planting of a Community Orchard on part of the Common. FoMC welcomed this idea and presented its own planting proposal using heritage trees of local provenance. Three phases of work were planned, spread over a couple of years, and a group of volunteers received the Council's blessing to carry out the work.

The first phase has started with a section of the Common cleared of brambles, nettles and thistles and 5 New Rock Pippin, 5 Wayside, 3 Histon Favourite and 2 Jolly Miller apple trees planted there. These trees will supply apples for eating from October to May and cooking apples in September. Four crab apple trees have been planted in the same area and these are well suited for jelly, jam and wine making. A new hedge, 50 wild flowers and 6 Tulameen raspberry canes have also been planted to help enrich the biodiversity of the Common.

In the second phase another section of the Common will be cleared and Wallis’s Wonder plum trees, Cambridge Gage and Willingham Gage trees will be planted there. These trees will supply plums and greengages for eating from August to October. In the third phase some Laxton's Foremost and Warden pear trees will be planted on the site for eating and cooking in September and October. There is room on the site for planting some quince trees and other fruit or nut varieties - suggestions are welcome. A map of the site shows where the current plantings are located.