At the Histon and Impington Parish Council Full Council meeting on Monday 19 October, Councillors considered an update on the survey investigating potential locations for a pump track on the Recreation Ground. Council once again considered how to share the reports findings with the community.
Our trustee, Mike Rampton, spoke to council before the debate highlighting the history of the project and the desire of the whole community to receive an answer from the Parish Council over the use of the Recreation Ground for a pump track one way or another.
Chair, Councillors, thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Histon and Impington Pump Track Charity.
I think it is worth briefly recalling how we arrived at this point.
When we originally assessed possible locations, our June 2024 report recommended against the Recreation Ground because we understood that a development plan was already in progress. We were concerned that introducing a pump track could complicate or delay both projects. We were trying to find a deliverable solution, not insist on a particular site.
The community subsequently asked for the Recreation Ground to be included in the assessment, and the Council agreed to this in September 2024. Our other site recommendations have since been removed from consideration. As a result, the Recreation Ground assessment has become pivotal to the future of the project.
It took until the spring of this year for an options report for the Rec to be commissioned. Council minutes note that options report was received by the working group in June. We are now in October, and the current timetable anticipates feedback by the end of November, with the report and comments published before the January full council meeting.
So, from the Council’s decision to include the Rec in September 2024, we are looking at more than two years before the report and feedback are due to be published, and potentially longer before a decision is reached.
We have accepted the community’s decision to assess the Rec and have supported a proper process. We also recognise the need to consider existing sports provision, landowner interests and the concerns of those who may be affected.
Our concern has always been that the Recreation Ground could remain a ‘maybe’ indefinitely. … Without a clear decision, the whole project risks remaining in limbo, with no viable route forward. It would leave the charity, the community and, most importantly, the young people who have been waiting for this facility without a way forward.
We are not asking the Council to approve a pump track on the Recreation Ground today. We are asking for a process that reaches a clear conclusion.
Given that the options report has been available to the working group since June, could the Council confirm whether the outstanding landowner discussions have now been completed, and whether the report can be circulated to the charity and other interested groups without further delay?
And could the Council, at this meeting, commit to a firm date for deciding whether any Recreation Ground options should proceed to the next stage, following publication of the report and feedback in January? We would also welcome a clear explanation of what happens if the options are found to be unviable.
We believe the community deserves a transparent assessment and a timely decision, whether the answer is yes or no. If the Recreation Ground cannot accommodate a pump track, we need to know that, so that efforts can focus on finding a deliverable alternative rather than leaving the whole project in limbo.
Thank you.
Cllr Sarah Smith, as convener of the Pump Track Working Group, explained that the Working Group’s intent at January Full council is to decide upon the locations presented within the report. Each would either be ruled out as a potential location, or identified as a location with potential that should move forward with further consultation.
The Charity trustees have since received a copy of the Recreation Ground report. We are currently preparing comments for the Parish Council’s 30 November 2026 deadline.