Beauty spot saved from homes plan

The Grantchester Meadows proposal sparked a 3,000 name petition

The historic Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge look to have been saved from the hands of developers.

An area around the meadows, which were made famous by poet Rupert Brooke, had been provisionally included in plans to provide 1,000 affordable new homes for the city.

The plans were subject to further investigation and reports, but sparked a 3,000-name petition against the scheme.

Now a landscape consultant has issued a report which says the land is unsuitable for development.

Unique to the area

Landscape Design Associates said the land should be preserved, as it offered arable farmland and water meadows not found anywhere else around Cambridge.

It also said development would undermine the identities of villages such as Trumpington, Great Shelford, Stapleford and Grantchester.

The report has been welcomed by residents.

Peter Dawson, secretary of the Trumpington Action Group, said: "We are mightily relieved because we have opposed this all along as a ludicrous plan that would ruin the area."

South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley added: "It seems to me the consultants reflect many of us who believe that building on this land would ruin the surrounding area and the gateway into Cambridge."