Audit commission praise "good value" for City Homes tenants

The Audit Commission have published the report into their recent inspection of Cambridge City Council's housing services.

The Council was awarded two stars for this service, meaning a good service. What was very pleasing was that they said we had "excellent" prospects for improvement. Their lead inspector, Mark Elsworth said he was "confident" that our plans to improve those areas of the service that need improving (such as repairs) would succeed.

Congratulations to all the City Homes staff for their hard work and efforts to improve the service over the last few years.

See the Cambridge News website for more on this story, or go to the report itself.

Northfield Avenue update

At last night's North Area Committee I again passed on the request for police to monitor and enforce the speed limit on Northfield Avenue following the accidents.

Unfortunately I have met little cooperation from the County in terms of support with dealing with the problem.

I hope to have a petition on the Focus website soon.

Reverse County Cuts to Children's Support!

As reported in the Cambridge News, the County have decided to change how they fund support servcies to children and families in Cambridge.

The overall effect is that Homestart, a service who provide support for many vulnerable or in need families in King's Hedges and elsewhere in the City are facing a cut of £48,000. The King's Hedges Family Support Project is likely to lose £36,000.

This would leave both projects facing massive reductions in what they do. Possibly even stopping them in the area.

These cuts are opposed by the Liberal Democrats. We do not want to see a gap in this vital support work. Organisations like this plays a vital role in supporting our communities.

Members and users of both groups came to North Area Committee last Thursday and put their case persuasively.

At the meeting I asked that the chair of the Committee invite the County Cabinet Member responsible for this decision, Conservative County Cllr Martin Curtis, to our next meeting. We will see whether he accepts!

(His ward is in Whittlesey... another decision being made by the County without considering the impact on the City.)

North Area Committee this week

On Thursday it is the last North Area Committee of 2008.

At 6.30pm in the Manor School (Arbury Road) we will be considering one planning application.

The main meeting starts at 7.30pm. As ever the agenda includes an open forum, which is you chance to raise issues with the local Councillors.

There are items on environmental improvements and local policing too. The full agenda is available online.

Planning applications

Three to mention today:

1. An application for a "New pvcu conservatory to the rear" at 30 Craister Court. Application number is 08/1559/FUL
2. An application for "Erection of a detached two storey dwelling with access and off street parking" adjacent to 42 Ramsden Square (08/1521/FUL)
3. An application to put in "Dropped kerb and access across pavement and grass verge to property" at 376 Milton Road (08/1508/FUL)

As ever more details contact City Council Development Control (or us in case of difficulty!).

Congratulations to Histon FC

I doubt Cllr McGovern will agree but I just want to pass on congratulations to Histon on their superb FA Cup win today.

Our neighbours from just across the A14 gave Leeds a real tough game, and I think they earnt their luck. I'm sure the Cambridge City and Utd fans will disagree though.

Here's hoping for Arsenal (my team) v Histon in the 3rd round draw.

The big problem for me is putting up with my head of department at school all next week (he's a Histon season ticket holder)...

Update: Histon drew Swansea at home in the next round.

No ID cards in Cambridge please!

As reported in the Cambridge News I am proposing a motion welcoming the County Council's decision to join the City Council in opposing ID cards.

The Government scheme is a hugely expensive waste of time. Whilst the article mentions the impact it will have on students at our universities there are plenty of other reasons to oppose the scheme. The huge cost alone is one reason. The fact that it will not help fight illegal immigration, terrorism or other crimes is another.

I am a member of No2ID and I'd urge others to join the fight against ID cards.

New battery recycling point in King's Hedges

Cambridge City Council has teamed up with Budgens in Arbury Court to provide a battery collection point in the store. This service opened today!

This is the third bin in the city, following one located in the council’s own Customer Service Centre on Regent Street and one in Waitrose in Trumpington.

Quoting from the City Council press release:

“Working with local shops is a good way to get the collection points where people really need them, and means people don’t have to make extra journeys to recycle” says Recycling Officer Rebecca Weymouth.

As well as helping to manage the collections, the retailers contribute towards the cost of recycling the batteries, as part of their producer responsibilities.

Budgens’ manager Brian Moorey was keen to get involved. “We recognise that as a key focal point for the local community we have the opportunity to support projects like this and help them to succeed. We want to give something back – both to people
living here and to the environment, and the battery recycling project is just one of many ways we are trying to do just that.”

Since the first battery bank was installed last year, about 130,000 household batteries have been collected for recycling. The old batteries are taken away by G&P Batteries and sorted in a UK facility before being sent for recycling in Europe. The metal casings are melted down and recycled, and the chemicals are extracted to be reused in other applications.

This is a welcome addition to the recycling opportunities in King's Hedges. Many thanks to the staff at Budgens and to the recycling team at the City Council.

Kings Hedges ASB group meeting

The King's Hedges ASB group meets this Thursday at 19.30 at the Community House (37 Lawrence Way, next to Tesco on Campkin Road).

Unfortunately Council business means that I won't be able to attend, but the meeting still gives a chance for people to raise concerns about criminal activity and anti-social behaviour in the ward to Council officers and the Police.

Of course you can also contact us directly if you prefer.

Possible social housing behind Beale Way?

As part of the strategic plan to identify possible new sites to provide more social housing in an attempt to being down the Council's waiting list for homes two sites have been identified in King's Hedges.

One is on the open ground behind Beale Way. Investigation will begin in January as to whether this site is suitable.

As local councillors we will ensure the views of local residents are taken into account, and we are concerned about the possible loss of a play area. However unless and until more details come forward we will need to keep an open mind.

It should be stressed that no decisions have been made! We are at the start of a city wide process.

We are keen to hear from people about this issue. I've already had meetings with some residents in the area.

The other site in King's Hedges in Roman Courts. These need modernising and investigation of the best way to proceed will take place next year. During the time this takes there is a plan to use the properties to house key workers in other sheltered housing schemes. Please get in touch with any concerns.

Trees on Milton Road

We received an email on Friday to inform us that replanting of trees has begun on Milton Road.

This is great news. More to follow!

Delay on Ship recycling centre

A legal problem has arisen with the improvements planned for the Ship recycling centre on Northfield Avenue. This means that work has been stopped until the problem can be resolved. We hope that a solution can be found, but watch this space.

Another Milton Road planning application

Another quick item: 344 Milton Road have applied to "widen an existing dropped kerb".

The application number is 08/1484/FUL

See the City Council website for useful contact information.

Arbury Court play area

I have been told that the repairs to Arbury Court play area should be completed this week, the excavations began on Friday and new kit is ready to be installed.

In related news I have reported the damaged fence on the play area on the corner of Downham's Lane and Woodhead Drive.

More on Edgecombe aerials

The problem with the Edgecombe aerials is quite severe. If you are without TV reception please get in touch with your housing officer as alternative arrangements can be made whilst the problem is investigated further. Any problems call or email us!

In related news the Housing Management Board agreed to the process which will be followed for digital switch over at our meeting last week. The old system will be replaced by a digital system in flats of 3 storeys or more. Do get in touch if you want more information.

More on Edgecombe aerials

The problem with the Edgecombe aerials is quite severe. If you are without TV reception please get in touch with your housing officer as alternative arrangements can be made whilst the problem is investigated further. Any problems call or email us!

In related news the Housing Management Board agreed to the process which will be followed for digital switch over at our meeting last week. The old system will be replaced by a digital system in flats of 3 storeys or more. Do get in touch if you want more information.

Planning application on Milton Road

An application for a "Two storey front extension and conservatory to rear" has been made for 378 Milton Road. The application is 08/1478/FUL, and as ever more details can be found on how to get information or a make a comment from the City Council development control website.

LibDem Councillor Surgeries

If you would rather speak face-to-face with a City Councillor rather than call us or email us (see the contact details) then you might like to know about the Liberal Democrat drop in Surgery every week.

The City Councillors take it in turns to be at the Guildhall between 12.30 and 1.30 every Friday.

It isn't always a King's Hedges' team member, but whoever it is will take details and offer advice, and if needed pass on details to us to help out. Of course if the Guildhall on a Friday lunch isn't possible then give us a call or email to arrange an appointment or see if we can help.

Edgecombe Aerials Out

I received a phone call today informing me that the communal TV aerial for the Edgecombe flats is currently not working, and has been out for some time.

The issue is connected to damaged cabling, and I am trying to find out what the delay is and when it will be fixed.

Watch this space.

In vaguely related news one item on the Housing Management Board agenda for the week after next is the digitial switchover. After that meeting we should have more information on that.

South Cambs consulting on more houses on Arbury Park

Today I received a letter about the consultation Tory run South Cambridgeshire district council are running about trying to squeeze even more housing into the Arbury Park site. This seems bizarre at a time when work on many developments has all but stalled, but does need to be fought.

The two patches (in what the District now calls Orchard Park) are Preferred Sites 1 and 2 on the list. They provide some more information on their website. The document this is based on is hidden away, but linked from here.

The proposals to force more housing into the site at the expense of community facilities is not good sense and will not lead to a sustainable development that people wish to live in. Please get involved by either responding online to the consultation, or writing to Local Development Framework Consultation, South Cambridgeshire District Council, South Cambridgeshire Hall, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, CB23 6EA.

We will of course be doing the same. See our earlier post for some of the arguments against this development.

Kirkwood Road reseeded by EDF

The corner of Kirkwood and King's Hedges road has been reseeded by EDF.

The damage to the verge happened some time ago, and EDF agreed to repair the verge as part of the environmental work done connected to the new substation near the site. Hopefully the verge will look much better than it has this year.

Thanks to EDF for this kind gesture!

Learner pool hours restored

Neale recently received a contact about changes in opening hours at the Learner Pool in King's Hedges. The changes meant that the pool was no longer available outside of school hours, and in effect only open to the public for one hour a day!

The pool is run by a company called SLM Ltd on behalf of the City Council and any changes to the opening hours have to be agreed by the Council.

The changes had not been approved, and following intervention by Neale and the LibDem executive Cllr Julie Smith they have been reversed.

We will resist any such changes to the opening hours that are proposed, and will ensure that any such changes are considered when the contract is up for renewal!

Thanks to Julie and her staff for acting quickly on this issue.

As always we are keen to hear from you on this and any other issue.

Ship recycling centre update

The plans for the proposed improvements are available online.

If you have any comments get in touch with Neil McGovern in the usual way.

Northfield Avenue Recycling Centre

At North Area Committee we were presented with plans for improvements to the recycling centre at the corner of the Ship's car park in Northfield Avenue. This is an area in great need of improvement!

We hope we can put the revised plans on our blog to allow residents to comment, but if you want to be kept informed contact Neil McGovern, who is the scheme's champion, to register your interest now.

Milton Road Trees: Planting Plan Agreed

A planting plan has been agreed to allow Milton Road's dead and missing trees to be replaced.

The plan involves planting 97 trees, including replanting 64 currently vacant positions. (The other 33 are trees that are dead or unwell.) The trees will have blossom: most will be cherry but at some road junctions another flowering tree is planned to be used.

The planting plan is over two years, but we expect to see planting resume in the next few months!

Consultation letters will be sent out to residents of Milton Road.

A big thanks to all who signed the petition and helped us keep the pressure on the County Council.

About us: Neil McGovern

In follow up to Mike's previous post, here's a quick biography about me!

I was born in 1982, which makes me the youngest member of the City Council. As a child I was much traveled, living in Japan, Jordan and Yorkshire!

As my day job I work for Amino Communications, who make set top boxes for digital television. I have previously worked for web services companies, and prior to that I was a sound engineer at Sheffield University Student's Union, working for various well known bands.

With classic bad timing I had to move from King's Hedges Road in the middle of the last election campaign, and now live in Strathcarron Ct at the other end of King's Hedges.

My interests on the Council are in Community Services, and in particular I am the Young Person's Champion.

Planning applications

I've been a little slow this week in getting the information onto the blog about planning applications.

Two to report:

First an application to erect a two storey block of flats "on land adjacent to 48 Crowland Way", which is application 08/1308/FUL. This will be definitely going to a planning committee, and more information can be found in the usual way.

Secondly there is an application for a two storey side and rear extension to 21 Armitage Way. This application is 08/1361/FUL.

See previous planning posts for useful links.

North Area Committee tonight

As mentioned previously the North Area Committee meets tonight.

The planning (one item on Histon Road) is at 6.30pm, and the main meeting starts at 7.30pm with the Open Forum.

The meeting is in Manor School on Arbury Road. Do come along and say hello!

The agenda is available online from the City Council website, but in summary we only have two main items of business:

1. an update on Environmental Improvement programmes
2. More Community Development and Leisure Grants
   

There is also the Open Forum before these, which is a chance to raise any issue you wish to your local Councillors.

Milton Road Trees

I wrote to Cllr Matt Bradney asking for clarification of the status of the apparent exception for trees near King's Hedges Road to the change in policy we celebrated earlier.

The good news is that Cllr Bradney has reversed the policy of his predecessor in a second way and has replied! However he was unable to indicate the area involved precisely. He has indicated his willingness to let me know when he has more information.

Thank you to Cllr Bradney for showing some common sense in over ruling the daft decisions of County officers and his predecessors (and thank you for talking to me!).

We will continue to campaign for the trees.

Even More Houses on Arbury Park

Buried away in the opaquely titled Housing Shortfall Report of South Cambridgeshire District Council is a plan to add even more housing to the Arbury Park development.

There are many reasons why this is a bad plan.

The sites are right next to the A14 and neglect the well known impact of the road on the residents. Noise pollution is known to cause blood pressure problems, and this is in addition to air quality issues. The solution is to keep the current noise barriers which reflect the problem onto the residents of Impington and make an unwelcoming, ugly and forbidding entry to the city.
The buildings already planned for the site will already stretch King's Hedges Road and Northfield Avenue to breaking point.

The lost of community resources and employment space will make Arbury Park a much less pleasant place to live and less sustainable. Indeed they acknowledge that there is no space for reasonable open space and propose taking development money to be spent elsewhere in the district: on the other side of the A14.

Arbury Park residents are already dismayed at the lack of community facilities for this new development which has also left them with unfinished pavements, no street signs and lighting and parcels of land being developed separately without a cohesive Master Plan.

Everyone believes this area will become the responsibility of Cambridge City Council following a future boundary review between South Cambs and Cambridge City, and given other sites they identify are mostly in North West Cambridge except for two smaller sites, it would appear that the attitude of South Cambs is to put all the housing on this side of the A14 and then hope the City picks up the pieces.

Recently Cambridge City Council congratulated South Cambs DC on doing a review of Arbury Park and the lessons to be learned from mistakes on the development, including the lack of a quality urban design. Too soon it seems.

I will be opposing this proposal, as will the rest of the City Liberal Democrats!

Milton Road Trees: (Partial) Success!

I've just received some really good news from the County Council.

In response to a question from Lib Dem County Cllr Kevin Wilkins about the trees Cllr Matt Bradney, "the Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure" said:

In the case of Milton Road, there are some longer-term issues over future
investment in bus priority and cycleways that could have implications for
tree planting locations. Unfortunately, the extent of these implications
on the section of Milton Road approaching the King’s Hedges Road may not be
fully understood until guided bus operations commence next year and further
monitoring work on bus delays has been undertaken.

However, in light of the recent feedback from the Area Joint Committee and
following further discussions with the Director of Highways and Access, I
have asked that officers meet with the City Council’s Arboricultural Team
to approve replanting proposals. It should be possible to agree proposals
for the majority of the route but, as indicated above, there may be a need
for replanting near to the King’s Hedges Road junction, in particular, to
be held over at this time.

So this is a partial victory: we can get trees replanted on some of Milton Road, and we will continue to fight for the trees near King's Hedges Road.

The County Council have been forced by your pressure to come a long way from their position last summer which was that "we are not replacing trees" because of the possible impact that the "Long Term Transport Strategy ... may have on Milton Road" they decided to "hold off new planting in case it is not consistent with those emerging plans." (This was in an email dated 20 June 2007.)

When this was published Mike Pitt asked for a rethink on on 18 April 2008 in an email to Cllr Mac McGuire. Despite resending it he is still awaiting a reply!

Hopefully we will see replanting soon.

Planning application at Colleges Nursery

Colleges Nursery on Campkin Road has put in a planning application to replace its existing fence.

The reference number for the application is 08/1231/FUL, and more information can be found (as ever) on the development control pages of the City Council website.

Temporary Bus Stop Put In!

A victory for your local LibDem team thanks to the help of the Cambridge News.

Following the Cambridge News taking up the story of my attempts to get the County to agree to a temporary bus stop things happened fast: The County gave approval to Stagecoach the very next week, and when I checked at the weekend I found we have got a temporary bus stop. This after the County had dragged their feet and not even replied to Stagecoach's emails to them.

The County Council should have made arrangements for such a stop before closing the one on Milton Road for the Guided Busway works: another example of the County Council's Tories from Fenland not caring about the impact on the city.

However a big thank you to the Cambridge News for helping us out by drawing attention to the problem.

The new bus stop is about 20 yards down Greenend Road, just past the Co-Op.

Retrospective planning app in Ramsden Square

A retrospective application for a "replacement car port" has been made by a house on Ramsden Square. The application number is 08/1124/FUL.

As ever more details can be found at the development control pages of the City Council website.

Footway works in St Kilda Ave and Lavender Rd

I've just had an email telling me that there will be

thin coat overlay works to the footways in Saint Kilda Avenue and in
Lavender Road in Kings Hedges Ward, starting on the 22/09/2008, and lasting 1 week. These dates are subject to the weather.

Hopefully this will improve the quality of the footpaths as they need it. Let us know if the works cause any problems!

Recycling centres

Good news from City Homes. In an attempt to increase the recycling rates the Housing Officers are making a big effort to find suitable sites for recycling depots for flats in the ward.

The first consultations have taken place and others have recently started.

If you get a letter asking your opinion do let us know. I am sure most people would welcome more recycling, and if you would respond to say so.

At the moment I have letters for Albemarle and Nicholson Ways, and have seen various sites in Minerva Way.

Slow Down In King's Hedges

The issue of cars speeding in King's Hedges has arisen again. This time I'm trying to find what can be done in Northfield Avenue.

I have already asked (back in April) for a 20 limit on the road. Other towns and cities have found that 20 limits do slow people down even without road humps. Yet the County policy is that you can only have a 20 limit if people are already going slower than 20!

This is a decision and a policy that ought to be decided locally. Not by the Conservative County Councillors from March.

I'll keep plugging away to see what we can do.

Clegg at Conference

This is something of an experiment: a video on the blog.





I feel that Clegg's speach in Bournemouth has not been fully reported, the emphasis he placed on fair tax has been simplified to just tax cuts. See for yourself what Clegg said by viewing this video or going to view it on YouTube.

BBC's newsnight did an interesting piece on the reaction of floating voters to the three party leaders. It can be viewed online at the BBC Newsnight website.

Temporary bus stop agreed

I've just heard that the County Council will allow and Stagecoach have agreed to put up
a temporary bus stop at the end of Greenend Road for those affected by the Milton Road
Guided Bus works meaning the loss of the Lovell Road bus stop.

More to follow: but thanks to the Cambridge News for helping me publicise this last
week.

Planning applications in Turpyn Court and Milton Rd

An application has been made for a single storey extension to a property in Turpyn Court. The reference number is 08/1109/FUL.

More information can be obtained from development control on the City Council website.

There is also an application (08/1083/FUL) in Milton Road for the erection of 6 one bedroomed apartments. This is just outside the ward at 127 Milton Road.

Homelink: Local Lettings Policies

I recently spoke to a local resident about an apparent oddity in the results of allocations in Homelink in South Cambs. A priority B resident was given a home in Arbury Park ahead of a city resident in band A. I did some investigation and felt it worthwhile to share the results more widely.

This was a result of a Local Letting Policy used by the Social Landlord (RSL) who run the housing on the Arbury Park development. They are giving priority for the South Cambs allocation to people who have a family connection to Histon or Impington. They are also giving priority for the houses allocated to Cambridge residents to those with Arbury and King's Hedges connections. Some of the policies are also aimed to ensure that there is a 'good balance' of families in the development.

The priority to village residents policies might make sense when the developments are actually in the villages, rather than over the A14 and seen by most as part of the neighbouring City. I will ensure that they are looked at in the six month review, but the policies are set by RSLs who don't have to be part of the Homelink scheme.

Council tax bill: £1 in every £5 on bus-fare bill

£1 in every £5 paid by Cambridge's Council tax payers is being taken by Stagecoach and other bus operators to fund free bus travel for elderly people many of whom don't even live in the city.

The dramatic impact of the bus scheme has been highlighted in the five-year financial strategy just published by the City Council.

The bus scheme devised by Gordon Brown penalises places like Cambridge,which are forced to pay the bus fares for all elderly people who get on a bus in the city, including return fares for people who live outside Cambridge.

The result is that instead of costing the £1.2 million per year that is provided by Government, the scheme in 2008/9 is expected to cost Cambridge £2.5 million with the additional £1.3 million being met by Cambridge tax payers.

Whilst we support the scheme it is another example of Gordon Brown's Labour government coming up with a headline grabbing idea, failing to fund it properly, and then trying to make others take the blame for the problems.

Ian Nimmo-Smith, Liberal Democrat leader of the City Council, said

The way the government has botched bringing in free bus travel for the elderly is disastrous. We already knew the scheme was underfunded so we had put £680,000 into our budgets, but it is so popular that we now need to find a further £620,000 ontop of that.

Cambridge City Council could be forced to cut hundreds of thousands of pounds of services to meet this unfair bill we've been landed with by Mr Brown.

Cambridge City Council was rated as Excellent and as one of the top four financially competent councils by the Audit Commission.

The scheme is a good idea but the Labour government should play fair and pay fair.

North Area dates

Seeing as a I only just posted the date of the last NAC on the day it was held I thought I'd give a bit more notice of the next two.

The meetings will be held at Manor School (Arbury Road) on Thursday 9 October and 11 December.

I'll give more details of the agenda nearer the time, but the usual arrangement is planning at 6.30pm, with the main meeting starting at 7.30pm with the Open Forum, though sometimes an external speaker will be bumped up the order.

Grove school planning application

A few planning applications have been made in King's Hedges.

The Grove School have made an application to change the use of three classrooms into offices (application 08/1104/CCM).

More details can be found on the planning area of the City Council website.

North Area Committee TONIGHT

Sorry for not posting this earlier!

The North Area Committee meets at Manor School on Arbury Road tonight.

Planning is at 6.30pm (with 3 applications to consider, 2 in Arbury and 1 in West Chesterton).

At 7.30pm is the main meeting.

1. The police are at the meeting for the Safer Neighbourhoods item. This considers neighbourhood policing, and any issues with police and policing.
2. We have a representative of Tesco here to discuss matters. This is particularly with respect to East Chesterton's delivery issues.
3. Then we have the Open Forum for people to raise any issues they wish with the North Area councillors
4. Finally we have the Environmental Improvements Programme back to committee. Come and comment on issues like the Campkin Piazza plan.

Dates for works on Campkin Rd planter

I now have dates for the work to make the planter on Campkin Road safe (see right for a picture of me next to it in April this year).

The brickwork and plant growth make it awkward for cars pulling out to see oncoming traffic. The plan is to reduce the level to ground level. Later in the autumn the planter will be planted with low level plants and a narrow tree.

The work is scheduled for the week of the summer bank holiday, from Tuesday 26 August to Friday 29 August.

Give us our Bus Stop back!

The works on the Guided Busway junction for Milton Road have led to the closure of the bus stop with no alternative bus stop provided.

This is causing problems for elderly, ill, or families with young children who rely on this stop.

Cllr McGovern raised this issue at the Guided Busway Local Liaison Forum last night and was told that no suitable alternative site could be found. However the suggestion of a temporary stop on Greenend Rd for the Citi2 service seemed not to have been considered.

Your Focus team have written to Bob Menzies, in charge of the Busway project, and Andy Campbell, the MD of Stagecoach in Cambridge, to ask that the situation be re-examined.

Guided Bus works update

On Tuesday the gantry that lays the the guided busway reached Milton Road. It has now started back towards Longstanton during which time it will make the changes needed at the junctions.

So the good news is that the noisiest stages of construction (ground levelling and guideway laying) are finished as far as this section of the guideway are concerned.

The bad news is that this doesn't mean the work is finished.

Firstly the guideway needs some work. Bob Menzies, the County Council officer in charge of the project tells me that the work so far

"will just leave the stops, guideway infill, cycleway and landscaping
to do. None of which are particularly noisy."

Secondly the work on Milton Road itself continues. This has been delayed by delays in utility companies "diverting the services" (i.e. moving cables and pipes). This is now expected to take another 2 weeks or so according to the representative of Nuttall at last nights Guided Busway Local Liaison Forum. After that there is about 7 more weeks of work.

In the mean time we don't have a bus stop for residents of Lovell Rd. Cllr McGovern has written to Bob Menzies and Stagecoach about this issue. A suggestion that a temporary stop be positioned on Greenend Road was received positively at last night's meeting so watch this space for more news.

Save our Post Offices

The public meeting arranged by the City Council to discuss Post Office closures in the City is to be held on Monday 11 August from 7.30pm in the Guildhall.

There is also a campaign website for all the County's Post Offices, including an online petition.

The Liberal Democrat group on the County Council proposed a motion using unallocated resources to provide financial support to keep some of the Offices open. This was voted down by the Conservatives.

It appears that only the LibDems are committed to saving the County's Post Offices.

New play equipment opened by Mayor

I was very pleased to attend the opening of the new Ramsden Square Rec play areas yesterday!

The new equipment is a very welcome addition, and from the positive comments I got from chatting to a few residents it appears that the consultation process to get to this point was very successful.

Hopefully I'll be able to point the blog at a picture soon!

Well done to the City officers and contractors for a fabulous job. It also shows how successful residents interventions can be, a model your LibDem City Council tries to follow.

If you are worried about the bare earth there is a plan: the earth will be allowed to settle, roots/stones etc will be removed, and then in autumn it will be seeded (so that the grass has a chance to survive).

One concern was raised with me by residents about dog mess in the play area. From discussion with residents, officers and our wonderful City Ranger I understand that some signs will be put up to remind owners of their responsibilities. I'll also ask the Dog Wardens to target the area.
Additional litter bins have been ordered for the site too.

Planning application on Milton Rd

There is a planning application for a "New dropped crossing and hardstanding" at 378 Milton Road. I wasn't sure what this means so I asked the very nice planning officer. It means that the application is to put a dropped kerb in to allow vehicular access to the property from the road, and putting paving in the garden (presumably for the car).


As usual you can get more information from the Planning department. The reference is 08/0818/FUL

Tenants paying £195,816,938: The National Negative Subsidy!

Regular readers will be aware of the negative subsidy system and how this year it is costing Cambridge Council Tenants around £12million, around £3million from King's Hedges.

The claimed logic behind the scheme was that money from council tenants in wealthy areas could be used to help other council tenants in other areas. This has now been blown out of the water as nearly £200million is being kept by the Treasury from the fund that was supposed to be distributed to other councils.

In fact it always was a stealth tax to cover the fact the Labour government wasn't willing to improve the lot of those in poor conditions in a fair way. Now it is clear that it is just a stealth tax to help the Treasury out of a hole.

Lembit Opik MP, the Liberal Democrat shadow Housing Minister, observes that "following the 10p tax debacle, and now a massive tenant tax, it's clear that this is a government that is prepared to take from those who can least afford it just to balance its own books."

This tax is preventing us, and other council's including those who are supposed to get money under the system, from investing properly in our stock.

This is at a time when 1.67 million people are on waiting lists. A figure that is 60% higher than when Labour took office.

The LibDem policy is clear and summed up by Lembit: "It's time to scrap the tenant tax."

This press release summarises our policies, but to see in more detail what we'd do if we were in government have a look at our policy papers, particularly on housing and affordable homes.

Community Safety Survey

The Safer Communities department at the City, along with other partners in the County are conducting a survey to find out about people's views on crime and misbehaviour in their neighbourhoods.

The survey is online and only takes about 10 minutes to do.

It doesn't take long to do, and can be anonymous (although they do ask for a postcode to identify any areas where they may be problems). If you chose to you can be entered to a prize draw to win £50 of vouchers.

Fix to manhole in Minerva Way

Another quick feedback: I was out today in Minerva Way and saw a manhole I had reported a dangerous problem with being fixed.

Anything that is clearly dangerous let us know of as the County Highways department do their best. The problem is with bigger projects rather than isolated problems. Only four projects were funded in the City last year, and only four this year. There are many more projects that could be done.

Please let us know of any problems: even if we can't get them fixed we can make sure the County know people are not happy.

City centre road closures

In a welcome development (given the short notice we got when King's Hedges Road closed!), I received a letter from the County Council about closures to Emmanuel Street over the summer.

The closures are to build a new traffic island and resurface the road.

The given times are

• From 6am Sunday 17th August through to 6am on Monday 18th August.
• From 6am Sunday 24th August through to 6am on Monday 25th August (Bank Holiday).
• A further closure may be necessary from 6am to 6pm on Sunday 31st August.

but these are subject to change. They say more information will be on the County Council website, but I can't find it at the moment. (If anyone can find it let me know and I'll update this post!)

Planning application on Ramsden Square

Another planning application on Ramsden Square.

This time it is for a "Proposed,detached two storey dwelling within the existing dwelling plot. New additional access and off street parking."

The case number is 08/0976/FUL and more information can be obtained from the City Council Planning department. You can monitor and comment on applications online, and can also see the plans at the Guildhall, or at the City Homes North office on Arbury Road, or Milton Road library. More details here.

Local government strike: bin collections

I've been told that the strike has had an effect on rubbish collections.

Black bin collections have gone ahead as normal.

The green bin collections are short staffed and behind. As a result the decision has been made to transfer some people from the dry recycling (black/blue boxes) onto the green bins to catch up.

If you can't take your own recycling to a centre then I have been told that extra dry recycling receptacles will be accepted in two weeks time to deal with the excess then. (So put more stuff in your blue box alongside the black in a fortnight.)

Sorry about the inconvenience!

Planning application in Callander Close

There is a planning application for a two storey side extension at 24 Callander Close. More information can be obtained from the City Council planning department.

The case reference is 08/0877/FUL.

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.

Pavement fix in Banff Close

This evening I was near Banff Close so I called in to check that an issue we reported to Highways a little while ago had been fixed.

I was pleased to see the damaged pavement had been repaired and the gap that created a trip hazard had gone.

We are still waiting for a new street name sign for the Close however.

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.

Cambridge Standard Funding: Hawkins Road

On Tuesday the Housing Management Board of the City Council agreed a £44,000 project to try and improve the state of the flats in Hawkins Road (including those on Atkins, Larkin and so on).

The money will be spent on various work needed in the area: ranging from planting, to improved paths, doors, benches and windows and locks.

This is a very welcome investment in this area, one that needs a little help to get it towards the standard we want for Cambridge council housing. The hope is that raising the standard will get more residents involved as well.

Credit is due to the Hawks Resident group who have worked hard to get this work done: Especially to Kay!

One slight disappointment is that the work doesn't include the garage block, so I shall continue to campaign for these improvements.

If you feel that your estate would benefit from similar work next year, please get in touch with us. The HMB works with housing officers and tenants to prioritise areas.

This year we have funded three projects: as well as Hawkins, money has been spent on Maitland Avenue flats (in East Chesterton) and Ekin Rd (in Abbey).

Of course the amount we can spend on these projects is heavily limited by the nearly £12 million we have to give to Gordon Brown in negative subsidy. I was pleased to learn at the HMB that tenant's representatives will be lobbying parliament on this issue on Monday.

Steve Webb visits Cambridge

Steve Webb MP, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, was in Cambridge yesterday to talk about the threat of climate change. Steve visited the City Council and local businesses with environmental concerns, before attending a LibDem Policy Forum at the Friends Meeting House.

Before his visit Steve said

"Climate change is bigger than any one political party, so support for the Liberal Democrat campaign for an 80% cut by 2050 is welcomed wherever it comes from.

"The Government has got the emissions target wrong and once again it looks like its own backbench MPs will have to rebel to get ministers to do the right thing.

"Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron must come off the fence on this issue. By allowing his Tories to constantly abstain David Cameron is showing how hollow his green credentials really are.

"The Climate Change Bill is too important to be watered down. The Liberal Democrats will be tabling an amendment today to make sure there will be a vote on the 80% target."

Relaunch of the garden at 37 Lawrence Way

We were all pleased to get an invite to the relaunch of the the Community Garden at 37 Lawrence Way: the King's Hedges Neighbourhood Project's community house (just next door to the Campkin Road shops).

We would like to send our congratulations to the King's Hedges Neighbourhood Project on the relaunch. The community house is a very useful resource for the people of the ward, and the work of the partnership shows how a local community can work together in a very
positive way.

Unfortunately I had to stay at work and was unable to make it to what I am sure was a great event.

Impington Post Office to close?

According to a list of Post Offices to be closed in the government's closure plan in today's Cambridge News Impington Post Office is facing the axe.

Foretunately none of those in King's Hedges is on the list from the Cambridge News, and if true this is a relief. However I am sure that King's Hedges residents, whether they use the Impington PO or not, will support our near neighbours in campaigning against the closure if the New's list is correct.

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.

Guided busway nearly at King's Hedges

The construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway (CGB) is expected to reach the A14 by the weekend. The current schedule will have the Gantry (the machine that places the preformed blocks into position) reaching Milton Road in August, which means that the construction work on the main busway will hit King's Hedges soon.

We already have the start of work on the Milton Road end. This current work is apparently "utility companies excavating for utility diversion" and the construction of a new footpath.

I've just attended a meeting of the "Local Liaison Forum" for the Busway. At this meeting the County officer in charge, Bob Menzies, said that the main disruption caused by the building in other sections was in the ground works: the digging and compression of the land prior to the gantry arriving. Residents of Histon have found other problems as well!

Please get in touch with us if the development causes you any problems and we shall see what can be done to minimise (or better yet stop) the disruption.

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.

Planning applications

There are two planning applications that might be of interest to residents of Arbury and Milton Road.

Just outside the ward in West Chesterton is 08/0865/FUL a first floor extension and loft conversion at 146 Milton Rd.

Similarly in Arbury is 08/0876/FUL a single storey extension to 229 Arbury Road.

For more information visit the City Council planning web site. You can submit comments on the application online, but need to accept some conditions to do so (so we can't give a direct link). More information is available from the website.

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.

Moore Close Manhole Fixed

I meant to post this some time ago, but following a complaint from a resident of Moore Close I have got the County Highways department to fix damage around a BT manhole on the pavement in Moore Close. I think the county may even have got BT to pay for it.

Damaged path on Minerva Way

I reported damage to the road next to a manhole in Minerva Way and have been informed by the Highways Department at the County that a works order has been raised to repair the damage.

Please let us know of any damage to pavements near you. We will do what we can to get them repaired.

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.

Ramsden Sq Recreation Grounds

I received news today that following a rigorous evaluation of submitted bids, Cambridge City Council contracts have now been awarded for the development and improvement projects at both Ramsden Square and Thorpe Way Recreation Grounds.

You can download the plans for the play area and sports area at Ramsden Square, or view a poster that illustrates the upcoming changes to the recreation facilities at Thorpe Way.

If you have any ideas to improve your neighbourhood, you can submit them online, or contact us!

Cambridge Law Centre Outreach Advice

At last night's North Area Committee, we voted to approve a grant of £1500 towards Advice for Life, who's Cambridge Law Centre Outreach sessions help those who need advice on a range of issues, including benefits, housing and debt.

Both myself, the rest of the team here in King's Hedges and the Committee feel it's an important project that provides an immensely valuable service to the community.

Their outreach sessions are held twice monthly, the next ones being on the 2nd and 16th July, 10am - 12pm at Brown's Field Community Centre, and 1:30pm - 3:30pm at Meadow's Community Centre. To make an appointment, contact the Cambridge Law Centre on 01223 712 222. You can drop in without an appointment, but they can't guarantee you'll be seen, so it's best to drop them a line first.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Councillor Clare Blair for her work in ensuring that these outreach sessions are available and continue.

North Area Committee: 19 June

The North Area Committee meets this Thursday (19 June) at Manor School on Arbury Road.

The meeting has planning applications at 6.30pm, then from 7.30pm we have an agenda including...

• Arbury Park update from a South Cambs planning officer
• The Open Forum where you can raise issues with all the local councillors for the North of the city
• Decisions on the Community Development and Leisure grants. Several groups in King's Hedges have made applications for money from this pot.
• A discussion and update on the Environmental Improvements programme, including works on the Campkin Rd piazza.

If you have any concerns come along and see us.

There will also be an exhibition about the impact of climate change in the hall.

Planning application in Ramsden Square

An application has been made to erect a "two bed dwelling" in Ramsden Square.

The application reference number is 08/0795/FUL.

For more information visit the City Council planning web site. You can submit comments on the application online, but need to accept some conditions to do so (so we can't give a direct link). More information is available from

Scaffolding on Atkins Close

I recently had some calls about the scaffolding on Atkins Close.

The apparent delays in removing the scaffolding were partly caused by the fact the scaffolding is being used for more than one job. Hopefully this means we won't need scaffolding again for many years.

However, City Homes were also unhappy at the delays from the contractor involved. After my intervention the contractors have started to remove scaffolding from one of the blocks, but this is almost certainly a coincidence!

If you are concerned about the time scaffolding is up on your block, call or email us and we can chase it up.

Post office closures: news in July

Cambridge will hear in July which of our Post Offices will be under threat of closure from the Labour Government's closure scheme.

We will update you when we hear.

Milton Road trees: confusion from the county

East Chesterton Liberal Democrat Cllr Julian Huppert asked a question about the Milton Road trees at the recent full meeting of the County Council.

However the answer whilst giving grounds for optimism was confused.

We shall continue to work towards planting being resumed.

Milton Road trees: confusion from the county

East Chesterton Liberal Democrat Cllr Julian Huppert asked a question about the Milton Road trees at the recent full meeting of the County Council.

However the answer whilst giving grounds for optimism was confused.

We shall continue to work towards planting being resumed.

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.

Rees Thomas site

The closure of the busy cycle path from Woodhead Drive to Hawkins Road has caused some inconvenience.

I have been unable to persuade the contractors that closing the whole road at once is a bad idea, but they have at least put up diversion signs to help people navigate after requests from me (and others).

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."

A big thank you to the voters of King's Hedges for electing Neil McGovern as their third City Councillor to join Neale Upstone and myself.The results in full

1. Neil McGovern (Liberal Democrat) 760
2. Geri Bird (Labour) 562
3. Cyril Weinman (Conservative) 419
4. James Youd (Green) 129

Another big thank you to everyone who voted for Neil, to everyone who we talked to during the campaign, to everyone who helped us win.

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)

Markham Close pavement fixed

In the online Focus Neil McGovern reported damage to Markham Close pavement.

Thanks to Neil's reports this damage has now been repaired!

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.

Fence fixed on Hopkins Close

Thanks to work by the LibDem team the fence between Campkin Road and Hopkins Close that blew down in the wind has finally been fixed.

(Thanks to Clare Blair, a LibDem councillor for East Chesterton, for help chasing this up!)

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.

Dog warden

Another quick post: I've been in touch with the dog warden quite a bit this year.

They have had some success in dealing with fouling issues in Kent Way and Nuns Way. They have also investigated problems with dogs off leads.

If dogs off leads are causing a problem in parks we would need to place a special order on the park, and I'd rather not stop the majority of responsible dog owners from being able to exercise their dogs! Do let us know of any problems and we will deal with them.

Campkin Road shops - Repaired!

Good news for those following the story of the cobbles outside Tesco on Campkin Road; we've had some emergency repairs carried out as you can see in the picture. These are temporary repairs as we're waiting for a full refit of the area.

In the mean time, I'll be following up with the delivery companies who use the area to try and ensure that they don't drive over the cobbles, which seems to be one of the causes of the problem.

Road Closure featured in Cambridge News

In a report by John Downing, the Cambridge News has helped raised awareness of the closure of King's Hedges Road.

We'd like to thank them for raising awareness of the issue, and putting pressure on the County to improve lines of communication. Thanks also to Stagecoach for agreeing to put publicity on their buses.

Cambridge sport hit by Olympics?

There is an interesting article in the Cambridge News (available here online) about the effect of the London 2012 Olympics on sports funding in the County.

Apparently it could drain off as much as £9.2million from Cambridge City, and a total of £21million from Cambridgeshire as a whole. These figures come from research done by LibDem MP Don Foster.

Whilst I am very excited at the prospect of the Olympics coming to London in 2012, the project does need to be carefully managed. We don't want the legacy of 2012 to be a reduction in sporting activity in the UK! The Labour government needs to learn lessons from earlier projects.

King's Hedges Road Update

I have managed to find someone who knows about the road closure.

A County Councillor Officer has replied to the team to inform us that the closure is due to EDF's substation building works. He assured me that "EDF Energy have informed everyone affected by the closure."

The dates were chosen to coincide with CRC's Easter vacation, and the bus companies and emergency services have been informed.

It is a shame that the signs couldn't have been put up earlier, and the courtesy extended to residents of King's Hedges Road. I have made this concern known to the County Council, and I hope they can improve next time.

Street Signs

Just a quick note: I've put in requests for the missing street name sign for Albemarle Way, and the damaged street name sign in Banff Close to be repaired.

King's Hedges Road Closing?

Like many of you I've seen the signs concerning the closure of King's Hedges Road for two weeks soon. The situation is somewhat confused.

Cllr Mike Pitt has written to the highways department at the County, but the person replying has not heard about the closure. Further investigation is underway and we'll update as soon as we hear anything.

It seems odd that King's Hedges Road residents like myself have not been warned by the County Council about the possible closure, and neither have the City Councillors.

Even the the road closure website for the Guided Busway works, as well as the main County Council road closure website seem unaware of this development.

Markham Close crumbling pavement

For anyone else who's noticed that the pavement on Markham Close is crumbling, good news!

The County Council has been written to, and has scheduled repairs. As usual, we'll check up on this and make sure it's completed.

Campkin Road shops concourse

The cobbles on the concourse outside the Campkin Road shops seem to have come loose again, and some have disappeared. I've written to the city council, and they've ordered some repairs. I'll keep an eye out and make sure this is followed up.

This is the second time your LibDem team have asked for emergency repairs. Mike Pitt got some repairs made last August.

The longer term improvement project is continuing to advance.

Bus passes

I have just heard that the City Council has begun posting out bus passes to those who qualify for free travel.

Just under 10000 passes, all those who applied before the end of January, will be sent out next Tuesday, and so they will start to arrive from next Thursday (20th March). Despite the huge number we expect them to arrive before the end of March, so get in touch if they haven't arrived.

Anyone who applied after the end of January should get their pass by mid-April.

I should stress that the old passes remain valid until September anyway.

Nuns Way rec play equipment

Bad news on the Nuns Way rec repairs. I've just recieved an email from parks about the repairs.

The issue is that to strengthen the boards to avoid future repeats of the damage needs something called "trailer board". This is a special wood and has been on order from more than one local supplier for several months but has not yet come back into stock.

I am expecting another update soon. The equipment will be back in service eventually but I can't give a date yet. I will continue to chase...

Deliverers wanted!

Could you help us by delivering the Focus in your street? We are always keen to find deliverers to allow us to spread the workload!

Get in touch at the usual contact address, mike-kh@einval.com, or phone me on 01223 709544 (leave a message if you get the answerphone).

If you'd like to have Liberal Democrat councillors then a little help could go a long way towards that.

North Area Committee -- Thursday 6 March

This Thursday is North Area Committee day again. It takes place at Manor Community School on Arbury Road and starts at 7.30pm.

The agenda is shorter this time, as well as the open forum, your chance to ask local councillors questions, there are Community Development and Leisure Grants and a few planning permissions to decided.

I hope to see you there!

Campkin Road improvements

The resurfacing of Campkin Road car park is now complete and is a major improvement on the dreadful and unsafe surface we had before. The works were paid for by grants awarded at the North Area Committee.

The planted areas still need to be tidied up, but this work will take place soon.

The next project in the area is to lower the high planted area that obstructs views of people pulling out of the garage area opposite. The plan is to lower it and replant it, which should make the junction safer and make it more attractive.

Verge damage on corner of Kirkwood Road

Just a short note! On the corner of Kirkwood Road and King's Hedges Road the verge has been damaged.

I have contacted the County Council and they are chasing the responsible party to make repairs. I will chase the County until then!

Choice Based Letting: Going live next week

There is a big change in how social housing is allocated next week with the launch of Home-Link, the Cambridge Choice Based Letting Scheme (CBL).

This means that from next week instead of going on the waiting list until a house is allocated to you, people on the housing needs register can "bid" for the houses that become available, up to three of their choice each fortnight. The houses will be allocated based on the four priority bands (from A ("urgent") to D) and then based upon how long the bidder has been on the list.

Each fortnight a magazine (available at City Homes North and Arbury Library in our area) will be issued, and the houses will go on the Home-Link website, and a bidding round will take place by web, SMS, phone, post or in person. The first bidding round is next week!

Help with bidding will be available at City Homes North, and from voluntary organisations such as the Citzens Advice Bureau and Cambridge Law Centre.

From the second issue there will be a report: this will allow those on the list to see the need band and the time that the successful bidders had been waiting.

Covering Cambridge City Council houses, and residential social landlords and Council stock in 6 neighbouring local authorities, this is one of the larger CBL schemes in the country, and as far as we know the first to cover a mix of urban and rural districts.

A word of warning: the scheme doesn't create any new homes: we still have around 6000 people on the waiting list in total. Further Cambridge has just under 300 people in band A (Urgent) and just under 300 in band B (High) at any time but only around 600 homes are available each year. That figure includes sheltered housing and bedsits. There is still huge demand for our limited stock.

However the advantages are that now prospective tenants have more choice in the houses they will live in, can see more clearly what is available for tenants, and can see clearly how long people are waiting to get housed.

Northfield Avenue Underpass Swept

At the weekend it was reported to me that the Northfield Avenue underpass was unpleasant and unsafe due to large amounts of leaf litter collecting in it. The matter was reported to the City Services helpdesk by phone.

This morning I was in the area so checked by and I was pleased to see that the footpath has been cleared.

If there is a problem with leaf fall, mud or litter then please let us know and we'll try to get it tidied up.

Public Art Survey

Just a quick link.

The City Council want to know what people think about the provision of public art in Cambridge, and whether people know about what there is.

Go to the survey on the council website and see if you know the works and let us know what you think.

According to the 2006 audit we aren't very well provided for art in the North of the city (KH, Chesterton or Arbury!), so please get involved and let the council know what you'd like to see.

Second reading for "Cambridge Rule" bill

In slightly better news, a private members bill in the Houses of Parliament, which aims to allow local authorities to set higher minimum energy standards for new builds, has got a second reading.


This is nick-named the Cambridge Rule as we were the city council that tried to include such a requirement in our local planning rules but were overruled by a government inspector who felt that it was "unreasonable" to expect higher standards.


The better the build standard the lower the heating bill and the easier to keep the house warm!



The Government's support for this bill (or not) will be an indication of how real their environmental credentials are. We'll keep you posted on how things develop...

£1500 per family penalty for well run housing

The figure for how much money the Labour government are taking from our tenants is now in. This year the Council Tenants of Cambridge will be sending £12.1 million to Gordon Brown.

Thats £12.1 million that we can't spend on improving homes for people in the city, or on providing extra affordable housing in the city to reduce the waiting list, or even on maintenance of the housing stock. It could hit our plans to refurbish sheltered housing.

It works out at £1500 per household.

The argument goes that it is right to take money from rich areas to subsidise poorer, but this isn't what happens. The people being hit for this cash are not the wealthiest in Cambridge, or those most able to pay. This is a tax on being a council tenant, and those include some of the most vulnerable in our society. It includes those in sheltered housing.

I try to avoid posting when angry, but whenever I start to write about the"negative subsidy" I get angry: This is not a fair way to address issues in housing provision, and it damages the services that the city can provide.

The Liberal Democrat run City Council continues to campaign against it, as does David Howarth, our MP. As will your Liberal Democrat ward councillors.

Northfield Avenue -- Cycle path proposals

I have just returned from the County-City Area Joint Committee for transport issues.

Thanks to a huge response from local residents, including a petition by the parents at King's Hedges Primary, the proposals to turn the footpath on Northfield Avenue into a shared use path has been rejected. I spoke against the path at the meeting, but the officers at the County Council had already listened to the massive feedback they had and withdrew the proposal!

The extra crossing on King's hedges Road is going ahead, which required the narrowing of the Northfield junction. This should improve safety on both roads by slowing traffic.

There is also the possibility that a 20mph limit will be introduced on Northfield Avenue, the road has enough traffic calming measures on it already to meet the county's rules. This would make Northfield Avenue a safer place to walk and cycle, which will be important when Arbury Park residents begin to use it to get to work and school.

Watch this space for news!

New Brookfield Hospital consultation

Following local campaigning by COPE and Cambridge's MP David Howarth the local NHS primary care trust have announced a new consultation on Brookfield Hospital. This could be the first stage to saving the hospital from closure.

You can get the consultation document and the business case online.

For more details, including a range of background information, and to respond online, see the consultation homepage.

Northfield Avenue proposals

The County Council are proposing making changes to Northfield Avenue to calm traffic. More details on the changes can be found on the County Councils website.

I have concerns about the creation of a shared used cycle and footpath outside Kings' Hedges Primary which I have raised with the County's officers. There is a petition about this aspect, and if you contact me I can put you in touch with the organiser.

Please let me know your opinions on the scheme. It will be looked at by the Area Joint Committee at the end of January.

North Area Committee: Congestion Charge discussion

As well as the more usual items at the North Area Committee this Thursday we have a visit from County Council officers with more information on the Transport Infrastructure Fund bid. Or the congestion charge project if you prefer.

The meeting is at Manor Community School on Arbury Road.

There will be a display on the TIF plan and County officers from 6pm but the meeting itself starts at 7.30pm.

Other items on the agenda include neighbourhood policing, the open forum and planning permissions.