15 JULY 2008 – 12.00

Villages “Feel Betrayed” by Wellcome Trust

Villagers in Hinxton, Ickleton and other villages near the Wellcome Trust’s Genome Campus in South Cambridgeshire have expressed their dismay at what they feel is betrayal by their scientific neighbour. The Wellcome Trust owns a large part of the prime agricultural land at Hinxton and Pampisford that has been proposed by Jarrow Investments Ltd (acting on behalf of Tesco) as the site of Hanley Grange, the so called “eco-town” of up to 12,800 houses. Wellcome Trust is reported to be considering whether or not to enter into arrangements with Jarrow to make its land available for development.

“Wellcome has portrayed itself as a friend of this and other nearby villages”, explained Tim Pavelin, postal worker, of Ickleton. “They helped us fund a skate park for our youngsters, contributed to the refurbishment of our almshouses, and have supported the Church fete. But now this community feels completely betrayed by Wellcome. When they bought this land, they gave us to understand that they had signed an agreement not to allow development of the land, to protect themselves. But now they could sell out and destroy our villages.”

Father of two, Brian McCarthy, 45, of Hinxton, said “If this goes ahead our roads, which are already clogged at peak times, will get much worse. The promoters of this scheme claim that a lot of people living in Hanley Grange won’t have cars or will rarely use them preferring the improved public transport that will be provided instead. But this isn’t a development on the edge of Cambridge. I don’t believe people will give up their cars. The buses into Cambridge are already caught up in congestion. Instead the residents of Hanley Grange will be rat running through all the surrounding villages. To me it’s no longer Wellcome Trust but ‘Wellcome Can’t Be Trusted’.”

Professor David Newland, a former member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and resident of Ickleton continued, “It doesn’t make sense. To take 500 hectares of good arable farmland and turn them into a new town doesn’t make sense, scientifically or environmentally. There are lots of brownfield and former industrial sites around the country waiting to be developed. We want a greener future, but we won’t achieve this by destroying green fields, especially at a time when we need to grow more food and our own biofuel as never before.”