Friends of Mitcham's CornerFriends of Mitcham's Corner aims to further the interests of residents, local traders and others working in the area of Mitcham's Corner, Cambridge. We provide a forum to discuss and take action on local issues. At the moment there is considerable debate on the development of the area, and several major planning proposals are in the pipeline. Proposed development of the Staples sitePlans have been submitted to radically redevelop the site on which Staples and Lloyds Bank are situated. Although the area clearly needs improvement, we believe that the proposed building is out of scale, poorly designed and inappropriate for the area. Many local people agree, and we have submitted a petition with 234 signatures objecting to the plans. For details see the Staples site page. Development of the Cambridge City football groundThe application for a residential development on the Cambridge City football ground in Milton Road was approved on 6th February. This was a modified plan taking into consideration a number of changes that FMC had pressed for, and will also provide considerable funds for the improvement of public sports facilities on Chesterton Community College playing fields and at Chesterton Rec. For background, see the Cambridge City FC ground page. Planning for the future of Mitcham's CornerA week-long workshop was held in December to brainstorm ideas for the regeneration of Mitcham's Corner. The event, involving multi-disciplinary teams of 40 young professionals, was organised by FMC and Dr. Sebastian Macmillan under the auspices of the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) programme. After a walking tour of the area, and presentations by city and county council officers as well as FMC Chair Anne Cooper, the students were split into two groups: one team was asked to take a more conservative approach in their planning suggestions, while the other was urged to be more imaginative. Interestingly, both teams believed that the most urgent requirement is to replace the gyratory system with a much simpler road layout, and improve facilities for shoppers, residents and visitors. You can view extracts from their final presentations, and read the report of the event in the Cambridge Evening News, using the links on the right. More detailed versions of the proposals will be made available on this site as soon as possible. Cllr Damien Tunnacliffe said: "These ideas would restore the area to people rather than motor vehicles." FMC is proposing that some of these concepts be included in the forthcoming Local Plan, to provide a guiding plan for the development of the Mitcham's Corner area over the next planning period. Our view is that the IDBE event further strengthens the arguments we put forward recently in our inputs to the upcoming Local Plan. Meetings and activities in 2013If you have strong views on any of these issues, or would like to get involved with FMC, please get in touch via the link on the right, or come to one of our regular committee meetings, or to our next general meeting (see the Meetings page). Details of our activities for 2013 will be posted on this site as soon as they are finalised. So far, ideas include:
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