Major part of River Cam at ‘serious risk’ as residents call for action

Residents have been told to avoid swimming in it

Cambridge residents have raised fears for the future of parts of the River Cam with concerns its health is at “serious risk”. Cambridge residents and councillors have raised the alarm after collapsing riverbanks and unsafe water threaten to turn the River Cam into a “muddy trickle”.

Earlier this year, water tested at the designated bathing site at Sheep’s Green found the water to be among the poorest quality in England and the Environment Agency advised people not to swim.

Resident Andrew Brown said the infrastructure itself is crumbling – pointing out a section of the riverbank at Jesus Lock which is collapsing. The 61-year-old said: “It’s also mirrored when you walk through the town and it’s slowly getting a bit more run down with the pavements etc… this vibe in the city is sort of mirrored by the river.

“These are important places – there’s lots of talk about mental wellbeing and health and these are real resources in a town, especially a town like Cambridge. I do feel it should be looked after.

“I understand there are always cost implications but there’s a general feeling that either things aren’t being spent and the money’s being spent somewhere where it shouldn’t be being spent or, of course, there isn’t the money at all.”

Charles Greensitt feels the river is “not being looked after” and no longer looks the way it used to. The 39-year-old said: “The last few years I’ve been coming down and walking the river.

“I walk from Trumpington Park and Ride all the way into town following the river and this year the wildlife and the way it looks isn’t the same. I know people still swim in it down some of the cleaner parts but it’s just not quite right at the minute.

“I mean I go down and I literally see algae just covering right stretches across – it’s not the same anymore. Things aren’t in balance anymore.”

Cllr Eleanor Toye-Scott brought a motion to last week’s Cambridge City Council meeting calling for more to be done to protect the river as its “health is at serious risk”. The Green councillor said: “When the river is at risk we are all at risk.

“If our city and our region are to have any hope of surviving, let alone thriving, in the years to come it is absolutely essential that we ensure that the River Cam thrives too.”

Cllr Cheney Payne said the locks at Baits Bite and Jesus Green are a “vital element” of the network and she was “very pleased” that mayor Paul Bristow pledged funds towards emergency repairs at Baits Bite.

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“However,” the Lib Dem councillor continued, “That’s only a very small drop in the ocean and a huge amount is still needed to repair the Jesus Green Lock, and this is something I really believe we should be asking the government to support.

“If Cambridge is to be at the forefront of the government’s plans for growth it would be highly embarrassing to try to do that if our iconic river becomes a muddy trickle.”

The council passed the motion which called for them to petition organisations responsible for the river – including the EA, Cambridge Water and Anglian Water – to do more to protect it.