Our ‘Toy Town’ village with Harry Potter-inspired streets is destroyed by teenage vandals and ‘newcomers’ who don’t fit in
WITH its faux-traditional houses and Harry Potter-inspired street names, it’s no surprise that Cambourne in Cambridgeshire has earned itself the nickname ‘Toy Town’.
But locals fear the quaint civil parish of 3,400 homes is under threat from large numbers of ‘newcomers’ and ‘bored’ teenagers lured into vandalism.
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Due to recent high levels of antisocial behavior it has been given the less attractive name ‘Crimebourne’.
The development of West Cambourne has greatly increased the size of the parish and swallowed up more and more of the surrounding fields.
The Sun visited to mark Cambourne’s 25th anniversary and spoke to resident and local volunteer Anthea Heywood, 80, who lives on the cul-de-sac on Quidditch Lane.
There, some properties have names based on the popular name JK Rowling books, including one called The Golden Snitch.
On the posh street, where there are lots of robots delivering groceries to residents, four-bedroom detached houses sell for more than £500,000 on the rare occasions they do come on the market.
But Anthea says she “can’t stand” the way the village is changing, adding that she is shocked by the endless new developments and the associated influx of ‘newcomers’.
She told The Sun: “Ten years ago this was a law-abiding place but that has all changed.
“There is now a huge amount of dangerous traffic on this road. People accelerate all the time, at speeds of 80 km/h and 100 km/h.
“We are seeing more and more vandalism caused by bored teenagers with nothing to do.
“They dump bicycles and waste everywhere in the nature reserve and after a party you find broken glass on the ground.
“We live next to a beautiful park and I see graffiti and trash cleaning all the time.
“I don’t know what the solution is, but if they want to build more houses, they should do it in the right places – not here.”
‘Big city attitude’
Anthea, who grew up in the countryside, adds that the area used to be all farmland and nature, but she fears developers are “destroying” it.
“Soon there will be no more agricultural land and what will we eat then?” she says.
“There is more traffic and pollution than ever before and we can recognize the newcomers because they have this ‘big city attitude’.
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‘They keep their heads down and don’t want to talk to you.
“I’m a fresh air person and can’t stand the way Cambourne is changing.”
Cambourne’s first residents arrived in 1999 and since then thousands more homes have been built to accommodate people looking to escape the region’s high prices. Cambridge nine miles away.
With no cinema or swimming pool, just one pub on the main street and one single MorrisonsLocals have previously admitted it is one of the most boring places in Britain.
I’m a fresh air person and I can’t stand the way Cambourne is changing
Anthea Heywood
Perhaps the lack of things to do explains why Cambourne is famous for its historic sights birth ratewhich at 2.4 births per 100 women was the highest in Britain and even greater than Brazil‘s and India‘S.
But even that is changing. Anne Rees, 46, a volunteer at 19 The Coffee House, which is in Cambourne Church, said: ‘The birth rate is stabilising.
“I am the director of one of the schools and we no longer see the level we used to see.
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“I think it’s about finances because it’s more expensive to have children, so they’re more conscious.”
Anne lives in Upper Cambourne, where the roads – like Spitfire and Gladiator – are named after old WWII airplanes.
She tells us: ‘I moved here from a nice country village and when I got here I thought, ‘Gosh, all the houses look the same and there’s no character.’
“I understand why they call it Toy Town, but it’s what you make of it.
I moved here from a nice little country town and when I got here I thought, ‘Gosh, all the houses look the same and there’s no character.’ I understand why they call it Toy Town
Anne Rees
“Yes, some houses are not built in the style I would have chosen. There are a few on our street with large windows and only on a practical level do you feel like it Dunelm and tried to get curtains that size?
“I don’t think the housing developers thought about what it would be like to live in a house like that when you have a small child.
“But it is modern and that is what you expect when you come here.
“It’s cheaper than living in Cambridge and it’s a good family environment.
“I don’t know if I’m here for life. When our son is grown, we may want to move to a quieter place, but right now we are happy.”
‘Quirky’ houses
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Delia Dickinson, 40, wondered what she had gotten herself into when she moved to Cambourne with her partner in 2011, in her late 20s.
But today her biggest concern is increasing House prices – along with the lack of facilities.
She told The Sun: “Properties were cheaper than Cambridge back then.
“Now Cambourne is considered an extension of Cambridge – it will be in a few years’ time anyway – so prices are going up.
“I think you still get an extra room here compared to Cambridge, but price-wise it’s comparable.
“We found it very boring beforehand children. But when we had our firstborn, we realized how wonderful it is.
Before we had children, we found it very boring. But when we had our firstborn, we realized how wonderful it is
Delia Dickinson
“It has beautiful facilities and most groups are within walking distance.
“I love the style of the houses – they are fun, quirky and interesting. But we don’t have a shopping street here and that’s what’s missing.
“We would like a swimming pool and some shops but there is nothing apart from Morrisons, which ticks most of the boxes but you want more than one option.”
Kara Chapman, 35, is a supervisor at the Monkfield Arms, the only pub in the town, and echoes Delia’s sentiments.
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She says: “We have little robots that deliver people’s groceries and I think that’s the only unusual thing about living here.
“I understand why they call it Toy Town: you blink your eyes and a new residential area has appeared.
“Aesthetically speaking, Cambourne is a lot nicer than Cambridge and more family-oriented.
“In terms of conviviality, the pub, next to the pavilion, is the most important place, but there is not much to do.
“I’m going to Cambridge for a night out, because there aren’t many options here. If people don’t drive, they could get stuck when the bus stops at night.”
Retired supermarket manager Martin Bell moved to Cambourne from Norfolk in 2010 when a four-bedroom property became available on Quidditch Lane.
I’m going to Cambridge for a night out because there aren’t many options here. If people don’t drive, they can get stuck when the bus stops at night
Kara Chapman
Martin, 62, says: “My wife made an offer on our house before I even had a chance to view it.
“It can be funny to live on an unusual road like this. We had a Potter family that lived down the street until they moved a month ago.
“People make comments like, ‘That’s a nice name. Are you a fan?’
“But there is a nice sense of community here and it is also quite safe.
“It’s not Toy Town, it’s a good place to live.”
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