Post Office Meeting delayed

To allow more time to get the message out to people so we can get as many people involved as possible the public meeting arranged by the City Council about the Post Office closures has been delayed until 11 August at 7pm.

Milton Rd Trees: AJC report

A report to the Area Transport Joint Committee (a combined County and City council committee) says that there is no need for extra bus priority measures on Milton Road!

However even now the report, while acknowledging the effort of the City Council to get trees replanted, says...

"The potential for future bus priority measures and cycleway improvements including possible hybrid cycle ways (i.e. wider on-road cycle lanes with some degree of physical separation from the neighbouring traffic lanes) will need to be taken into account as part of any tree planting plan."

So we still don't have agreement to replace all the stumps.

The AJC meets on 14 July. We will update you after the meeting!

Post Offices: Details clarified

I attended a briefing session for councillors on the Post Office closure programme this evening.

The bad news is that even though none of our Post Offices are included in the list going out to consultation it doesn't mean that they won't be on the final list in September.

The reason for this is that should the consulation identify any Offices in need of reprieve, they would probably have to identify replacement offices to close. Hopefully this will not happen.

Currently the consultation period runs until 26 August. However the City Council are trying to get the consultation extended beyond the summer holiday period to allow as many people as possible to respond.

Further bad news is that the consultation is limited in what it can consider.

It was made clear that Post Office Ltd would only consider what they called "errors or misleading information".

The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight to save as many Offices as we can. The Labour Government have decided that 2500 Offices must close. The Tories have no plan to save Post Offices.

The City Council have a public meeting on 22 July in the Guildhall from 7pm.

Post Office Closures update

The Cambridge News has obtained a list of Post Office closures in Cambridgeshire. If true the good news is that none of the King's Hedges Post Offices are threatened by the government's closure plans. However the Post Office in Station Road Impington is on the list, as are three offices in Cambridge City.

The Liberal Democrats are opposed to the closure plans and are the only party to set out a plan to stop closures and open new offices where needed.

When I hear confirmation of the details we'll let you know. In the meantime well done to the Cambridge News for getting this information.

Save Our Post Offices: Public Meeting

The Post Office will publish their closure plans for Cambridgeshire on 8 July.

There will be a public meeting in the Guildhall to consider the implications of this for Cambridge on Tuesday 22 July 2008 from 7pm.

Ian Nimmo-Smith, Liberal Democrat Leader of Cambridge City Council, said "It is really important that as many people as possible give Post Office Limited their views on the proposed closures and we have arranged this public meeting for residents so that they can find out more information and express their concerns. We believe post offices offer a vital service for local communities, particularly for elderly people who may be less mobile and for people on lower incomes. Post offices are often the hub of a neighbourhood and we are very concerned about these proposed closures."

We will of course give you more information when the plans are published.

NHS at 60

Happy Birthday to the NHS: 60 years old on July 5th.

The NHS is a remarkable achievement. The standard of care and treatment that we receive from the service is very high.

As Liberal Democrats we are proud of the role of the Liberal party in setting up the Health Service. The Beveridge Report of 1942 identified the five giants of "illness, ignorance, disease, squalor, and want" to be fought, and served as the basis for the Health Service and reforms of the post-war era. William Beveridge, who led the report, went on to lead the Liberals in the House of Lords. He died in 1963.

Hardly a year goes by without the NHS being described as in crisis. In 1968 the Telegraph said that the system was unsustainable, but it has survived the last 40 years.

Credit where it is due: Labour have reduced waiting lists and tackled the worst aspects of Tory under funding. However the Labour government now appear driven to embrace the private sector for its own sake, rather than because it may lead to better services. They have also attempted to micromanage all details of Health provision from Westminster.

We should remain proud of the NHS and fight to keep the main ideal alive: that provision of health care should not be on the basis of ability to pay.

The LibDem commitment to the NHS includes finding ways to fund personal care for the elderly and addressing real problems such as delays in undergoing diagnostic tests.

You can read a fuller statement of our policy in our online policy documents, as well as details of our national party health campaigns.

About us: Mike Pitt

So that you know a little more about the people representing you on the City Council we will each write a brief bio of ourselves.

I came to Cambridge as a student in 1993 and stayed in the City. My wife, Catherine, and I have lived in Kirkby Close since 1999. I worked for several years as a programmer, but retrained to become a teacher.

I now teach Mathematics at a comprehensive just south of Cambridge (Linton Village College). I am also a Governor of King's Hedges School.

I first stood in 2004 in King's Hedges, and was elected last year at my second attempt to become our second Councillor in the ward after Neale.

On the council I am Chair of the Housing Management Board, and sit on the Standards committee.

King's Hedges News

Since the election in May we have tried splitting this site into two parts.

This site (Focus on King's Hedges) concentrates on our campaigns.

Our other site King's Hedges News will look at more detailed local issues.

The reason for this is that the format of a blog meant that the campaigns information could be hard to find and didn't get the priority they deserved. We'll see how it goes, and welcome any comments on the change!

Give new head a chance!

Yesterday I wrote a letter to Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families concerning the recent announcements about "closing" any school with less than 30% of children gaining certain qualifications.

The Manor School in King's Hedges missed this target by 1% last year, and we all hope this figure will improve under the new headteacher.

However what schools like the Manor need is support and not to be labelled as "failures" in public. The GCSE pass rate is a single measure, in others Manor does better. It has the second highest value add in the County and has amongst the best sustained improvement in KS3 figures nationally according to the Government's own figures.

Deciding to take action on one figure and one figure alone is a recipe for disaster: schools will have an incentive to exclude pupils on academic ability rather than behaviour. This is when Cambridgeshire's out of school education is already at breaking point.

Valuable work with the most vulnerable students will not be taken into account.

As I said in my letter to Mr Balls: I hope that the package of changes will work to raise opportunities for children in King's Hedges, but I fear that the measurement chosen and the public branding of schools will be counterproductive.

Details of the Liberal Democrats education policy can be found in the education section of the main party website.

10p tax fix leaves 1.1 million still worse off

Whilst Gordon Brown may have got some of the message about increasing tax on those on low incomes, he still has some way to go.

There are still about 1.1 million people on low incomes around £100 worse off. This is to pay for tax cuts on those on middle incomes or better.

The Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the abolition of the 10p rate. Vince Cable pointed out the problems when they were announced in the budget last year.

You can see full details on our tax policy.

Milton Road trees

The latest news is that the County Council seems confused on the tree situation.

In answer to a question by Julian Huppert at a full meeting of the County Council there was a confused response which leaves us no further forward.

We hope that the confusion can be sorted quickly and we will be allowed to resume planting.

Thank You!

King's Hedges elects our third Liberal Democrat councillor, in a swing to us from Labour

"I'm very pleased to have been chosen by my fellow local residents of King's Hedges as their representative, and proud of the confidence the electorate have in myself and Liberal Democrat policies."

Neil joins Liberal Democrats Cllr Mike Pitt, and Cllr Neale Upstone in serving the ward.

Mike Pitt said "I am very pleased that Neil has been elected, he will be an excellent and hardworking councillor for King's Hedges."

Result in full

1. Neil McGovern (Lib Dem) 760
2. Gerri Bird (Lab) 562
3. Cyril Weinman (Con) 419
4. James Youd (Green) 129

Polling day today!

Don't forget to vote for a hard working local councillor today!

Neil McGovern lives in the ward and as you can see is already working hard for local residents.

The two polling stations are

• Arbury Community Centre on Campkin Road (for those with poll numbers starting G1, living in the south east of King's Hedges), and
• North Arbury Chapel on Northfield Avenue (for those with poll numbers starting G2, living in the north west of the ward)

Milton Rd Trees: County leaders yet to reply

At the North Area Committee meeting on 17 April the County Council officer in charge of the building of the Guided Busway gave a presentation on the busway's development.

One interesting aspect of the discussion was that he said during question and answers that he believed that there was no need to widen the road to accomodate current or future bus traffic.

The day after I wrote to County Cllr McGuire (in charge of transport) and County Cllr Pegram ("Cabinet Member for Environment") to ask whether this would mean that the threat to Milton Road trees could be lifted.

Frustratingly, they have yet to reply.

The good news is that the reason given for the moratorium is not supported by the County Council's officers. The bad news is that the County seems unwilling to admit this!

However as the report to the Area Joint Transport Committee was postponed (again) to July, you can still sign our petition online, or email us (see the contact) or write to Save Milton Road Trees, 19 Kirkby Close, Cambridge, CB4 1XP

City council votes to campaign against negative subsidy

Cllr Upstone and I were pleased to vote at full council to support a motion calling for the members of the city council to condemn and campaign against the negative subsidy system.

The Liberal Democrat group all voted in support of the motion, but the Labour group voted against it. Some of their members spoke in favour of the system, incredibly saying it was fair to take money from some of the poorest residents of Cambridge, including some of the most vulnerable, to pay for repairs in big cities.

The King's Hedges team will continue to work against the negative subsidy scheme. We want to ensure a fair deal for tenants and that £3m a year isn't taken out of King's Hedges by Gordon Brown.

We could make a real difference in King's Hedges with that money.

Negative Subsidy: £3m from King's Hedges

Of the £12million that is taken from Cambridge council tenant's rents to pay for repairs in other cities that the Labour government is unwilling to fund itself, we have worked out that about £3million is being taken from King's Hedges this year.

Imagine what could be done in King's Hedges with that amount of money! We could build new homes, or improve many homes that we have to wait for work on.

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning against it. David Howarth, our MP, and the City Council, led by Catherine Smart, the chief councillor for housing, have talked to the government about this unfair scheme asking them to end it. The LibDem party has voted that should we be in power we would scrap the scheme. Watch this space for more news!

Cambridge Manifesto

The Cambridge Liberal Democrats have launched our manifesto, which is available online.

Highlights include

• Continue to expand the range and extent of recycling in Cambridge, including more flats
• Locally, improvements to the Ramsden Square recreation ground
• Following the success of the relaunched DEC bus provide a new playboat to provide opportunities for activity and adventure projects for young people
• Build on our work improving the insulation and energy efficiency of Council Housing, and extending a new scheme to help those in private rentals and owner occupied.
• Continue to ensure that new developments include community facilities and 40% high quality affordable housing
• Continuing to campaign to get the Labour government to end negative subsidy
• Campaign to allow local residents more say in setting speed limits and transport policy.
• Look to find ways to reduce the Council's own carbon footprint, as well as helping others do the same
• Improve access to council services, through the new access centre

Read the manifesto for more details!

Save Milton Road Trees!

We've been collecting a petition in the Milton Road area to send a strong message to the county council to protect the trees. The trees provide a beautiful approach to the City and a beautiful place to live, and have crucial importance for preserving our air quality.

We're off to the Transport Area Joint Committee on 21 April to present your petition to the committee and try to get the decision to not replant reversed. We will also argue against plans which threaten the trees.

Wish us luck, more news when we've got any will be posted here.

You can still sign the petition online, or email us (see the contact) or write to Save Milton Road Trees, 19 Kirkby Close, Cambridge, CB4 1XP

Update: The decision on the Milton Road bus lane has been postponed to the next Area Joint Committee in July. We plan to present the petition to the committee then.

Some relief for Milton Road - There will be no Waterbeach "eco-town"

Our battle against mad ideas affecting Milton Road has notched up a success.

Yesterday, the government announced their shortlist of so-called eco-towns, and Waterbeach has been dropped from the plans.

That's great news, as there is no way that the A10 and Milton Road could cope with the traffic that this would generate. Waterbeach is too far out of Cambridge to get people cycling and walking - they would drive.

When asked for her comments, Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Growth, Sian Reid, said:

"I'm delighted that Waterbeach wasn't included in the shortlist. We fought hard to protect the area and our dedication paid off. It is a real relief for all our wards near the A10, especially the Milton Road area. Putting more pressure on key radial routes into the city would have dramatically damage the quality of life in there areas."

Unfortunately, the local Labour councillors still think that putting towns where there is not good transport is a good idea. In comments about another proposed town, still on the list, Labour Parliamentary candidate, Daniel Zeichner "dismissed additional claims that an eco-town would destroy an area many consider to be a rural idyll and said the 8,000 homes were a boom".

Clearly he's another one backing Gordon Brown's approach of "growth, growth, growth". It's time he found a sustainable way of running our economy, rather than putting our communities and environment under such immense pressure.

Edgecombe flats

I had a very useful meeting with the housing officer for Edgecombe flats last week.

It allowed me to raise several issues that residents had told me about, and we identified areas that need repairs and attention.

I expect to see improvements over the next few weeks, and if time allows we'll print updates here.