Ancient Coton Orchard trees granted protection order

Ancient Bramley apple trees at Coton Orchard threatened by a new bus-way have finally been granted a protection order.

At a Planning Committee meeting of Liberal Democrat-controlled South Cambridgeshire District Council on Wednesday, councillors agreed to grant a tree preservation order (TPO) for 12 Bramley apple trees in Coton Orchard. This is remarkable because fruit trees are not ordinarily given protection by TPOs.

These 12 trees includes a handful of veteran trees and the Champion Tree, the second largest of its kind ever recorded in the UK.

Coton Orchard is the largest traditional orchard in Cambridgeshire and the eighth largest in the country. Undisturbed by ploughing or pesticides for more than a century, and with a mix of fruit trees, meadow, hedgerows, wild scrub and copse, this vestige of the county’s orchard heritage is home to a rich community of flora and fauna. Orchards such as this are hotspots for biodiversity, and so classed as Priority Habitats.

The off-road scheme would lay a 30-metre width of tarmac and concrete right across the site, and  remove the section that contains the 100-year old Bramleys.

Read more about the planned development and this incredible campaign here.