Our newest trustee Mike Rampton (paperwork pending with the Charity Commission) attended the Parish Council’s Full Council meeting on Monday 21 July 2025 to speak in the Public Participation item. He was commending Council’s motion to create a working group to look at a pump track within Histon & Impington.
It is fantastic that the council has proposed a working group for the pump track and committed to open communication about this project. This should turn it from a topic that people have opinions about — often very strong ones! — to something being actively considered.
Something that is very frustrating for people both in favour and opposed to the pump track is that it feels like it’s been going round and round in circles. That’s great fun if you’re on a pump track, but less fun if you’re discussing one.
Personally, from talking to people at the Feast and just in general, I feel like some of the more vehement opposition to it comes from both the transparency of the project, which has been taken in some circles as a sign that decisions have been made, and the non-standard nature of a pump track. Everyone knows how big a tennis court is, but a pump track is built to fit the space it’s going into. It’s harder to picture, so it’s understandable that some people get angry and upset if told a whole park is going to be bulldozed and concreted. If the massive industrial eyesore version of it that some people described to me was actually what was on the cards, I’d be against it too!
This is some rough back-of-the-envelope maths, but if you look at the one in Trumpington, it would fit into Manor Park eight times, possibly more. Everyone who currently enjoys that space would still be able to enjoy that space with a pump track there, and now other people would as well. Everyone appreciates the benefits of spending time outdoors: this is a way of encouraging more people to do just that. Free, accessible ways of having fun in the fresh air — we’re all into that.
In terms of a location that makes sense, the Rec is the place that comes up in conversation the most. There are a lot of ways in which the Rec makes perfect sense — there’s parking, there’s toilets — but there are also some in which it doesn’t.
The biggest of these is the lack of space for a pump track due to the number of other sports going on. While a pump track is great for cycling, skateboarding, scooting, roller skating, inline skating and wheelchair athletics, they’re very hard to play cricket or lawn bowls on. It feels like a shame, when a South Cambridgeshire Council survey has shown that Histon & Impington has a shortfall in play space, sports space and informal sports space, to insist on getting rid of an existing facility in order to build something new.
There are also currently by-laws preventing the use of anything with wheels on the Rec, which would make it difficult to get a lot out of a pump track.
But, the maddening thing for everyone concerned is that we’re not even at a point where that can be looked into properly, because the options available to even consider keep changing. This means nowhere can be decided upon, but it also means nowhere can be ruled out — the whole process just drags on and on. This working group feels like a positive step towards being able to eventually make some kind of decision. It’s good to get the wheels turning.
The Parish Council voted unanimously for the formation of a Pump Track Working Group, with terms of reference discussed following the summer holiday and presented for consideration no later than October. The full Parish Council statement is available via their draft minutes (https://hisimp-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/July-2025-Draft-Minutes.pdf). The Charity looks forward to the presentation of these terms and collaboration with the Working Group.