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!

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.

There are just  two bidders: The Queen Edith Community Federation Group and the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia.  You can read their full bids here, or see a summary and fill in a questionnaire here. If you can’t make the meeting, you can comment by contacting:

David Clark,  CYPS Infrastructure, Cambridgeshire County Council, Box CC1209, Castle Court, Castle Hill, Cambridge, CB3 0AP.

David.clark@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

The new primary school will be on what is now Netherhall Lower School, off Gunhild Way and it is to cater for the ever rising numbers of children in the south of city. It is intended it will open in September 2011.

The Queen Edith’s bid includes proposals to create a catchment area of children from the existing Queen Edith Primary School catchment area, as well as those of Morley Memorial and Ridgeway. It has broad support, including from local councillors and from the Diocese of Ely.

The Roman Catholic bid covers a broader area, and in their own words, ‘will serve in the first instance, the Catholic community of South Cambridge’.

Motorists will not be able to turn into Brooklands Avenue from Hills Road during the period of the work, which could take seven months or more, but will instead be diverted down Long Road.

The County Council has trialled cycle lanes on the bridge this year. The trial has been very well received, surprisingly so — and they are now installing permanent cycle lanes. Bizarrely, the new layout won’t be the same as the one that’s been trialled, but the cycle lane will actually be in the middle of the carriageway. My concern is that some less confident cyclists, or people cycling with children, will be nervous about being in the middle of the road. I hope my fears are misfounded.

On the positive side, the cycle lane will be a good wide one of over 2 metres, and there will be new signals at the end as well as improved junction arrangements and access to the station. For the full story, see the County Council’s website.

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).

Cambridge City Council has four area committees, which take decisions on grants and other local matters, s well as planning applications.

Next Thursday (8^th July), the South Area Committee meets at Homerton College, and will be discussing safer neighbourhoods (that’s council-speak for community
policing), licensing policy, a presentation on how people can view planning applications at the Council’s Customer Service Centre in Regent Street, grants and planning applications.

The police will be presenting crime figures and reporting on their activities over the past quarter, and recommending priorities for the next. The public and councillors should be asking questions and commenting on those priorities. See the policing report here.The big change for planning is that people can visit Cambridge City Council’s new Customer Service Centre in Regent Street to view applications on line, or speak to a planning officer if they wish. The Council’s new online facility can be used to view plans and applications, leave comments and set up an alert about new
applications where you live.We will be looking at community development grants for playgroups (a trip), residents’ associations (Christmas fun and a trip to St Ives)  and youth groups (camping kit). Although the committee covers Queen Edith’s, Cherry Hinton and Trumpington, there are no bids from groups in Queen Edith’s this time. If you are involved in a community group hat could use extra funds, please contact one of your councillors and we can explain the sorts of things that can be funded and to whom.

The other decision to take is on environmental improvements. One is a survey for the Wulfstan Way shopping area to progress the already agreed works (see previous post on Wulfstan Way shops); the other is for a traffic calming scheme in Clarendon Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, subject to its getting the thumbs-up from public consultation. See teh details here.

There are two planning applications: a retrospective application for a 2m fence round a house, the other for two new houses on Glebe 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.

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/

NIGHTINGALE AVENUE RECREATION GROUND

Saturday 17th July

3.00 - 5.00 p.m.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

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!

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.

 King John granted permission for a fair on the Common back in 1211: in those days it was an opportunity for different merchants to meet and trade their wares. For more information see here. These days it is more of a funfair than a trade fair, with rollercoasters, ghost trains and, of course, the ubiquitous dodgem cars.

It is still authorized by Parliament under an Act of 1850. When the City Council wished to alter the time of the opening proclamation from the afternoon to the evening, we had to get government permission!

The tradition is upheld by a procession of the Mayor, council chief executive, macebearers and councillors, often joined by the ‘chain gang’, civic dignitaries from neighbouring councils. There is a civic proclamation of the Fair by the Chief Executive and Town Crier with a warning about good behaviour, then the Mayor, Bailiffs and councillors throw newly minted pennies at the crowd before proceeding to a crazy circuit on the dodgem cars.

The opening ceremony is 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Two more summer events in the community for you to spend your money and have a good time at:

Summer Fair this Saturday afternoon (3-5 p.m. 19th June) at St John the Evangelist on Hills Road. Cakes, plants, tombola, games and cream teas  which are likely to be home-made, scones, jam and all.

Summer Fête at Morley Memorial Primary School on Saturday 26th June, 12 noon - 2.30 p.m. Books, toys, games, hand-made goods and an awesome array of things to eat from the many different countries represented amongst Morley families!

Energy-saving light bulbs and household batteries can now be recycled at Sainsbury’s Coldhams Lane and Cherry Hinton Hall car park.

Batteries can be recycled at most supermarkets. Watch for the new recycling bins in the City centre.

Late last year, the gulleys were jetted in various places on Hills Road but that hasn’t solved the problem. The gentleman I deal with at the County Council said he would try a new way of investigating to see where the break in the pipe is, possibly with a CCTV camera, but he told me it would cost extra money and couldn’t promise when it might be done.

Given the very high number of pedestrians and cyclists who use Hills Road, it seems to me it would be worth spending money on so we can actually use the pavements and cycle lanes. After all, there is little point spending millions on cycle lanes on the bridge if you get knocked over as you approach it because you suddenly have to leave the cycle lane where it turns into a stream.

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.

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.

Mr William Mott was an 18th-century attorney who made provision for the poor in various ways, working through the churches. He left 10s 6d (52.5p)for the preaching of a sermon every year as a service to the poor people living in the parish. The money ran out a long time ago (and few poor people can afford to live in  Cambridge city centre these days) but the sermon is still preached every June, in the presence of the ‘Mayor and Corporation’.

Cambridge City Council has four ceremonial bailiffs, elected annually by the city’s 42 councillors; I have been one for most of my time as a Cambridge city councillor. In days gone by the bailiffs used to guard the person of the Mayor and seize goods from people who hadn’t paid their bills. These days I’m relieved to say our function is purely ceremonial, although as the Senior Bailiff I do get to make an equestrian speech every year at Reach Fair.

We accompany the Mayor when s/he goes to civic church services such as today’s, and to the two charter fairs authorized by King John. We have a fancy uniform too – a robe in Cambridge blue and a little top hat.

Today, the ‘corporation’ comprised seven or eight councillors including three bailiffs and an honorary councillor. We were joined by the new MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert. It was our first bailiff event with the new mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart, who was looking radiant! She was also attended by the Sergeant at Mace, macebearers and her cadet from the St John’s Ambulance Service.

Bishop David Thomson is the fairly new Bishop of Huntingdon and I hadn’t heard him preach before. His sermon was wide-ranging and both refreshing in style and thought-provoking. He preached on today’s gospel reading, John 15, about the True Vine. I left my notes in my pewwhen we processed out so I am relying on memory – but the full sermon can be read on the Bishop’s own website.

Roots, shoots and fruits

Bishop David started by describing how the community he comes from (Cumbria) has been sharing rather more pain than joy of late, with a fatal coach accident followed by the horrific shooting rampage last Wednesday. (I know people are still recovering from floods and some even from foot and mouth disease. And the local economy was not helped by the crash of a big local employer just before Christmas.)

He spoke on a pretty well known text ‘Love one another’ but also drew our attention to the less often quoted words about fruit trees being grafted one onto another and the superior fruit resulting from the joining of them. It was an apposite reminder of the importance of community and working together; as I looked at Julian Huppert sitting in front of me, I wondered whether the Liberal Democrat MPs feel engrafted onto their coalition partners, or the other way round! Let’s hope and pray for good fruit.

We were reminded of the importance of sharing the fruit, a good lesson in the imperative to share what we have, a lesson learnt at nursery school but often forgotten in later life.

All in all, a thought-provoking and challenging beginning to the municipal year.

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.

Cambridge workers are being urged to take part in a Cycle Challenge. We are being pitted against The Other Place. We’ve beaten Oxford in the Boat Race and University Challenge already this year, so here’s the next trial of fortitude!

It works like this: you sign up at your place of work, then encourage your colleagues to do the same, then log your journeys (all of them, not just the commuting ones). The campaign aims to get more new cyclists doing short journeys of just 10 minutes (1 or 2 miles for most people).

The list of Cambridge organizations that has already signed up is impressive and I am pleased to say it includes the City and County Councils as well as both universities.

Read all about it here.

Our Lib Dem candidate for South Cambridgeshire,Sebastian Kindersley, has asked me to sharethis letter of thanks to all who supported theLiberal Democrats in the General Election:

 Thank you for your support in the recent elections.

Thanks to your help, we made some real progress in South Cambridgeshire on 6^th May. In the general election, we reduced the Conservative majority, getting over 20,000 votes on a 2.5% swing. In the elections to South Cambridgeshire District Council, we made a net gain of four seats.

The general election did not give an overall majority to any one party. Nick Clegg had always made clear it would be wrong to keep Gordon Brown in power, even if the two parties could have formed a majority in Parliament. Rather than leaving the Conservatives to form a minority government, leading almost certainly to a further general election, we preferred to enter into a full coalition.

As part of this, there will be a fixed term parliament. David Cameron has given up the right as Prime Minister to call an election when it suits his party, and the next general election will be in May 2015. Meanwhile, a limited reform of the voting system will be put to the British people in a referendum.

We intend this to be the start of a new style of politics, with politicians from more than one party working together to sort out our country’s problems – as happens elsewhere in Europe (including in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

As Nick Clegg said at the end of our special conference in Birmingham, “Promises we were making to people on their doorsteps just a few weeks ago are becoming realities: the income tax threshold is now going to rise to £10,000. That is this Government’s priority, not tax cuts for millionaires”.

Though we will be working with Conservatives in Government, we will be making our case just as strongly in local elections as we seek to increase our representation. We will continue to depend on your support and your help, and will continue to work hard all year round to represent you.

Yours sincerely,

Sebastian

Sebastian Kindersley

The evening starts at 7 p.m. and the venue is Comberton Village Hall. Tickets are £10 each, to include a buffet supper, and can be bought from Cllr Susan van de Ven by emailing susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.

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.

Queen Edith’s City Council seat

Jean Swanson (Lib Dem) 2129 — a new record!

Vincenzo Marino (Con) 1221

Jonathan Goodacre (Lab) 541

Brian Westcott (Green) 334

Carol Jackson (UKIP) 122

Lib Dem majority 908

South Cambridgeshire parliamentary seat

Andrew Lansley (Con) 27995

Sebastian Kindersley (Lib Dem) 20157

Tariq Sadiq (Lab) 6024

Robin Page (Ind) 1968

Helene Davies (UKIP) 1873

Simon Saggers (Green) 1039

Majority 7838

Swing of 2.5% from Conservative to Liberal Democrat.

Turnout 75%

Thanks very much to everyone!

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

The Liberal Democrats have opened up this election and we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform our political system to one that is fair and representative of the British people - and the people of South Cambridgeshire.  Vote for what you believe in!
The Independent writes today:

The surge in support for the Liberal Democrats has unlocked something precious: a feeling among the public that, for the first time in a generation, a radical overhaul of our political settlement could be possible. 

Despite the drama of recent weeks, there remains a considerable risk that Britain could wake up on Friday morning to discover that we are in for four or five more years of ‘business as usual’ politics under a Conservative government.

The Liberal Democrats are longstanding and convincing champions of civil liberties, sound economics, international co-operation on the great global challenges, and of course, fundamental electoral reform.  That is why we argue that there is a strong case  for progressively minded voters to lend their support to the Liberal Democrats whereever there is a clear opportunity for that party to win.

It is time to use our rotten voting system (for what we fervently hope will be the last occasion) to change the system - and deliver a new politics.

To keep all traffic moving and minimise delay,s the roundabout outside the station will have temporary traffic lights in place for the next two weeks (starting next Tuesday, 4th May).

The work is part of a Cambridgeshire County Council project to create a new railway station bus interchange for all buses. Bus services will continue to operate as normal, but passengers will get on and off buses at temporary stops on Station Road.

Clear signs 60 metres from the railway station on Station Road will mark the temporary bus stops on both sides of the road. For safety reasons, no vehicles will be able to stop outside the front of the station building. Railway Station managers are asking people dropping off and picking up passengers to use the short stay car park.

Warning signs are in place to inform motorists of the work.

The South Cambridgeshire candidates will be attending the following hustings meetings in the constituency, two of them in Queen Edith’s:

7.30 pm April 25^th, Queen Edith Chapel, Wulfstan Way

10-11 am 27^th April, Radio Cambridgeshire

7-9 pm 27^th April, Addenbrooke’s

7.30 pm 28^th April, Cottenham

Cambridge City Council’s bid to make significant changes to the law governing “green” building has been left stagnating in the government’s in-tray.

The City Council involved an enormous number of people — groups and individuals, including schools, colleges and businesses– in drawing up proposals under the terms of the Sustainable Communities Act (see previous post) We put forward two proposals, one on green housing and one on retaining council house sale proceeds and use the money to build new, sustainable housing in the city. Nine months later, the government is no further forward in processing them.

The delay has left councillors worried that the process which has cost time and money, has been pointless.

Our ideas won the support of the Local Government Association and we were optimistic that the government would do the same. But the whole process has ground to a halt. The council, together with the residents who took part in this exercise, have been badly let down by this government.”

They were put together with just under 200 proposals from other councils and three months ago they were laid before the government to see if they could be implemented. But only 17 schemes have been pulled out of the pile and those are destined only for “further review and discussion”.

“But the proposals are languishing in the government’s in tray and there is no sign of them getting any further.”

I am bitterly disappointed by the lack of action. Cambridge City Council was the only council in Cambridgeshire to put forward any suggestions. It did so with the help of a whole range of groups and individuals, including schools, colleges and businesses, who were involved in the process of coming up with ideas.

The party is preparing to contest the 17 seats on Cambridge City Council which are up for election.

Ian Nimmo-Smith, Cambridge City Council leader said: “In our manifesto, we renew our vision for Cambridge and our commitment to fairness in these challenging economic times.

“We are celebrating 10 years in control of the city council and during that time we have transformed the basic services; we promise to fight to protect these services and continue to work with residents to shape the way the city develops.”

Sian Reid, Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Growth said: “We will continue our commitment to providing affordable homes close to transport links and nurturing the local economy.

“At the same time, we will insist on environmentally sustainable solutions to ensure fairness for the city’s future generations and reinforce our commitment to tackling climate change.”

For a copy of the manifesto, click here – or download as a pdf: libdemcitycouncilmanifesto2010.pdf

Make sure you are on the electoral registerfor both elections — either check the register at the library, the Guildhall, or ask me or another councillor, as we have copies. If you are not already on, you have until Tuesday 20 April to register. You can do it online  on the City Council’s website. http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/about-the-council/elections/.

 If you are away on 6th May, you can register for a postal vote — download a form from https://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register_to_vote/postal_vote_application.aspx?HasJavascriptEnabled=true or request one from the Guildhall by phoning 457000.

This innovative approach to housing was approved last Monday at a meeting of my council committee, the Strategy & Resources Scrutiny Committee.

Community self-provision is different from self-build schemes, in that people work together with a professional developer rather than do the various building tasks themselves. One of the advantages of people working together on a big site like Orchard Park means that community facilities can be incorporated into new schemes, thus hopefully avoiding some of the mistakes made in other housing developments.

Any information on who is responsible would be gladly received.

Cambridge councillors at the Lib Dem party conference came home from Birmingham with an award for our work on improving transport from the Local Government Association Liberal Democrat Group. It is the ‘Improving Transport Award 2010′.

Although the County Council is the main transport authority, the City Council were praised for some of our innovative ideas, such as car parks charging recognizing low emissions vehicles and charging points for electric cars. The judges were particularly impressed by our toad-friendly cattle grids on the common … also good for bikes!

Thank you to the County Highways Department, who have filled in a dangerous hole on Hills Road in record time.

Over the weekend, an eagle-eyed resident alerted me to a nasty hole in the pavement on Hills Road near the Long Road junction. It looked like a missing manhole cover and we were concerned about feet going into it by mistake, either human or animal. I reported it to Mr Ben Cross at the County Council Highways Department, got a reply back first thing this morning and by this evening it had been fixed!

All the more impressive considering the Highways people are busy at the moment mending all the potholes that have appeared this winter. Don’t forget to let us know about any that you notice, and we will pass on the details.

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.

Queen Edith’s Focus Team member Jean Swanson is keeping a list of all potholes in the Queen Edith’s area and passing them on to the County Council.  Help us make sure they don’t miss any by sending us the details of where the pothole is (nearby house number and street name, whether in the middle of the road or the cycleway) and what it’s like. You can contact Jean at jsswanson@ntlworld.com. You can also report it to Cambridgeshire County Council on line.

Well done to the person who did a citizen’s repair on two deep holes running across Rock Road, by filling them with rubble. The County Council has assured me that they are on the list of holes to be ‘cut and patched’ and promised to get the contractor to attend to them asap.

There are about 2,000 potholes across the county, so the repairs are going to take some time. I have never seen the roads so bad.

My colleague, Cllr Sebastian Kindersley, is in the news today calling on the Conservative-run County Council to take immediate and urgent action.

The Cambridge Cycling Campaign (of which I am a member) is working on encouraging more women and girls to take up cycling as an everyday way of getting about.

They are putting on two events:

On Wednesday 10th March they will be showing the film ‘Beauty and the Beast — why British girls don’t cycle’.

‘Ride for Joy’ is a big fashion cycling event on Saturday 20th March. That’s NOT an oxymoron. The idea is to wear your ordinary clothes, but still be as stylish as you please. We’ll be riding around the centre of town, meeting  at Lammas Land at 2 p.m. and fetching up at Parkers Piece for a speaker later. For the latest news, see the Cambridge Cycling Campaign website. b

Wonderful Wednesdays runs all through March and offers two Park & Ride bus fares for the price of one every Wednesday afternoon in March, on production of a voucher.

To download the vital voucher, visit Love Cambridge, phone them on 01223 457179, or email helen.hames@love-cambridge.co.uk

We often have agenda papers of 500-1000 pages for some of our meetings, particularly the one I chair, where we scrutinize twelve different departments of the Council. An electronic tablet would certainly be lighter to carry, although I would still want to be able to scribble notes in the margin and use Post-It notes as navigation markers. And what if they were stolen or got damaged?

Given the inbuilt obsolescence of technical gadgets I fear that a tablet might be upgraded or become outdated before it paid for itself in terms of saved paper costs.

Any advice welcome! Thanks to those who have commented, who are confirming my scepticism…

UPDATE

My colleague Cllr Salah Albander, councillor for Trumpington, already has one of these devices, an I-pad brand, which he purchased second-hand, doubtless from someone who found it less useful than the marketing hype would suggest. I took the opportunity at last night’s council meeting (25th Feb) to photograph Salah using it and now add it here, to pacify those amongst my readership who require pictures to accompany the text.

Ghana is a poor country, and its challenges include a lack of basic amenities such as access to water and electricity, as well as health care and education. Fair trade offers producers a guaranteed price for their goods, and the money goes back into the community. Several of us listening were amazed at the sheer number of projects that have come about through the fair trade premium. I am probably missing some out, but for example, at Bomarts it has paid for: boreholes to provide clean drinking water, a toilet block, refurbished medical centres, a maternity wing at a clinic, school meals to encourage the children to stay at school longer (Cambridge’s newest restauranteur Jamie Oliver would surely approve!) and nursery equipment for the smaller children.

Bomart starts harvesting pineapples in March and mangos in May. Fair trade pineapples can be found on the shelves of four major supermarkets: Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons. My pineapples will taste all the sweeter now that I’ve glimpsed something of the lives of the people who grow them.

Diana’s a Fair Trade Certification Officer at Bomarts Farms and is here on a tour. It’s her first trip to the UK, and she said she was enjoying it, though it is her first experience of snow. She was speaking today at Emmanuel United Reformed Church in Trumpington Street Cambridge, at the invitation of the Cambridge Fairtrade Steering Group.

There was also an exhibition on 30 years of Traidcraft – I didn’t realize it had been around that long. When I first came across fair trade as a university student in 1980, there was only WDM tea and Campaign coffee, which you had to be . . . errr . . . committed to drink, if you know what I mean.

Nowadays the Traidcraft catalogue is a veritable cornucopia of goods, from tea and coffee (VERY nice, I start the day with two cups of their Indian Ocean) to chocolate, wine, cards and giftwrap, clothes, even holidays! And that’s just one fair trade supplier. I use www.ethicalsuperstore.com to find more sorts of product. My current problem is that although I have lots of fair trade clothes, they are nearly all summery and it’s too cold to wear them without something warmer on top. A shopping trip must be in order . . .

Diana is repeating her talk tomorrow night at King’s College, and on Thursday at Bourn Village Hall.

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/

Its fleet of 15 buses bought a year ago for the busway used to sport ads saying ‘I’ll be on the busway soon — will you?’ These strips were replaced last week with new ones plaintively asking ‘Will I be on the busway soon?’

Stagecoach bought the buses a year ago (for a cool three million pounds), but the opening of the busway seems no closer, with Cambridgeshire County Council in deep dispute with their contractor. Not surprising Stagecoach are narked.

Meanwhile, Conservative-run Cambridgeshire County Council is to spend five million pounds of taxpayers’ money just on legal costs . . . not to mention the additional costs of the busway itself, which is not surprisingly way over budget.

Councillors on the Cambridge traffic committee have approved a 20mph speed limit trial in the Wulfstan Way area. The trial will start in March and last for twelve months.

It will cover Wulfstan Way, Gunhild Way and Godwin Way, and the three cul-de-sacs in that area.

The Wulfstan Way area was chosen because it has a high number of pedestrians and cyclists, and several community facilities – churches, schools, doctors’ surgeries and shops.

There is a larger trial in Cambridge city centre but this is the only one out of town. Queen Edith’s is leading the way! Full details of the scheme can be seen on the County Council’s website.

The South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats are holding an open meeting on education at St John’ Church, Hills Road, on 18th February.

 Speakers

 Cllr Peter Downes, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on education on Cambridgeshire County Council (former Head of Hinchingbrooke School and President of the Secondary Heads Association)

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley, Cambridgeshire County Councillor and Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for South Cambridgeshire

Come and hear the Lib Dem point of view and have your say!

7 p.m., The Wilkinson Room, St John the Evangelist Church, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8RN (opposite Homerton College, buses 1, 4, 7 and lots more)

Drinks and snacks available. No ticketing, just come!

Education meeting poster

Funds have accordingly been thinly spread, but we are pleased to report that yellow lines have been approved near junctions in the following roads, all in the interests of safety:

Almoners Avenue

Glebe Road

Rock Road

Wulfstan Way

Thanks to my colleague Cllr Alan Baker for his persistence in keeping up the pressure for these yellow lines!

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.

Every tin can, newspaper or potato peeling that isn’t recycled has to go to landfill. Methane from landfill sites escapes into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. Water drains through waste materials, picking up pollutants on its course. Meanwhile, more energy is used creating new things, transporting them, etc.

Landfill also costs us money – £40 a tonne and rising. Last year, over 25,000 tonnes of household rubbish from Cambridge black bins was sent to landfill. We are burying over a million pounds a year in the ground.

It is estimated that 80% of the black bin rubbish could be recycled, often just by putting it in a different bin, but many people find recycling difficult or confusing. So the Council is looking for enthusiastic people in the community who can spread the word and encourage everyone to join in. Activities are up to the individual’s availability and time, but might include leafletting, putting up posters, running a stand at local events, giving talks, and spotting any barriers to recycling and passing them to the Council.

No special experience or knowledge is required as free training will be provided. People living in flats or shared premises are especially welcome.

For more information, please email mark.buckton@cambridge.gov.uk, telephone 01223 457673, or read more at the Council’s website. Recycling

Plastics recycling

42 Hartington Grove: 2-storey rear extension REFUSED

15 Fitzwilliam Road: demolition of extension and erection of new extension APPROVED

52 Glebe Road: demolition of house and erection of new 3-storey house APPROVED

St Mary’s School Bateman Street: demolition of rear extension and erection of new 4-storey building REFUSED

157 Church End: erection of two houses APPROVED

The plan was presented to city councillors last Monday (18th January).

Five themes continue from previous years: house burglary and personal robberty, alcohol-related violence, anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and reducing reoffending, together with a special project to tackle cycle theft.

Analysis of shop theft,the links between drug and alcohol abuse and theft were added as new areas.

Members were keen to emphasize their support for continuing to combat cycle theft, and it was pointed out that too often, cycle theft is a direct consequence of inadequate parking arrangements. Fortunately, the City Council has been addressing this, with newly installed cycle ‘loops’ at lamp-posts, the well used cycle park underneath Grand Arcade, and a study of new sites for bike racks.

Although this supp0rt was consensual, the lone Conservative councillor, Chris Howell, moved an amendment for the Partnership to prioritize cycle theft, despite assurances that this was already happening. It reminded me of those boys on the bus who insist on pressing the button even when the ‘Bus stopping’ sign is already lit up, so they are able to say ‘I did it’.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Nimmo-Smith, agreed to relay all comments back to the Partnership.

Section 30 dispersal orders are part of the Labour Government’s Anti-Social  Behaviour Act of 2003, and give the police powers to make people leave the area as a method of dealing with anti-social behaviour.

At last Monday’s meeting of Cambridge City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny meeting, councillors questioned the reducing of the area covered by the dispersal order. The order has been renewed for a further six months but for an area almost half the size it was before, and no longer including the cricket ground and cemetery.

Members of the  public, John Green who lives in the area, and Richard Taylor, a regular attender of council meetings and councillors questioned this decision, taken over the Christmas/ New Year holiday period, and expressed concern about the lack of consultation with local people as well as drawing attention to continued problems with drink-related nuisance, including public urination and intimidation. Police undertook to reimpose the original order if anti-social behaviour escalates again, but were disappointingly vague as to what level of anti-social behaviour would trigger any action.

The East Area Committee has been asked to discuss this when it next meets.

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.

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.

Building site Back in July, Cambridge City Council put forward four changes to the law for the Government to consider, all with a common theme, making our local community more sustainable.

Under the terms of the Sustainable Communities Act of 2006, supported by the Liberal Democrat City Council, the government has a duty to consider such ideas from local authority areas.

In Cambridge we have been enthusiastic about this Act for some time and I was delighted when our Full Council voted through my motion supporting it, all part of the campaign to get the government to do so too.

Of the local councils, only the City Council put forward any suggestions. One assumes the Conservatives on the County Council are happy with the way things are! Cambridge City Council involved a whole host of groups and individuals in the process of coming up with ideas, from small pressure groups to businesses, schools and colleges. The ideas were narrowed down to four and I’m pleased to report that the Local Government Association has given us its backing for two of the four:

Enable the City Council to keep all income from council house rents and sales to use to build new sustainable housing in the city

Encourage and achieve higher energy efficiency in buildings.

Here is a copy of the full set of proposals.

The LGA has put together a report on proposals from all councils that have taken part, including the ones it doesn’t support as well as the ones that it does. The next step is for them to negotiate with the Government on how or whether the shortlisted proposals can be implemented.

So we are not home and dry yet but we have passed the first hurdle!

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.

The Conservatives who run Cambridgeshire County Council are selective about the roads that it grits, and Liberal Democrat councillors on the County have been putting on the pressure for individual streets that have been literally left out in the cold.

 Meanwhile, city councillors have been asked if they would welcome salt bins for their areas – provided local residents undertake to scatter the salt.

 What do you think? Would you be willing to do this job in order to keep more roads safe when the cold snap comes?

I declare a personal interest here, as my own son started school just over a year ago, and it was clear then that there were not enough school places to go round in the Queen Edith’s ward. We have two excellent primary schools, Morley Memorial and Queen Edith’s, but there were enough children on the waiting lists last year for at least one more year group.

It is disappointing the County Council did not foresee this demographic timebomb - after all, Shire Hall is the place where we register births, so one would think that the County Council would have been in a good position to spot changes in the population!

The County Council is proposing expansions to schools in the south of the city, as well as a new school at the end of Gunhild Way, when the Netherhall Lower School joins Netherhall Upper School on one site, planned for 2011. Other changes involve an extra year group at Queen Edith’s  and expansions at other schools in the Abbey and Cherry Hinton wards. Children will be taught in portakabins until new buildings are ready to receive them, presumably studying on building sites too.

There is an accelerated consultation with parents, staff and governors over the next two weeks and the Conservative Cabinet of the County Council will take decisions in February.

Cambridge Fair Trade City, a coming-together of fair trade merchants and campaigners like me, has a market stall in Ditchburn Gardens and will be displaying goods from Abantu – arts and crafts from all over the world that you can purchase knowing you will be helping people while not hurting the planet, and Traidcraft. We hope to have some samples of fair trade goodies for people to try out.  Here’s a photo of our fair trade stall in Cambridge’s central market during Fair Trade Fortnight this year.

Hope to see you there!

Bus

I am very pleased to report that the bus changes proposed by Stagecoach have been postponed — see their website http://www.stagecoachbus.com/cambridge/news2_7282.html

This is welcome news, especially given the announcement from the Conservative County Council that the Guided Bus will not be open until January or later.

If you haven’t signed our petition yet, then please do. If you have, please get your friends to sign. And keep those comments coming! Stagecoach bus petitionBus petition

Tue 24th: 5.00 - 7.30, College Hall, Hills Road VI Form College

Monday 30th: 5.00 - 7.30, Science Lecture Room, Hills Road VI Form College

 

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

Ms Murphy writes that there are now smoking shelters on the edge of the hospital site, and she has undertaken to have signs put up to encourage staff not to smoke near people’s homes. The hospital is making other efforts to get people to stop smoking altogether.

Any problems, get in touch with her.

The changes will affect hospital patients as well as sixth-form students at Hills Rd and Long Rd VI Form Colleges and the Lib Dems are asking Stagecoach to reconsider.

If you would like to do the same, please sign our petition – and pass it on to your friends.

 The City Council has no powers over bus operators — it has been thus since the deregulation of buses under Margaret Thatcher — but we will pass on any comments to Stagecoach.

bus-petition.pdf

It is with sadness that I post the news that the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, David Howarth, has decided not to defend his seat at the forthcoming General Election.

I have known David since I arrived in Cambridge in 1992, he was my Group Leader on the City Council for ten years, and always an inspiration. He will be a loss to Parliament.

 Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth announced yesterday that he will be standing down from Parliament at the next election to concentrate on his career as an academic.

David Howarth said: “After nearly 22 years of elected public office, the time has come for me to concentrate on my other life, as an academic. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Cambridge over that time, both in local government and in parliament.

“I would like to thank the very large number of people who have helped me in politics over the past two decades, and especially those who have worked for me during my time in the Commons.

“I will continue enthusiastically to support the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg and I wish the party all success in the future. I also look forward to continuing to play a role in the party’s policy-making process.”

Nick Clegg said: “David will be sorely missed. His colleagues here in Westminster - across all parties - recognise him as a politician of huge integrity and intellectual ability. The Liberal Democrats have benefited greatly from the powerful lead in parliament he gave on a number of touchstone liberal issues such as climate change and the right to protest.

“As the leader of Cambridge City Council and a key member of our Federal Policy Committee before being elected an MP, David has a long history of helping to shape the party’s policy making.

“I wish him every success in his career in academia. Academia’s gain is very much politics’ loss.”

Mr Howarth has reassured his Cambridge constituents that he will continue to serve them and hold surgeries until the general election.

Since 2005, working parents have been able to save on childminder and nursery costs via a childcare vouchers scheme. It’s a salary sacrifice scheme that means you don’t pay tax or national insurance on childcare up to a certain amount and you can save a few thousand pounds a year. While it wouldn’t pay for full-time childcare, it helps. As the care providers have to be OFTED registered it supports quality childcare too.

Gordon Brown told this year’s Labour Party conference he was planning to phase out the scheme, to pay for free childcare for two-year-olds.This seems bizarre, as the two-year-olds will presumably grow older and still need childcare before they start primary school and even then, they’ll need supervision after school and in the holidays. The current scheme has its problems. There are several voucher providers, each with their own system. The onus is on the employer to offer a scheme and carers to accept vouchers before a parent can benefit. But taking the concession away will be an admission of failure for the Government as well as a financial blow to hard-pressed working parents.

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.

He confirms that staff do have smoking shelters on site and should not need to go off site to indulge.

Progress is slow. A month after my initial letter, he has passed the complaint on to another director, Ruth Murphy. I shall be hoping to hear from her soon! I would be interested to hear from anyone in either of these two streets as to whether you notice any improvement.

On Saturday 17th October, the Rock Road Library Gardeners will be holding a Celebration of Apples from 11 am to 1 pm, to raise funds for developing the garden. There will also be a plant sale and cake stall.

For more info, see the Rock Road Library Garden website or contact J.Elliott@ioe.ac.uk

Free versus Fair Trade?

Wednesday 4th November, 5.00 p.m. for 5.15 p.m. start
DAV 014 (David Building), Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge

Free entry

• What are the relative merits of free and fair trade?
• Is there any common ground?
• Can trade benefit the developing world?

Speakers:
Sir Teddy Taylor, Free Trade League, one-time MP for Southend-on-Sea
Toby Quantrill, Head of Public Policy at the Fairtrade Foundation

There will also be a short account of a visit to a Fairtrade project

• Does Fairtrade benefit the developing communities to a degree consistent with its price premium?
• Would eliminating British, or EU, trade barriers, agricultural subsidies and such like effectively help developing countries?
• And are these two schemes in any way comparable in benefits, ease of introduction, or potential competition as methods?
• Should there be competition among Fairtrade certification schemes?

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.

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

Lib Dem councillors had a conference in Queen Edith’s last Saturday, so we took the opportunity to show our colleagues ‘the sights’. We took the City Council’s Executive Councillor for Sports and Recreation, Julie Smith, to the Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground to show her where the all-weather games area is to be.

She noticed the poor condition of the park benches — missing and loose slats — and she has put in a complaint, asking for them to be repaired/ replaced.

The toilets at the ‘rec are another cause of contention. The ladies’ loos suffered severe criminal damage to its fixtures and fittings last month and it has taken a few weeks to put things to rights. Even the sign with the emergency phone number had been removed!

It is hoped they will be open again by this weekend.

First, there is to be a petition asking the Council to ban foie gras on its premises, and next there is a report on moving to Freedom Food standards for chicken and egg products – a motion first proposed by the Labour leader of the opposition, Cllr Lewis Herbert.

The procurement policy itself sets out best practice, taking in practical measures to ensure good environmental standards and manage risk. It confirms the Council’s commitment to fair trade, which I am particularly pleased about, as it builds on my own council motion leading to Cambridge being recognized as a fair trade city in 2004.

As well as the procurement motion, councillors will be reviewing equalities policies in the light of the new Single Equalities Act and setting a new direction for its door-to-door publication Cambridge Matters.

The meeting is open to the public and if you wish to speak at it or ask a question, contact the Council’s Committee Manager before the meeting, martin.whelan@cambridge.gov.uk. For a full agenda, click here: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/public/councillors/agenda/2009/1012sr/00.pdf

Two particularly bad ones on Hills Road, one outside Homerton College and the other closer Addenbrooke’s, were reported this week to the County Council and are being attended to.

City and county councillors have approved Wulfstan Way as the area to run a trial 20mph zone, on account of the high number of pedestrians and cyclists using it and its many community facilities such as schools and churches. County council officers are proposing to put up 20mph signs in Wulfstan Way and other nearby streets including Godwin Way and Gunhild Way. There will also be posters urging motorists to slow down.

Wulfstan Way is a busy road for pedestrians and cyclists, including many schoolchildren and the Queen Edith Primary School is on Godwin Way. There have been four recent accidents in the area involving cyclists or pedestrians.

Comments are welcome, preferably by 21st October please.

This type of crime has been known in Cambridgeshire before and is particularly nasty as it is stealing not only from the people kind enough to donate their goods, but from the beneficiaries of the charities for whom Clothes Aid collects, mostly ill children.

If you are leaving things out for charity collections, make sure you leave the bag out at the time stated by the charity to stop unauthorized people getting there first, and if you notice anything suspicious, telephone the police on 358966.

For  more information about how to combat bogus collectors, see the Clothes Aid website.

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

Tickets are £7 and include light refreshments.

To book, either as a team or an individual, ring 520947 or 211117.

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 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!

Cambridgeshire County Council has just announced two bits of news:

1. that the roadworks for the Guided Bus will finish on Sunday - good news even though it is six months late

2. that they will immediately start a 4-month trial of segregating cyclists and motor traffic by putting them in separate lanes on the uphill parts of the bridge, divided by a ‘rumble strip’ (white line to you and me). They are going to put in temporary kerbs and white lines on Sunday night as soon as they finish the Guided Bus work, so we will wake up on Monday morning to a new traffic layout.

It’s the second of these that takes my breath away. As a cyclist, it’s great news, as the bridge is just about the most dangerous place to cycle in Cambridge. It will make the bridge useable by less confident cyclists including children. However, it’s a shame the County didn’t give more warning before embarking on such a bold plan. They have consultation meetings and exhibitions next week (Tuesday at Hills Rd VI Form College, Thursday at St Paul’s Church) but they don’t have much time to tell people about them.

I hope the manic motorist tendency gives a fair trial to the new arrangements, but more important, I’m pleased that we will have a safer cycling environment for the 4,000 people who ride their bikes over the bridge every day.

To find out more, see http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/cambridgegateway