09/09/2026
On Saturday, the holy grail of British mothing was recorded at Coton Orchard. Lois Clarke found a Clifden nonpareil, or blue underwing, a species never previously found here.
It is one of Britain’s largest moths. At rest, its grey forewings merge into bark. Then they open and reveal a vivid ribbon of blue. Nonpareil means “without equal”. Once extinct as a breeding species in Britain, it has returned and is recolonising southern England. In a time of ecological collapse, that flash of blue felt like hope.
In 2024, Lois also discovered the Dark Crimson Underwing here. Neither find proves a breeding colony, but both establish presence. Before somebody looked on the right night, with the knowledge to identify them, we did not know they were here. Absence from a survey is not absence from the land.
That matters because Coton Orchard is not merely apple trees. It is a mosaic of veteran trunks, hollows and dead wood, wildflower meadows, scrub, hedges and open ground. Together these habitats support scarce invertebrates, barbastelle bats and endangered turtle doves. Each new discovery reveals more of what this place holds, and how much remains unknown.
Just 72 hours later came the announcement that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander had granted the Transport and Works Act Order. That approval included compulsory purchase powers enabling Cambridgeshire County Council to take the land. For hundreds of trees and the species around them, it reads like a death sentence. We are expected to pay for the bullet.
A casual reader might mistake this for an uncomplicated environmental good. The official announcement promises reliable journeys, low-carbon transport, less congestion, cleaner air, walking, cycling and “sustainable growth”.
Turn instead to the decision letter and inspectors’ report, more than 300 pages between them, and another story emerges. At paragraph 20.54, the inspectors conclude: “The Order Scheme would not do anything to relieve congestion and improve journey times to the east of Grange Road in the City Centre.” Its initial and adjusted benefit-cost ratios were both 0.5:1, classified as poor value for money. Most sensitivity tests placed it in the low-value category.
The environmental findings for Coton Orchard County Wildlife Site are harder still to reconcile with the celebration. The Secretary of State accepted that the “loss of habitat due to the construction of the Scheme would result in a permanent harmful effect on Coton Orchard CWS”. The inspectors were not confident that three veteran Bramleys could be translocated without loss or deterioration. If they die, replacement planting cannot provide other veteran trees. This is what irreplaceable means. Yet permission was given.
At the beginning of this decade-long defence of Coton Orchard, a The Woodland Trust officer was asked why the charity was devoting its scarce time and resources to helping us. The answer has stayed with me: if we cannot make the case to protect these veteran trees, this irreplaceable habitat and all the creatures it sustains, then what can we save? And, in turn, what will save us?
“What next?” we are asked. Judicial review is one possible avenue, but it is difficult, expensive and limited to points of law. It is a great deal to ask of people who have already given so much. The choice now rests again with Cambridgeshire County Council. The order permits the council to proceed; it does not compel it to. It could still decide to stop. After a decade of refusing to listen, faith that it will is hard to summon.
Thank you to the experts, charities, residents, recorders, volunteers and nearly 25,000 petitioners who stood with us. This is a loss for Coton Orchard, but the consequences reach far beyond it.
Whenever habitat that cannot be recreated is declared expendable, we are left poorer and the living world smaller. On Saturday, a flash of blue wings showed us that recovery is possible. On Tuesday, human hands chose destruction.
Cambridge Independent
BBC News
BBC Cambridgeshire
The Guardian
The Times and The Sunday Times
Daily Mail - UK News
