Trinity College

SAVE FELIXSTOWE

TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE OWN MOST OF THE LAND

Trinity College acquired almost 4000 acres of land on the Felixstowe Peninsula in the 1930’s when the Pretyman family sold it in order to pay death duties. Part of it is used by Felixstowe Docks, and there are a number of rented cottages, but most of the land is countryside and farmland rented out to local farmers. But this all changed in 2002, when they decided that they needed to increase their income and they published their “Vision For The Future Of The Felixstowe Peninsula” which would have resulted in around 3000 houses being built on greenfield land around the Trimley Villages

Trinity College is governed by the Master and somewhat over 160 Fellows, who are responsible for maintaining it as a place of education, learning and research, and for promoting its welfare more generally. In addition the College also has a number of Honorary Fellows, who are generally Old Members who have attained high distinction in academic or public life. Some of The Honorary Fellows include - H.R.H. The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, John Kenneth Galbraith, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, and Lord Mackay of Clashfern.
The Mastership of Trinity is a Crown Appointment, made by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Master must hold a degree from Cambridge, and has in the past usually been a member of Trinity College. He or she is responsible for superintending the running of the College, and chairs the meetings of the College Council and Governing Body. The executive powers of the office, however, are limited. The Master holds office until the age of seventy, although there is provision in the Statutes for him or her to be continued by the Fellowship until the age of seventy-five. For the duration of tenure of the office, the Master resides in the Master's Lodge. In modern times the Master has customarily been of the very highest academic distinction.

What STAG Said In 2002 About The Trinity College “Vision”
We had two Public Meetings in 2003 attended by Dr Jeremy Fairbrother, Senior Bursar of Trinity College, and Tim Collins, his paid assassin from Bidwells. (Dr Fairbrother was a Director of Barings Brothers, the bank that went bust, and Tim Collins is a former resident of Trimley St Mary.) They endeavoured to persuade us, with huge amounts of sincerity and straight faces, that little had been decided and everything was at an early stage and open to amendment. Dr Fairbrother even claimed not to know how many houses were proposed. He is the academic equivalent of a company Finance Director, and I wonder at the competence of someone so ignorant of the implications of his own plans
A couple of points made by Dr Fairbrother must be refuted.

·	He tried to tell us they were not absentee landlords because they employed local agents. Most absentee landlords employ local agents, but that does not make them any less “absentee”.

·	When asked what good Trinity College had done for the region he mentioned employment at the docks. But employment is provided by the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Company while Trinity College sits back and gathers rents.

In addition, he admitted that Bidwells have absolutely no experience of developing housing estates. We all know the disastrous social consequences of badly planned housing estates elsewhere in Britain. Therefore, if “Trimley New Town” is developed by an academic charity and consultants who know nothing about housing we are going to end up like laboratory rats in a bizarre social experiment.

The facts are simple :
ONE : According to the experts of Suffolk Coastal District Council this area does not need housing of the scale proposed.
TWO : According to SCDC large scale housing estates, such as those in Trinity’s “Vision” are undesirable.
THREE : According to the overwhelming wishes of the villagers this development is totally unwelcome.

But, in their arrogance and greed, they will go ahead anyway, ignoring the needs, wishes and aspirations of the people who will be affected.

Trinity College is a very rich academic charity whose purpose is to finance academic activities. They have probably spent hundreds of thousand of pounds so far in preparing their “Vision”. Much more will need to be spent before even a single sod is turned. This is, in fact, a speculative and very high risk venture into property development which could drag on for many years before and payback is achieved. There is an almost certain chance that, so long as the rules are applied fairly, a Planning Application will be refused. There is a similar chance that an appeal to an Independent Inspector will also fail. The final hurdle is an appeal to the Office Of Deputy Prime Minister. This is many years away and the rules may have changed by then, we may not have a Labour Government, and John Prescott could be Lord Prescott Of Longbridge. Trinity College is governed by 180 Honorary and Elected Fellows, including the great environmentalist Prince Charles. I wonder if any of them have stopped to consider -

·	Is speculative property development the right thing for an academic charity to do?

·	Is it right to impose an unwanted environment on unwilling villagers?

·	Could the money being wasted on this “Vision” be better spent now within Cambridge University?

It is clear that the Trinity College “Vision” will proceed. It is also clear that most villagers are opposed to our environment being desecrated by an absentee landlord and their consultants. Now that we all know in broad terms what is going to happen we must proceed to the next stages of our campaign - gathering detailed information and intelligence and gaining support from the outside world. S.T.A.G. will play a large part in the Save The Trimley Villages Campaign, and we will devote as much web space as is necessary to their activities. We will also report on Parish Council action. In addition, we know of many people who prefer not to work as part of a “group” and this web site is also an open forum for them to express their views and publicise their activities.

Clarence House
London SW1A 1BA
12 March 2004

From : The Assistant Private Secretary To HRH The Prince Of Wales
Dear Mr Cowan
I am most grateful for your letter dated 10 December about proposed development in and around Trimley in Suffolk; I really could not be more sorry that you are only now receiving a reply.
The Prince Of Wales very much hopes that you will understand while he understands your concerns, he is not in a position to become involved in what is essentially a local planning matter. He is sorry. However, he is sure that you will make your objections known during the possible process of considering planning approval; His Royal Highness very much hopes that the right outcome might be reached.

Yours sincerely

Paul Kefford

HRH Prince Charles, The Prince Of Wales
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you in your capacity of Honorary Fellow Of Trinity College, Cambridge.
The purpose of my letter, written on behalf of the Save Trimley Against Growth Campaign, and the villagers of Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary in Suffolk is to make you aware of the following :

1	A large scale housing development that has been proposed by the College, and

2	The adverse social and environmental consequences this development will have on the communities that will be affected, and

3	The widespread local objections to this development.

Background : In the 1930’s Trinity College acquired almost 4,000 acres of land on the Felixstowe Peninsula. It is mainly unspoiled countryside, woodlands, and agricultural, and for the past 70 years a substantial rental income from it has been enjoyed by Trinity College. In July 2003 Trinity College, in conjunction with Bidwells Property Consultants, published their “Long Term Vision For Felixstowe, Walton and The Trimleys.” This sets out a plan for the development of “high quality houses between Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary.”
The Development : The proposal envisages the building of large housing estates on either side of the two villages, on land that is currently countryside. The villages will be merged and their distinct identities lost forever. They will, in effect, be transformed into “Trimley New Town.” In recent months Dr Jeremy Fairbrother, Trinity’s Senior Bursar, and Mr Tim Collins, a partner in Bidwells, have attended public meetings in both villages, where they attempted to answer questions put to them by concerned residents. It is clear from these meetings that, despite our overwhelming objections, this development will proceed as planned. It is not clear how many houses will actually be built however, since Dr Fairbrother claimed not to know, but figures of between 1,000 and 3,000 units have been suggested, and not denied.
The Consequences : The population of the two villages is less than 6,000, and such a disproportionate housing development will have severe consequences, including :

·	Destruction of the environment, amenity and surrounding countryside,

·	Endangerment to an adjacent “Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty”,

·	Loss of property values within the villages, (this is aready happening),

·	Substantially increased traffic along a High Road which runs through both villages, and which is unsuitable for increased and dangerous volumes,

·	Loss of the valued individual identities of the two villages,

·	Severe strain on local services and infrastructure, including public transport, schools, policing, social services, power and sewerage, and medical services,

Within their “Vision” Trinity College describe certain “environmental improvements” which it is claimed will result from the development, such as :

·	Traffic Calming - but this will only be needed as a consequence of the development, and will cause pollution and noise problems,

·	Cycleways and Tree Planting - but we already have footpaths and woodlands,

·	An Extended Bus Service - but more buses cannot be accommodated on an already busy High Road,

·	Public Open Spaces - but we already have such a commodity, the countryside,

·	A Series Of Small Parks And Playgrounds - once again, we already have something infinitely better - the open countryside.

Trinity College will profit from this development but the local communities will be expected to finance the required upgrading of services and infrastructure.
The Objections : The main objections to Trinity College’s proposals are as follows :

1	According to recently published Suffolk Coastal District Council estimates a housing development of this size is not needed within the Felixstowe Peninsula.

2	According to Suffolk Coastal District Council policies housing estates such as those proposed are undesirable, within or around small villages.

3	According to street canvassing, petitions, responses at public meetings, and feedback via our web site the villagers of Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary are overwhelmingly against the proposed development by Trinity College.

The Future : Trinity College is operated as a charity - it is not a property developer and has no experience in large scale housing development. In addition, Bidwells Property Consultants, Trinity’s Agents, have no experience with the development of housing estates. Many housing estates have been built in Britain by developers who cared little for, and know little about, the needs of the communities being housed. Such urban wastelands are now extremely unpleasant places to live and be brought up in, and if the proposed housing estates around the Trimley villages are developed by a remote academic charity and inexperienced consultants then there is a grave danger of similarly disastrous social consequences.
The Questions : I have already written to Professor Amartya Sen and Professor Sir Martin Rees, but both ignored my letters. I am therefore now writing directly to you and would respectfully request that you consider the following questions, bearing in mind that the Motto of Trinity College is “Virtue Is The True Nobility”:

1	The College has an undoubted need to raise funds but is speculative property development a proper course of action for an academic charity?

2	Trinity College have already expended considerable funds on this “Vision”, have apparently borrowed money developing the proposal, and are committed to considerable future expenditure. Given the uncertainty of success, is such speculative spending justified by a charity?

3	Could the money spent and proposed on developing this “Vision” have been better utilised within Trinity College?

4	Is it morally justified for an institution and a company to risk such a venture when neither has any relevant experience and where the consequences for those who will be affected, without their consent, are potentially disastrous?

5	What is the moral justification for an absentee landlord to impose its “Vision” on a distant and unwilling community where the only links are financial?

6	Is it acceptable for Trinity College to spend money on housing that, according to expert Local Authority predictions, is not needed?

7	Is it acceptable for Trinity College, an absentee landlord, to propose the building of housing estates of a type that the Local Authority deems to be undesirable?

8	As an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, and thus a representative of an absentee landlord, is it acceptable to impose, in your name, an unwanted environment and lifestyle on villagers who are overwhelmingly opposed to it?

Trinity College have had a commercial relationship with this area for over 70 years. At a recent meeting Dr Jeremy Fairbrother was asked what the College had given back to our community. The only thing he could think of was jobs at Felixstowe Docks. But even that was untrue - Trinity College extracts substantial rent from the Felixstowe Docks & Railway Company, and it is they who provide the employment.
Summary : The villagers of Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary are overwhelmingly opposed to Trinity College’s unwelcome proposals for our villages, but we do not feel that objecting through the usual channels will make any difference, since we believe that commercial decisions have already been taken. We therefore appeal directly to you in the hope that you will understand our arguments and sympathise with our objections.
Sir, you have power and influence. Please consider the reputation and financial needs of the College and weigh them against the aspirations and fears of the Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary villagers. Please also visit our web site if you need further information. Even though you may not be able to express your opinion in public any words of support and encouragement will be most welcome.
Once you know the full details of Trinity’s “Vision” and its adverse implications, we urge you to use your power as an Honorary Fellow to prevent this development proceeding to a stage where it cannot be halted. Finally, please bear in mind that this development will probably not receive planning permission and all money already spent will have been wasted. The best way to minimise future losses and make funds available for more appropriate academic purposes is to abandon the project as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,

Ian Cowan

“We will make sure there is affordable housing for local people.”