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Milton, Cambridgeshire

(Redirected from Milton Country Park)
For Milton, near Peterborough, see Milton Hall.

Milton is a village just north of Cambridge, England, with a population for the village and greater parish[1] of 4,400 in the 2021 census[2] down from 4,679 at the 2011 census.[1][3]

Milton
Milton is located in Cambridgeshire
Milton
Milton
Location within Cambridgeshire
Population4,400 [1][2]
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCAMBRIDGE
Postcode districtCB24
Dialling code01223
PoliceCambridgeshire
FireCambridgeshire
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cambridgeshire
52°14′36″N 0°09′41″E / 52.24347°N 0.16147°E / 52.24347; 0.16147

History

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Milton grew from a small population of 31 peasants in 1086, growing slowly up to 170 people making up 40 families in 1728.[4] The Ordnance Survey map of 1897 shows the extent of the buildings to be clustered around the High Street and Fen Road, with Milton Hall occupying the greatest area.[5] Compared with the Ordnance Survey map of 1901 showing just a modest expansion, but already possessing its two churches as well a school, smithy, brewery, and five public houses.[6] The population expanded to around 740 then remained fairly static in the period of the 1910s to the 1950s, the parish then grew more rapidly to greater than 1,700 in 1971.[4]

Milton expanded considerably in the late 1980s when two large housing estates were built between the bypass and the village. This resulted in a doubling of the population between the 1981 and 1991 censuses.[7]

The latest expansion started in 2012 with the development of the North Lodge Park consisting of 88 homes, two football pitches, pavilion and car park,[8][9] with the first residents moving in April 2014.[10]

The A10 bypass was built between 1976 and 1978 around the west edge of village, splitting Butt Lane into two parts. As part of the Great Eastern Railway the Cambridge-Ely line was opened in 1845 bypassing the village to the east but with no station.[4] Cambridge North railway station, opened in May 2017, is within the parish boundaries but approximately 1.6 miles walk/bike from the centre of the village.

Facilities

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The village possesses four pubs, three of which are Grade II listed buildings.[11] A brewery, Milton Brewery, established in June 1999, moved to nearby Waterbeach in July 2012, although the village had previously had a brewery on Fen Road as early as 1901.[12][6] There are two churches: All Saints' Church, which serves the Church of England parish of Milton, and a New Apostolic Church.

The village has a primary school but no secondary school. Most pupils continue their education at Impington Village College, Cottenham Village College or St. Bede's School, Cambridge.[13] There is also an Agricultural College, part of the College of West Anglia. The original village school was located in Fen Road, whereas the modern one is on Butt Lane, but the original building no longer exists.[6]

The Cambridge Science Park lies within the civil parish boundaries, notably the innovative-looking Napp Research Centre. It is separated from the main body of the village by the A14 dual carriageway road, but still accessible by foot/bike via the Jane Coston cycle bridge.[14]

Land between Milton and Waterbeach has been purchased for building a rowing lake by Cambridge Sport Lakes. Plans for an international-standard 8-lane rowing lake have been under consideration in Cambridge for many years. The original planning permission for the rowing lake was granted in 1995[15] but subsequently lapsed. However, permission was granted again in 2007.[16]

On 25 February 2015 the UK Footgolf Association opened its East of England headquarters in Milton on the site of the former Milton Park Golf Course.[17] They host many tournaments, including the UK FootGolf International Open from 2015.[18]

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    Church of All Saints'
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    Jane Coston cycle bridge between Milton and Cambridge over the A14
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    Village map located at the southern end of the High Street
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    The Waggon and Horses

Environmental issues

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Milton has acquired a reputation for having an unpleasant smell – the "Milton Pong" – caused by its proximity to the Cambridge Sewage Works and two recycling centres.[19] South Cambridgeshire District Council took legal action against Anglian Water in 2003.[20] In 2014, residents were asked to use an online "pong log" to encourage the authorities to make improvements.[19][21] A £21 million upgrade to the sewage works, due to be completed in 2015, was intended to reduce the smells.[22] After the upgrades Milton Parish Council reported that the smells had lessened but a working party and parish council air quality group had been setup to monitor.[23] [needs update]

In 2023 Silsoe Odours completed a series of tests for Anglian Water measuring the perceived offense of smells from the sewage works in the area. The survey was allegedly part of considerations by Anglian Water to move the sewage site to an alternative location.[24]

Milton Country Park

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Milton Country Park is located at the south-eastern edge of the village. It is built on the site of a former gravel pits. In 1990 work started on transforming the site into a country park. The park, which has become a haven for wildlife, officially opened in May 1993.[25] Two flooded pits called Todd's Pit and Dickerson's Pit now form freshwater lakes, both being available for fishing, the former for carp, the latter for general silver fish and pike. A smaller pool named Hall's Pool between the pits has a dipping platform, while Deep Pool, the deepest pit in the park lies to the north of Dickerson's Pit.

A network of over two miles of paths leads around the park; many of these paths are suitable for bicycles and wheelchairs as well as those on foot.

The park's financial future became uncertain when South Cambridgeshire District Council announced that, due to the 2005 Council Tax capping, they could not continue to fund the park and were looking for a new body to do so, and that if that was unsuccessful they would close the park.[26] A campaign to save the park collected over 10,000 signatures.[27] In July 2007, the council agreed in principle to hand the management of the park to Cambridge Sport Lakes Trust[28] which it did on 31 March 2008.[29]

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    Entrance to Milton Country Park
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    Milton Country Park Visitor Centre with a cafeteria selling snacks
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    Hall's Pool in Milton Country Park
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    Milton Country Park South end of Dickerson's Pit

Exclave

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Milton is one of 14 parishes in England still to contain a detached portion. The area of Chesterton Fen constitutes Milton’s exclave.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Note that all population figures quoted here are of the civil parish of Milton which is larger than the village of Milton and includes a separate community at the end of Fen Road, Cambridge.
  2. ^ a b "Build a custom area profile - Census 2021, ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. ^ "2011 Population Census: Usual Resident Population by Civil Parish" (PDF). South Cambridgeshire District Council. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "BHO Milton Introduction". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Milton, Cambridgeshire - OS Map 1897 - National Library of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "Milton, Cambridgeshire - OS Map 1901 - National Library of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. ^ Oldham, Paul. "A Brief History of Milton". Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Work starts at North Lodge Park". miltonandbeaches.mycouncillor.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  9. ^ "North Lodge Park – Works Begin". milton.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  10. ^ "News from North Lodge Park". milton.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ^ England, Historic. "Search the List – Find listed buildings | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. List Numbers: 1127353; 1331321; 1331323. Retrieved 26 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. ^ "History — The Milton Brewery, Cambridge Ltd". www.miltonbrewery.co.uk.
  13. ^ "Cambridgeshire County Council schools database". Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  14. ^ Oldham, Paul. "Businesses in Milton". Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  15. ^ Cambridge Sport Lakes Trust. "Covering letter for 2006 application" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  16. ^ Cambridge Sport Lakes Trust. "Planning Application Update, Delegated approval". Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  17. ^ "Footgolfers aiming to make mark at Milton". cambridge-news.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  18. ^ "Cambridge FootGolf - About - UK FootGolf Associat". ukfootgolf.bluegolf.com.
  19. ^ a b "Milton village launches 'pong log' to rate smell 'intensity'". BBC News. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  20. ^ Oldham, Paul (7 March 2003). "SCDC Take Legal Action on Pong". Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  21. ^ "Pong Reporting". Milton Village. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  22. ^ Brown, Raymond (19 May 2014). "'Milton Pong' and fly swarms plaguing Cambridge could be a thing of the past after £21m cash boost". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  23. ^ "We went to find the Milton Pong and this is what happened". 9 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Sewage sniffers map the 'Milton Pong' in Cambridgeshire". Cambridge Independent. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  25. ^ "About Milton Country Park". Milton Country Park. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  26. ^ Oldham, Paul (12 June 2005). "Future of the Country Park". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  27. ^ Save Milton Country Park Archived 17 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ Simpson, Helen (15 March 2007). "Future of the Park". Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  29. ^ Friends of Milton Country Park (31 March 2008). "a new beginning". Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
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