Thank you to the 21,000+ of you who signed the petition. Because of your support, today senior leaders at King’s College and the Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Grantchester Parish Council, met with us on a zoom call to discuss revising the river ban at Grantchester Meadows.

They were clear that it was never their intention to ban swimmers or water vessels, but a desire to curb damaging behaviour that can take place when lots of us show up there on a sunny day. 

It was agreed that the signs have become an unhelpful battle ground, and that rewording the signage to politely encourage responsible behaviour and communicate a more welcoming and informative message would help the situation. 

Plenty of other good ideas were shared and the group will be meeting again to discuss these in greater detail. It’s also planned to bring in the expertise of the conservationists working to preserve the river Cam and its banks.

A really good start to the conversation.

Thank you all for your incredible support – happy swimming!

Emilie, Camila, Lotus, Sarah, Lucie and Clare