Thanks to all who came to the launch of the new facilities at Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground last Saturday:

• to the Mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart, who cut the tape of the new games area and also cut the cake
• to the CHYPPS team who ran the games and painted faces
• to Mark Buckton, who ran the Bin Challenge and gave recycling tips
• to Authentic Cakes, who made the cake
• to the City Council’s Active Communities team who managed the series   of improvements to the recreation ground over the past few years
• to James Day, who took this photo.

The games area can be used for a variety of ball games whatever the weather. The other recent enhancements have been:

• a second tennis court
• a revamped playground
• a second tennis court
• a path around the recreation ground that can be used by wheelchairs and pushchairs
• recycling bins for bottles and cans
• new benches

It was great to see a mixture of all ages enjoying the event and the sunshine!

This evening over 100 people crowded into the Cambridge Professional Development Centre in Trumpington to hear the two organizations bidding to run the new school set to open next year on Gunhild Way, where Netherhall Junior School is now.

The Queen Edith’s Federation team, presented first. The Head, Caroline Peet, spoke of their vision over the next ten years of two schools working in partnership. The Queen Edith’s chair of governors, Pam Jones, described the other sort of partnerships that Queen Edith’s has in the community – with educational institutions, faith groups and bodes promoting wellbeing and inclusion. The schools’ deputy head explained how Queen Edith’s serves the needs of a community that is diverse in its ethnicity, religions and economic backgrounds.

Mr Rossi spoke for the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, explaining the theological imperative for education and their belief in the uniqueness of every child as a child of God. He told us there are 26 Catholic schools in the diocese, so there is plenty of experience. They aim to serve South Cambridge, as there are many Catholic families from the local churches who would like to send their children to a catholic school if there were more provision.

The meeting was very well attended, mainly by parents from Queen Edith’s, but there has been scanty local publicity in the other local schools.

Questions were wide-ranging, covering special needs provision, school economics and the logistics of split sites, but the major concerns led back to the main difference between the two bids: admissions policy.

While the Queen Edith’s Federation if successful would serve the immediate community — children residing in the current catchment areas of Queen Edith’s, Ridgefield and Morley primary schools — the Roman Catholic school would cover half of Cambridge, but give priority to children baptized as catholics, and only then to local non-catholic children.

Concerns were expressed about the extra traffic that would be generated by children coming from across town. It is unlikely children would walk or cycle to school from Newnham or Newmarket Road … especially at the speed of your average 4 or 5 year-old. More importantly, many people expressed alarm at the prospect of the new school having insufficient places for children living near the school.

These are concerns that I very much share. While I appreciate the value of a faith school (I attended two myself), it is even more vital that a school is embedded in the local community. Children going to a school in their neighbourhood has to be a good thing, not just for parental convenience but for the social life of the child and community cohesion.

I am hoping there will be more opportunities for people to hear the two sets of proposals again between now and the end of the consultation period, 20th August. It would be good to have something actually in Queen Edith’s, at a time that’s more convenient for parents than the early evening, a time when many parents will be on bedtime duty and I shall be making this request of the County Council.

The Conservative Cabinet of Cambridgeshire County Council will make the final decision on which organization runs the school at the end of September.

Liberal Democrat Cambridge City Council has devolved some functions to local ‘area committees’, each covering a geographical quarter of the city. Queen Edith’s is part of the South Area, which also includes Cherry Hinton and Trumpington. The committee comprises the councillors for the three wards.

Last Thursday it met at Homerton College for the first time – a handy venue on the mainbus routes, but swelteringly hot last week. Fortunately chilled water and fans were close at hand.

For my sins, I have been elected to chair it for the coming municipal year, taking over from Trumpington councillor Andy Blackhurst who is chairing the Council’s Housing Management Board this year. Fortunately he is staying as vice-chair.

The first item of business was ‘Safer Neighbourhoods‘, a report by the local police on their activities and recommendations for priorities for the coming quarter. The meeting agreed to carry on with tackling anti-social behaviour in Paget and Foster Roads in Trumpington and in Tenby Close, Cherry Hinton. Following a request from Cllr Sheila Stuart, drug abuse in Hanover and Princess Courts (council flats in the northern part of Hills Road) were added.

We received a report about the Council’s revision of its Statement of Licensing Policy, which has to be renewed every three years, and a consultation on the same. The meeting did not give much detail about any changes, but was more a means of bringing the renewal to people’s attention. If you would like to see what is proposed, and comment, you can view the policy on the City Council’s website — any time up to 5th September.

More wonders of the web were presented by the Council’s planning officers in a Powerpoint presentation on a new virtual facility for viewing and tracking planning applications: Planning Public Access. You can view plans on line, comment on them, see what others have said about them,  and set up an email alert so you know when something changes. Use it at home, or if you prefer, at the Council’s Customer Service Centre on Rewgent Street, where planning officers are there to help form 10.30 till 3 p.m.

Community development grants were approved for  the following groups:

• Little Bunniers Mothers/ Carers Playgroup
• Trumpington Residents Association
• 2nd Cherry Hinton Guides
• Hanover and Princess Court Residents’ Association
• Trumpington Elderly Action Group
• Denis Wilson Court Social Club

There were two environmental improvement bids:

A topographical survey was agreed for the Wulfstan Way shopping parade, to take forward improvements (see my previous post on this).

The other bid was for road humps in Clarendon Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, to stop speeding, alleged to be coming from the Government offices and Cambridge University Press. I am sorry to report that police checks demonstrated that there is indeed speeding taking place, 15% of the vehicles driving not just over 30 mph but over 40 mph, though it’s not proven who is speeding. Two cats were killed in one of the streets last year.

The chair of the Brooklands Avenue residents’ association, spoke in support of traffic calming. E-mails expressing opposition to traffic calming had been sent to councillorsbyC.U.P. and one of the residents of the street.

The committee considered that while they viewed the speeding with concern, other measures than speed humps should be considere, possibly a 20mph limit, flashing lights warning people of the speed limit or chicanes. Officers will report back at the next meeting.

Two planning applications were approved: a retrospective application for a tall fence at 54 Kelsey Crescent and two new houses at 102 Glebe Road (with conditions for new landscaping on the boundaries with neighbouring properties and for a ban on deliveries to the site during construction during the school rush hour).

The police covering Queen Edith’s will be holding a community surgery at the Cherry Hinton Village Centre on Saturday 17th July from 4-5 p.m. They will be happy to give advice on crime prevention and discuss any concerns about the community.

If you would like to receive regular updates of police activity in the area, sign up for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary E Cops newsletter by visiting http://www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/

Families in Queen Edith’s are to be invited to party in the park to celebrate the opening of a new games area at the Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground.

The event is being organised by myself and the other three Lib Dem councillors for the area and there will be games, sports and possibly face painting during the afternoon of Saturday, July 17th.

Cambridge Mayor, Sheila Stuart will open the new multi-use games area for basketball, volleyball, netball and football at the Nightingale Avenue recreation ground, marking the culmination of a series of improvements to the park.

These include an improved children’s playground, extra tennis court and a pushchair and wheelchair friendly path around the edge of the park. New cycle racks and benches have also been added. So there should be something for all ages!

We have been working on making the park better to serve different people’s needs for some years. Many of the ideas have come from residents of the area, notably the path round the outside of the rec, a bright idea that the council was able to make a reality.

I hope local families will come and bring a picnic to enjoy the celebrations and help us officially open the new area.

Please tell your friends!

Traders and residents are moving forward with a package of ideas to revitalize the shops at Cambridge’s Wulfstan Way and we have just held our second workshop to explore ideas.

They want to see more lighting and seating, extra parking which could be controlled so that it could be used exclusively for shoppers, a community noticeboard and better signage to the shops.

My colleague Cllr Viki Sanders suggested we might incorporate some public art with the help of the local schools and colleages.

We have prioritized the areas we would like to go ahead with and will be taking detailed costings forward to the City Council’s South Area Committee on September 9^th.

As reported earlier in the year, Cambridge City Council has allocated funds to improve the Wulfstan Way shops – £101,000 to be exact.

There will be a follow-up workshop on 22nd June to discuss proposals in more detail. For more information, contact Penelope Hird — penelope.hird@cambridge.gov.uk.

Have you visited the Nightingale Avenue rec’ lately?

The City Council has put lots of extra kit in over the last few years — new climbing frames and spinners in the children’s playground, a second tennis court, a wheel-friendly path round the park, and most recently, a multi-use games area that can be used for basketball, volleyball, netball or football if, like today, it’s raining and the grass is not suitable to play on. The games area is constructed from wood specially chosen to mimimise noise and as the non-wood parts are dark leaf-green, it blends in well with the local environment.

There’s also some new benches and cycle racks. The other things I really like are the recycling bins for bottles and cans – which arrived this morning.

When I first raised this at the Council, the prevailing view was that people wouldn’t bother to recycle when they’re in a public place but if you are recycling at home then why not when you’re out and about too?

Abbey Pool and Romsey Rec have got some bottle and can bins too and I’m hoping we’ll collect more than they do!

I am currently working on arranging a summer party on Nightingale
Avenue, to celebrate all the improvements, as well as publicise leisure activities and events this summer.

I’ll post details when they are settled; in the meantime, if you would
like me to update you by email, drop me a line at amandataylor@cix.co.uk.

Queen Edith’s young people have been taking outdoor cookery classes as part of the City Council’s CHYYPS (Children and Young People Participation Service) this summer.

On Tuesday, I was invited to go and  sample the results. Despite an unseasonally rainy day (what passes for summer in this country!) there were about 20 children chopping and stirring away, aged between five and twelve, plus their chef tutors in the bright red CHYPPS T-shirts.

We lunched on wraps with a variety of exciting fillings. I had a spicy pepper and tomato mixture in a tortilla-type wrap, washed down with fruit juice — delicious, and much healthier than what I normally have at lunchtime!

It all happens on Wednesdays after school on the small park between Godwin Close and Gunhild Close and sessions will carry on till the end of this term (3.30-5.30 pm). For a map, see here.

The Reccy Ranger for Queen Edith’s, Georgina, tells me she’s hoping to do some more outdoor cooking but there will also be games, sports, arts&crafts and urban adventure play.

Other reccy activities near here:

Tuesdays

Coleridge Road, the DEC Bus, 3.30-5.00 p.m.

Aberdeen Avenue (off Brooklands Avenue), the DEC Bus, 6.00 - 8.00 p.m.

Thursdays

Kingfisher Way Rec (off Aberdeen Avenue), Reccy play, 3.30 - 5.00 p.m.

Nightingale Avenue

I am currently working on arranging a summer party on Nightingale Avenue, to celebrate the new MUGA, wheel-friendly walkway and extra tennis court and publicise leisure activities and events this summer. I’ll post details when they are settled; in the meantime, if you would like me to update you by email, drop me a line at amandataylor@cix.co.uk.

All starting at 3.30 p.m.

For more information on this and other children’s events, ring the CHYPPS team on 01223 457873, view their website or email them at chypps@cambridge.gov.uk.

The Queen Edith County Primary School (Godwin Way) is holding its summer fete this Saturday, 22nd May. These events are great for their teas and hot dogs as well as other fête fun such as bouncy castles, assaults courses, music-making and games. There’s a car boot sale too, so a chance to pick up a bargain.

This year the community police team will be there from about 12.30, advising on crime prevention, so look out for them if you have any issues to discuss.The fête itself starts at 1 p.m. and I understand there are barbecue lunches on sale so it’s a good idea to get there early! More information from the School PSFA.

Ambitious plans to revitalise a Cambridge shopping centre will be unveiled on Thursday evening (March 11).

The scheme for the parade of shops at Wulfstan Way is being developed following consultation last summer with local residents (see picture), including one survey carried out at the local primary school.

Projects, costing around £250,000 which include landscaping, new paths, seating, lighting, public art and a new community noticeboard, will be put before members of the South Area Committee.

People at the meeting will have an opportunity to comment again, then councillors will decide which projects should be pursued to improve the Cambridge City Council-owned shops.

Queen Edith’s Councillor Amanda Taylor said: “We have listened to residents and schoolchildren who have come up with some excellent ideas of how to improve this local shopping centre.

“Now we want to move forward so that their ideas can be put into practice to revitalise this area, encouraging more people to visit the shops and enjoy this open space.”

The committee will look at introducing two-hour only parking at the centre in a bid to keep spaces exclusively for shoppers. They will also investigate longer opening hours for the shops and additional marketing support.

Anyone wishing to air their views on the plans is invited to attend the South Area Committee at Hills Road VI Form Collegte, starting at 7.30 p.m. There will also be a presentation by the police followed by an invitation to agree priorities for the next quarter, an update on environmental spending, and planning applications. Anyone is welcome to this meeting, which focusses on issues concerning Queen Edith’s, Trumpington and Cherry Hinton.

Police Community Support Officer David Jackson will be at the Cherry Hinton Village Centre on Wednesday 3rd March between 6 and 7pm to listen to people’s concerns or comments about the neighbourhood. He will have information about making your property secure, and how to register your property using a computer data base. Please do go along and let him know what your concerns are, and also let him know if you think the Force is succeeding in its pledge on responding to your call.

If you would like to receive regular updates of police activity in the area, sign up for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary E Cops newsletter by visiting http://www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/

We welcome Sgt Gavin Townsend as the new Sergeant for the City South Neighbourhood Team.

We are looking forward to meeting him soon and to discussing items of mutual interest. Our former sergeant, Gordon Morganthaler, has transferred to Peterborough: we wish him all the best for the future.

I and other councillors have been receiving many more calls about potholes recently, partly because of the colder weather but also because of years of inadequate maintenanfce by the County Council.

One of the things people get justifiably annoyed about is that potholes and other problems such as pavement holes sometimes get mended superficially, but not well enough, so that they need repairing again shortly afterwards.

I have just heard from an officer at Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways Department that we shall have a super-team in Queen Edith’s for a week to carry out thorough repairs to the potholes in the ward. For all those of you on Wulfstan Way, your potholes are near the top of the list! The bad news is that ‘our’ week won’t be till the middle of March, but I am promised any dangerous potholes (and they are all dangerous if you are on a bike or have a walking stick…) will be made safe as soon as possible.

In the meantime, let me know of any dangerous potholes that you encounter and we will make sure they go on the list of repairs.

Shocking figures have recently shown just how many roads in Cambridgeshire are substandard– for more details, see the Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat post, which highlights the lack of maintenance over the years.

The City Council had cleared the graffiti completely from the bus stop by Friday, thanks for the rapid response!

To report graffiti within the city, email graffiti@cambridge.gov.uk.

No sign of action on the broken timetable display from the County Council yet; let’s hope it doesn’t take too long.

Real time information — the lit-up displays at bus stops that tell you when the buses are on their way — are good examples of bus companies and councils working together, and they are very useful if you’re trying to decide which bus to take, or whether it’s quicker to walk.

I know that because when (occasionally) a display is out of order, people tell me!

At present, this is the case with the display at the stop outside the Perse School on Hills Road. I noticed this one myself as it’s my regular bus stop, and as the bus shelter is copiously adorned with graffiti my guess is that the time display may be the work of a vandal.

I have reported both the broken RTI display and the graffiti, to the County Council and e City Council respectively. It will be interesting to see which gets sorted out first … do let me know.

The snow has meant that yesterday’s (Friday’s) waste collections in Cambridge had to be cancelled. There is also some impact on car parks.

Details of the Council’s plans can be found on Cambridge City Council’s website, or by calling 01223 458282.

Friday’s blue bin and black bin collections are now planned for Monday (21st). Green bin collections start again on Wednesday.

The BBC is forecasting more snow, so please check the Council’s website for the latest news.

 This Thursday, the South Area Committee meets at the British Legion Hall, Fisher Lane, and will be deciding on environmental improvement grants. These grants are funds to improve the appearances of an area visible to the public. We will be considering a range of bids, from  hanging flower baskets in Cherry Hinton to the Trumpington war memorial.

There will be a presentation from the police for the south area, and people at the meeting plus councillors will give their views to help set priorities for the coming months. Councillors will also be voting on planning applications  in Glebe Road, Alpha Terrace and Shelford Road.

Here is the agenda. I look forward to seeing you there!

If you can’t come along but would like me to raise an issue on your behalf, please let me know.

Here is an agenda: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/public/councillors/agenda/2009/0924areas/00.pdf

I have been notified* of changes to Stagecoach and Whippet bus services from Sunday 29 November 2009. The table shows which services are changing and the impact of that change. Bus changes No 09

One change that affects us is to the Citi 1 and Citi 2 routes. The Citi 1 will now go down Queen Edith’s Way not Wulfstan Way, while the Citi 2 will go down Wulfstan Way instead of Queen Edith’s Way. The Citi 2 will also reduce to one bus every 15 minutes, so residents of Wulfstan Way and the Gunhild Estate will have a less frequent service.

The Citi 7 and 2 will also reduce to a 15-minute frequency, instead of 10.

Above, I used the word ‘notified’ not consulted because I wasn’t! But I am of course very willing to pass on comments and make views known before the changes take effect.

The real time information display at the bus stop near Hills Road VI Form College has been out of action for some time, meaning people have to walk down to the next bus stop to find out whether there’s a bus due.

I reported this to the County Council on the 12th September, and so did two of our Focus deliverers. A response has been a long time coming!

It transpires that there has been a power failure to the shelter, which has burnt the fuses. What alarms me is that neither the City nor County Council had staff available and able to repair it – which is the main reason for the delay.

 See my latest mail from the County Council, which promises a remedy soon.

Dear Cllr Taylor,  Apologies for the delay in getting this display up and running. Our
contractor’s engineers did inspect the site almost immediately. It was found that there
was a power failure to the shelter, which has burnt the main fuse to both the shelter and the display. Because this is not part of the display’s circuitry, our contractors were
neither able nor authorized to replace the fuse.  I have since then been in contact with
the Street Lighting team at the council, who as well is not responsible for power to
shelters, and we have sourced a certified electrician to do the job. I am expecting that
they will visit the shelter sometime next week, and let me know what the outcome is.
Hopefully this should be sorted out next week, but if there are any further delays, I will
let you know.

A car has been left on the corner of Gunhild Close for the past four weeks. One of our Focus deliverers reported it to me and the Council will now be taking action to have it removed.

If you notice any abandoned vehicles, ring the City Council on 458282.

The Lib Dem City Council has divided Cambridge into four areas so that local issues can be determined locally. The area meetings decide on smaller planning applications and environmental, leisure and community grants as well as other issues, including policing priorities. These meetings are open to the public.

The South Area covers Queen Edith’s, Cherry Hinton and Trumpington and usually meets from 7pm on Thursdays in Queen Edith’s.  The next meeting is this Thursday at Hills Road VI Form College and will include a presentation on the new recycling arrangements coming in this autumn.

If you can’t come along but would like me to raise an issue on your behalf, please let me know.

Here is an agenda: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/public/councillors/agenda/2009/0924areas/00.pdf

I have recently received fresh complaints about litter and disturbance caused by Addenbrooke’s staff on the streets near the hospital.

Although staff were given a smoking area after complaints when the hospital site went smoke-free, they continue to gather in neighbouring streets to smoke.

 Residents of Greenlands and Red Cross Lane have been in touch with me to say they are getting fed up of the litter left behind – plastic cups and sandwich wrappers as well as smoking-related detritus such as cigarette ends, as well as the general disturbance of having people chatting just outside their homes.

I have asked the hospital’s director in charge of the site if he can request staff not to impose on local residents in this way.

 Update: see latest post.

The digging got underway today — loads of people of all ages from 3 upwards, and plenty of sunshine to help things along.

The garden now has its own blog:

http://rockroadlibrarygarden.blogspot.com/

I was first contacted about the land behind Rock Road Library by Lucy King, a pupil from Morley School, asking if she could turn into a proper garden. She not only sent me a hand-coloured picture of her vision of a garden but offered her labour and that of her friends too. I don’t get many letters from people of that age, so it has great to help her turn her dream into reality. 

A few more gardeners later, all from the local community, and support from both City and County Councils amongst others and I am pleased to say it’s now happening. They have relaunched the ‘Friends of Rock Road Library’ and will be running community events as well as creating a garden.

There is a mixture of schoolchildren from Lucy’s class and from Spectrum, Morley’s After-School Club, local residents and businesses.

A generous garden centre has already offered help and a landscape architect has worked with the Friends to draw up plans. You can see them on the Friends noticeboard as you enter the library.

The first digging session is on 12th September – if you’d like to join in, contact Jane Elliott — chair of the Friends’ Group and Head Gardener – on 710095 or email her at J.Elliott@ioe.ac.uk. See you there with your spade!