The Grange Farm will create 4,500 homes in 2 farmlands, including Grange Farm and Ley Rectory Farm.
During the Summer myself and a member of the SAVE team spoke to a group of 6 young children from Great Abington holiday club and presented the plans for Grange Farm. We asked questions about their views on specific topics and their view on it overall. It was not just about getting their opinion, but making them aware of the future of The Abington community. They would be affected a lot if the project was to go through.
Losing a Sense of 'Homeliness'
After we spoke to them about the overall Grange Farm project and some of the positives and negatives, the children spoke about how all of them believed that the project, if it were created the way it is planned now, would have a big negative impact on our community. Their main concerns were how we could lose the sense of homeliness and safety that The Abingtons have.
Feeling Unsettled
After hearing more about it, one boy, aged 10, told us that the project made him "feel unsettled." When asked further, he stated that the project may "Ruin the feel of The Abingtons, as we have the chalk stream, the thatched cottages, which make it feel homely," adding, "building more modern buildings may mean that it doesn't feel the same way." This reflects the way most of the children were feeling. I think that this shows the effect that it would have on the whole community, as if the kids feel unsettled about the idea of the project going through, then we need to think about how it will affect their lives too. They are the future and this will impact them.
A Loss of Wildlife and Nature
The children were also concerned that wildlife would be affected that live in the area, as construction could drive them out of their homes, leaving them with no place to live.
When asked, all the children thought that Grange Farm would have a negative impact on the village as a whole and on their lives. Some where worried about the impact of traffic because it may affect the way they get to school and safety for other kids.
Playing in the Chalk Streams
Some were worried about the water as they all enjoy playing in the river Granta and if it were damaged during the construction it would affect that, making them have less fun areas to play in the village and lose the community and fun that comes with everyone playing in the river together.
The Impacts of Climate Change & Future Food Scarcity
Some children felt the main negative was the food loss. Grange Farm has provided food for the country for over 200 years, farmed by the same family. As the farm would disappear, we would be losing a source of food forever, and more food would have to be imported, creating food miles, adding onto the massive issue of climate change, which affects our generation especially, as we are going to be the ones living with the consequences of what we are doing to the planet now. Climate change is going to affect our generation more than it's going to affect the generation which is causing all of problems.
A Need for Homes which are Sustainable and Well Planned
My personal opinion on the Grange Farm project is that we need houses. As a young person I believe that we need to build more houses for the future and build more sustainable housing overall with solar panels because that will help lessen the impact of climate change. To help our future, building modern houses means that we can try and make it more sustainable and we do need houses as people need a place to live.
The Impact on the Chalk Aquifer
But when looking at the Grange Farm project, the planning means that it could create many problems. My main worry is that it is being built on a chalk aquifer, which could ruin the river which is a rare chalk stream. There's only around 260 of them left in the UK. So, personally I think that the planning needs to be more thought out and created better to make sure that we're protecting the area around the project.
In conclusion, the younger generation believe that overall if the Grange Farm plan was to go ahead the way it is planned, then we believe that it is negative. This is the opinion of the people we have spoken to and myself, this is not the overall opinion of everyone in the younger generation of the village.
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