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.