Christmas eve missed collection

Due to even more snow fall collections had to be suspended on Christmas Eve. Most of King's Hedges has Thursday collections so we were hit by this.

Having checked the Service Updates page at 3:30pm on Wednesday 30th the plan is...

• Black bin collection: it was planned to clear back bins on Wednesday 30th December. If your bin was out and not collected call the City Council on 01223 457000 or 01223 458282
• Green and blue bin collections: will be "collected on their next scheduled collection date, in the week commencing 4 or 13 January", which means if you were due blue and green on Christmas Eve your bin will be collected on Thursday 7th January. This also applies to sacks and boxes.

If you have problems you can put excess waste in the black bin or use the recycling centres, but this is not ideal. Extra recycling can also be put out in your old boxes if you have them.

Sorry for the disruption but controlling a bin lorry on snowy and icy roads is not easy. Every effort was made to collect as much as possible, and the decision to suspend collections was taken very reluctantly indeed.

Tomorrow's scheduled collections are as per usual if the BBC is correct that we will have lots of drizzle and no snow tonight.

(If your collection is Friday remember that it will be delayed to Saturday due to New Years day.)

Planning application in Bayford Place

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

One application this week a two storey side extension to 41 Bayford Place, application number 09/1157/FUL.

Details on how to comment in my last planning posting!

Happy Christmas from the Team

Your local team would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas, and a safe and prosperous new year.

(And we used the delayed post feature of blogger to do this!)

Planning applications: Campkin Road, Arden Road and King's Hedges Road

After weeks with no applications this week we have three!

1. 12 Campkin Road has applied for a "single storey front extension" (application 09/1084/FUL)
2. 18 Arden Road has applied for a "two storey front extension and dormer" (application 09/1137/FUL), and finally
3. 36 King's Hedges Road has applied for a "single storey front extension" (application 09/1151/FUL)

The application on Arden Road is already down to come to a planning committee.

As always you can find out more information from Development Control at the City Council including details of how to inspect plans in person and online, and how to comment.

As always in case of difficulty let us know.

Distraction thefts from cash machines

The Neighbourhood Watch email newsletter from the Police contains a warning about a recent spate of distraction thefts at cash machines in the city centre.

The emails says:

Victims have pushed their card into the cash point slot and entered in their pin, at which point they have been approached from either side and their attention has been distracted by one of the offenders waving a newspaper in front of the screen.
Whilst distracting the victim, one of the offenders has entered a request for at least a £200 withdrawal. They then leave after taking the money and the victim doesn't realise until they find their card has been returned.

Please take care at cash machines and report anything suspicious to the Police. Any ifnormation on these crimes can be reported to DC Evans at Parkside Police Station on 0345 456 456 4 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Snow and City Services

The snow has meant that today's waste collections had to be cancelled. There is also some impact on car parks

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

It looks like today's blue bin and black bin collections will be made on Monday.

Don't forget the changes next week and the week after for Christmas and New Year.

A14 meeting POSTPONED due to snow

A quick notice: the A14 meeting that we reported was due to be held today in Orchard Park has been postponed due to the weather conditions.

We'll let you know when it is rescheduled.

Brrr...

Christmas and New Year Bin Collections 2009 (and snow)

Just in case you missed it and were not aware here are the timings for Christmas and New Year bin collections;

NOTE: Unless your bin collection is on a Friday you will not notice any changes.

For those with a usual collection day of Friday the collection on the 25th December will instead be done on the 28th (Monday) and the collection on 1st January will instead be collected on the 2nd (Tuesday).

If there are problems with snow this year keep an eye on the City Council website for up to date information or call the help desk on 01223 457000 or by email.

Orchard Park host A14 widening meeting

Our near neighbours over King's Hedges Road are holding an open meeting to consider the impact of the proposals for widening the A14 and help form Orchard Park Community Council's response.

I've checked and they are happy for King's Hedges residents to attend if they have views on the proposals.

It is at 4pm on Friday 18th December at the Orchard Park Community Centre.

The widening of the road will have major impact on the air quality, noise levels and congestion levels in the vicinity of the A14 itself, but also on the arterial roads and city centre.

You can (of course) also contact us about this issue as well. and we will feed that into our response and the City Council's response.

Planning app in Augustus Close

Been a little while since we've had a planning application in the ward, but this week's list includes an application for building an "additional storey to existing two storey building" at 19 Augustus Close.

The application reference is 09/1072/FUL, and more details can be obtained from the planning department in the usual ways (see the development control webpage for more info).

For the sake of openness I should probably observe that 19 Augustus Close is the address of our County Councillor Andy Pellew.

NHS Cambridgeshire Constitution: New Patient Rights

The NHS is currently having a consultation in the inclusion of two new rights into the NHS Constitution.

These are a new right in respect of waiting times and whether this right should include the current standard for treatment (within 18 weeks), and/or the current standard for urgent referrals for suspected cancer (2 weeks).

Also should GP's provide specified information to patients on their rights around a two-week referral?

And finally do people agree that a right to a NHS Health Check every five years for those aged 40-74 should be established.

If you have a view you can submit it into the consultation here (the actual form to submit an opinion is here).

Guided Busway Secrecy and Delays

Workmen have discovered a structural threat to a crucial part of the Guided Busway network.

Cambridgeshire County Council were informed that rainwater pouring off the raised section of track on the viaduct could damage the structure and lead to it crumbling in future years. They dealt with this information by trying to keep the newly found problem a secret.

Unfortunately for them the secrecy didn't last very long.

It's disappointing to have to say this once again but the Conservative County Councils' instinct for secret meetings and back room deals is keeping the tax-paying public in the dark about exactly what their money is being spent on.

Smartwater Rollout in KH

As part of an anti-crime campaign and to generally raise awareness of the technology your local police service have been introducing Smartwater to residents in the north of King's Hedges.

When an item is marked with this technology (which is just a simple 5 second job) if the item ever turns up as part of lost or stolen property then the police will be able to "read" the tag in the water and return the item to it's original owner.

As part of a program supported by the Fire Service and the City Council Smartwater was given away free to householders in the area around Buchan Street last weekend - this program will eventually continue across the ward.

Cambridgeshire County Council Recycling Bus Launch

Today at King's Hedges Primary School the County Council launched their new Recycling Buses. This is part of a programme of waste education and campaigning undertaken by the County in schools and local communities across Cambridgeshire and also coincides with the European Week for Waste Reduction.

The purpose of these new buses is to tour the County visiting schools and introducing children to the ideas of Recycling and Reuse.

The buses were officially launched by Barbara Follett MP (Minister for the East of England). Joining her at the launch were myself, Belinda Brooks-Gordon (County Councillor for Castle), Tony Orgee (Cabinet member for Economy and the Environment), and Bernard Warr (Head of Waste Management at the County Council).

Cambridgeshire has actually done pretty well when it comes to recycling achieving a rate of 44% for household recycling. Hopefully the newly introduced blue-bins we've been seeing rolled out in the city will increase the recycling rate here.

Sleeping rough in Cambridge News

The online edition of the Cambridge News has a story about the sponsored sleepout.

If you'd like to sponsor me go to my just giving page or drop me a line.

Another councillor: The Deputy Mayor Sheila Stuart will be joining us as well.

Sleeping out at the end of November

This is a slightly different post as I'm asking you to support a very good cause.

I am taking part in the Streetbite Sleepout to raise money for Wintercomfort for the Homeless here in Cambridge.

Wintercomfort does a lot of work supporting those who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The work it does helps many take vital steps back to housing, providing access to support services.

You can sponsor me online at justgiving, or email me or call me (see left) if you'd rather do it the old fashioned way. Also I'd be grateful if you think it is a good cause if you could pass on the details to anyone else who might support us!

It will be cold. It might well be wet. It'll be less miserable if I know I'm making a difference!

I am doing this alongside Cllr Clare Blair and Cllr Julie Smith and many others. Please sponsor us!

Cllr McGovern in the news

The project to improve Campkin Road shop forecourt has made the Cambridge News includes a quote from Neil. It has a nice picture of him looking very serious!

Please come along tomorrow to Manor School at 7.30pm (6.30pm for planning) if you have strong views on this project. If you can't make it, please let the team know.

What's going on?

Usually these posts bring you news; this one just asks a fairly simple question: what is going on with the Guided Busway?

The Guided Busway was supposed to be ready for driver training at the start of November so that the first paying customers could start using this much-delayed service a month later. On Tuesday of this week I was surprised to see that the contractors had blocked the Busway in both directions near the Cambridge Regional College - clearly no training is going to be happening and the timetable for this project looks likely to slip again.

What puzzles me is what exactly is going on. Due to the veil of secrecy the Conservative controlled County Council has thrown over the whole project nobody, least of all the taxpayers who have actually paid for the Busway, have any clue about what's going on. The County Council seems to be locked in a financial dispute with contractors BAM Nuttall and maybe this is in some way connected with their blocking of the guideway.

It's high time the County Council came forward and let the tax payers of this County know what's going on.

North Area Committee next week

The next North Area committee is on Thursday 12 November at Manor School on Arbury Road.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm for planning decisions (none in King's Hedges, but a few in neighbouring wards).

The main meeting starts at 7.30pm.

The big items for King's Hedges are the regular policing report, which is your chance to feed into the priorities for the police in the North of the City, and the decision on the Campkin Piazza.

The consultation on balance favoured option 2, replacing the trees. The decision will be made at committee, and you can still let us know your views in advance of the meeting (by phone or email) or at it if you can make it. I'll post a bit more over the weekend, but more information is in the report.

Alongside these two there is also the open forum, your chance to ask the local councillors anything you like, and formal agenda items on...

1. S106 projects (planning moneys for local infrastructure)
2. Other environmental improvement projects
3. Recycling champions: can you help boost recycling in your street?
4. Community development grants

The full agenda can be found at the city council website (PDF).

The next meeting after this will be on January 7 2010.

New tree works

There's a couple more trees due for works in King's Hedges, this time outside numbers 7 and 11 Tribune Court.
The two Norway Maples there are to be trimmed back to 3 metres, and pruned away from the property. They're also due to have dead wood removed.

Let us know if you have any concerns or comments.

David Howarth to step down

The whole team in King's Hedges were saddened at the announcement that David Howarth, our MP, has decided not to stand at the next election and will instead return to his self-confessed "other life" in academia.

The announcement can be found on the local party web site, David Howarths Website, and has been reported by the Cambridge News (amongst other places).

David has done a lot of excellent work for Cambridge, first as a ward Councillor, then leader of the City Council, a key member of our Federal Policy Committee and since 2005 as our MP. He led the fight to allow councils to push for higher environmental standards in buildings, fought to protect the right of people to protest legally, and also fought a battle against the innocent-sounding "Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill" the effect of which would have given the Prime Minister the power to change law by decree.

Just last week he achieved a fairer deal for Cambridge in the funding of Concessionary fairs by Central Government (although still some way short of the true cost!).

Nick Clegg said it best; "Academia's gain is very much politics' loss."

Gritting Cycleways Across The City

Whilst (hopefully!) the first hard frost in the city is still some way away preparations for dealing with severe weather are something the County Council needs to take very seriously.

Following on from complaints during last years severe weather (not to mention a number of accidents) the Liberal Democrats on the County Council raised this issue and we are pleased to announce that we have had some success: there will be some very limited gritting of Cycleways across the city for the first time this year, and rather than waiting 5 days and then gritting secondary routes, the routes will be gritted when a 5-day period of bad weather is being forecast.

However, despite a specially adapted gritter being commissioned for the new Guided Busway, the cycle-path right next to it will be left completely untreated.

It's disappointing that the Conservative-controlled County Council is doing the absolute bare minimum to support cyclists across the city - especially at a time when the City Council, County Council and even the Labour Government nationally are trying to get people out of their cars!

Lighting walk about

On Tuesday Neil and I were invited for a ward walk about with PCSO Eke, one of King's Hedges PCSOs. It was a useful walk, and we discussed various issues but one key thing was lighting.


With the nights drawing in PCSO Eke suggested it would be useful to do a ward walkabout to look for broken lights. To this end I have started to organise one. We are awaiting confirmation from some partners, but it looks like we will be setting off from City Homes North (on Arbury Road) at 5pm on Tuesday 10th November. We will post confirmation of this to the blog.

Two things: if you know of a broken light let us know before then so we make sure it is included, and secondly if you would like to join us please do so.

From the nostalgia files...

For those old enough to remember the last Conservative government I thought I'd share this video off You Tube. It is a Liberal Democrat broadcast starring John Cleese. It is quite funny, but then I may be biased.



Here in Cambridge we are lucky not to have the problem he describes: the Liberal Democrats not only can win but have!

Blue Bin Changes - 16th November 2009

If you've had your bins collected this week you should have noticed a sticker on the bin letting you know that, amongst other things, the way we collect recycling in the city is about to change.

"From November 16th 2009 your new Blue Bin will be emptied on the same day as your Green Bin.

Your collection day will not change.

If you do not have a Blue Bin, put your recycling boxes out with your Green Bin from November 16th instead. Do not put any recycling out with your Black Bin".

If you have any questions either leave a comment, contact one of the team (the address is on the left), or you can contact the City Council directly on 01223 458628 (or via email; enquiries@cambridge.gov.uk)

Shrinking bins as blue bins roll out

The first of the blue bins are being delivered to the City today, and on Monday we start delivery to residents ready for the first collections in November.

One of the suprising but pleasing aspects of the blue bin roll out is the number of people who have chosen to switch their black bin from the large to smaller size. Yesterday we received our new mini wheelie bin, shown here this morning next to our normal (large) green bin and me ready for school.

Since we started the blue bin awareness over 500 households have asked to shrink their bin.

They are the same height as normal bins (to make loading easier) but narrower, holding just over half the amount of rubbish.

Many households obviously can't cope with a smaller bin, but if you could cope with a smaller black bin now we have the blue bins I'd ask you to consider it. Waste reduction is much better for the environment than waste recycling, and the shrinking bins shows people taking this seriously. It also gives you back some space!

Meanwhile: expect your blue bin sometime in the next few weeks!

More Guided Busway traffic problems...

Hopefully this will be the last time I write that headline!

The team received an email from the County Council highways team about more work on the Guided Busway around Orchard Park (or Arbury Park).

The temporary lights should be gone by the weekend.

The email says:

On behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, Busway contactor BAM Nuttall Ltd will be carrying out adjustments to the traffic signals at the junction of Kings Hedges Road and Chariot Way. At the same time permanent traffic signals will be installed here for The Busway.
Whilst carrying out some of this work, it will be necessary to operate temporary traffic lights at this junction and reduce Kings Hedges Road, Arbury Road and Chariot Way to a single lane at the approach to the temporary traffic lights.
This work will take place between 20 and 28 October 2009, from 7.30am to 6pm, however the temporary traffic lights will only be in use between 20 and 23 October 2009. They will be in place day and night.

They give contact numbers in case of problems: 01223 716 972 for the County Council, and 01954 785 200 for BAM Nuttall Ltd, the constructors.

As ever give us a call if you want more info, or this causes problems.

Cambridge News on recycling contract

The Cambridge News have run article about the newly agreed contract with a Materials Recycling Facility. It can be read online.

You should be getting a sticker on your black bin explaining the next steps with the blue bins soon. The bins will be delivered over the next few weeks and the service will start city wide on 16 November: your first collection will be the first green bin day after that date.

Planning app on Lovell Road

It is Tuesday so it must be planning application time!

This week there is one in KH, on Lovell Road for a "single storey and first floor rear extensions" to number 36. The reference is 09/0924/FUL.

As usual more information can be obtained from the Development Control people at the City, or by contacting the team.

News from eCops about Halloween

If you haven't signed up for ecops then I'd strongly suggest you do. This is a roughly weekly email newsletter from the police that contains local information.

You can sign up from the Police website.

At the moment they are reminding people about acceptable behaviour around Halloween, in particular the efforts being made with local shopkeepers and the usual safety reminders.

They are also offering posters for those who don't want Trick or Treaters to call.

Email the police if you want one.

Cambridge City Centre Parking Changes

At the Area Joint Committee (AJC) this week we were asked to support Cambridge City Councils proposal to increase the parking charges for the City Centre Car Parks from 1st April 2010. On-Street parking is going to be reviewed at a later date.

This was supported by the Committee and will now go out to a wider consultation with organisations across the city.

So what are the changes? Well the differential pricing across the cities car parks (something I have to say I hadn't really appreciated) will remain. For multi-story car parks the charges for during the day are valid from 7.30am to 5pm, outside that time the evenings and overnight charge applies.

The proposed changes are (by car park);

Bearing in mind the smallest coin the ticket machines will take is 10p the overnight changes were always going to be the place where the increase made the most obvious difference.

The cheapest car park in Cambridge (by quite a long way) is Queen Anne's;

By contrast the most expensive (but also the most modern) is the Grand Arcade. As anyone who drives and parks in Cambridge regularly will know it is also the most likely to be full - hence the larger (in monetary terms) increases;

I asked for some additional numbers from the officers and this revealed that 80% of tickets are paid within 3 hours, and that 95% of all tickets are paid within 5 hours. There were around 2.5 million tickets sold last year and these changes will lead to an increase in revenue for the City of around £300K - as a side effect of increasing the prices the officers estimate that 80 cars per day will choose not to park in the city car parks.

In the past year (despite the recession) usage in the City Centre car parks has increases by .1% (1/10th of a percent).

The eventual plan seems to be to end the differential pricing for Sundays but the proposal will change the Sunday prices from £1.50 to £1.70 for everywhere but Park Street which will change from 80p to £1.00.

Pricing for the Surface Car parks will also be changing (times these apply vary by car park);

• Adam and Eve Street Car Park: 50p for 20 minutes to 80p for 20 minutes
• Castle Hill Car Park: Up to 4 hours has changed from £3.00 to £3.40, up to 8 hours has changed from £6.00 to £6.80
• Gwydir Street Car Park: 60p for 30 minutes changes to 70p for 30 minutes
• Riverside: 30p for 20 minutes increases to 40p for 30 minutes

The season ticket charges are also changing- these are based on the vehicles emissions and are actually quite a big table. There aren't many of these issued (mainly to local businesses) if anyone is interested in the charges leave a comment and I'll respond.

Lib Dem Group Attends TIF Vote Without Using Private Cars

Something else that came up on Tuesday but was rather drowned out by TIF was the fact that Lib Dem group members who attended the Council Meeting on Tuesday did so by means of transport other than private motor vehicle - this was a mixture of Bus, Train, Park & Ride, Walking and Cycling.

Of course being based in King's Hedges I had the distinct advantage of both a reliable bus service and a pretty comprehensive network of Cycle Paths (the latter of which I used)! Needless to say it wasn't quite as easy for some of the more rural Councillors!

Here is the group standing on the steps of Shire Hall with various Bikes and Tickets;

Hopefully this will be something we can repeat at future meetings.

Changes to Bus Services

Stagecoach and Whippet services are changing from Sunday 29 November 2009. The attached table shows which services are changing and the impact of that change.

Timetables and information for all the services in the table can be obtained directly from Stagecoach or Whippet Coaches (or see here).

The main changes that will affect King's Hedges residents are that the Citi 1 service will stop going down Wulfstan Way and will instead use Queen Edith's Way.

The Citi 4 service will also be changing it's route in Orchard Park.

Three new Guided Bus services (two Stagecoach and one Whippet) will start running.

Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

The Council meeting on Tuesday, as you may have detected in the press (here, here, and here amongst others!), was a slightly more lively affair than usual. The main topic of debate was always going to be the TIF bid (including the proposal for the congestion charge trigger point). There was lots of opportunity for people to speak, but in the end lots of people were unable to speak as time ran out.

People spoke from both sides of the debate; Shona Johnstone (CON) in particular spoke in favour of the TIF bid - it was interesting to see the force of her argument wielded against something other than the Liberal Democrat Opposition to the Councils private Policy Planning Meetings! In contrast was Peter Reeve (the newest member of the Council from UKIP) who spoke in opposition to the motion but while he was unable to offer any solution to the problem of congestion he did raise the issue of the Carrot and Stick approach. He just didn't like the size of the stick, or for that matter the size of the Carrot!

Whilst I don't agree with his opposition to TIF the idea of "Carrot and Stick" struck a cord with me; a congestion charge is not something that I believe should be anything other than an absolute last resort (when literally all else has failed). It's for this reason I voted in favour on Tuesday - for me the idea of "trigger points" is exactly the right way to go. If all else fails then we'll have a congestion charge - but ONLY if all else fails.

It does have to be pointed out though; We are only going to avoid a congestion charge by working together - not just as individuals but collectively in the organisations that we all represent. Is it really necessary that we all start work or school at 8.30? Is it really necessary we all get to where we need to be by car? If it is necessary then the future will definitely contain a charge - there is simply no way to avoid it. The roads are finite and if the number of cars keeps increasing journey times and pollution will get worse and whatever trigger point the County, District, and City Councils decide upon will be met. Even if there was no congestion charge the situation would still be intolerable!

Hopefully the mere possibility that there could be a charge, and the fact that any potential charge is many years away, will give us the time we need to adjust our lives in order to allow us to avoid it.

Open space on corner of Woodhead Drive and Milton Road

The state of the open space just on the corner of Woodhead Drive and Milton Road was drawn to my attention in the summer holidays.

Since then I've got several people at the City Council to investigate and work towards turning this rather unpleasant space into an asset.

Last Thursday the City Rangers arranged a visit by the Community Payback team to cut back and tidy up the area and the result is stunning:That had been all overgrown and full of litter before last Thursday.

Today I had an email telling me that the land will soon be transferred into the ownership of the City. The next step is to find some way of making it even nicer.

So...

First, big thanks to the Rangers and everyone else for the help so far.

Secondly if anyone knows of similar projects elsewhere in King's Hedges we can out the Payback team on then the Rangers (and the team!) would be keen to know.

Finally, If you have any ideas for the area we'd be keen to hear from you. When the transfer is complete I hope to arrange a public meeting.

Planning application on Markham Close

There is one planning application for the ward on the weekly list this week.

It is for "Erection of one 2-bed dwelling with associated parking and site works" on "Land Adjacent" to 35 Markham Close. The reference number is 09/0914/FUL and you can get more details in the usual ways, have a look at the City Council development control webpages. You can see plans at City Homes North on Arbury Rd, Milton Rd library or the Guildhall (amongst other places).

(From memory I think that is near the corner with Lavendar Road, so I've added that keyword.)

As always any problems or concerns contact one of the team.

Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

At the next County Council meeting on the 13th October we will be discussing, and voting, on the Conservative Administrations' application for funding from the Transport Innovation Fund.

The headline for this will be that it could lead to a congestion charge being implemented for Cambridge City in 2017 (eight years time) providing certain, as yet unspecified, trigger-points are reached (levels of congestion, pollution, etc).

As a first stage, the Conservative Administration is asking for early confirmation of Government funding for Chesterton Station which would then be built in 2012 (three years earlier than planned).

As I'm your representative on the County Council I'd be very interested in hearing your views. If you have any questions relating to the TIF proposal either add a comment or send me an email. and I'll try to provide answers.

This is going to be an on-going issue for several years (well, assuming this doesn't fall at the first hurdle on Tuesday!) so there will be plenty of time for people to comment and we (the Lib Dem group on the County) are expecting lots of votes down the line on various aspects of the TIF proposal - I will Blog these as and when they come up.

New Leaflet: "Houses on the Cheap"

We are currently delivering a newspaper/leaflet across the division.

In case you haven't seen it yet, or if you are interested in viewing the leaflet electronically it is available from The Straight Choice website by clicking here.

Unfortunately the Straight Choice website is currently experiencing technical difficulties so at the moment you're not able to search for "local" leaflets using your Postcode - hopefully this will be resolved in time for the General Election next year!

We are always looking for more deliverers in Cambridge. If you are interested in delivering leaflets and becoming more involved in your area please get in touch.

Pro-Wicken Fen Petition (Number 10 Website)

For those of you who aren't aware the National Trust is currently working on a very long-term project (it could take 100 years!) called "Wicken Fen" that will create a new nature reserve just outside Cambridge (to the north-east of the city). When completed this nature reserve will be the largest in lowland England.

Further details of the project are available from the National Trust website;

http://www.wicken.org.uk/vision.htm

The petition says; "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to support the National Trust’s Vision for Wicken Fen, its far-sighted plan to preserve an endangered natural habitat for future generations."

If you'd like to sign the petition then the direct link is;

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/wickenfenvision/

Emergency tree work in Mansel Ct

One of the trees in Mansel Ct is causing a safety issue.

To avoid accidents an emergency tree works will be taking place.

The tree will be replaced, we have been told this year. As always if you have any concerns get in touch.

Yet more GB works on King's Hedges Road...

Andy Pellew has just warned me that the Guided Busway needs more works on King's Hedges Road between Histon Road and Chariot Way.

The works have to take place at night (between 7pm and 11.30pm) on Thursday and Friday this week. The work is being done at those times as they would cause excessive congestion otherwise. We have been assured that the cutting machines are as quiet as possible.

Local residents should have had a letter warning them of details.

Let us know if this causes any problems or if the work doesn't stop at the scheduled times.

The out of hours noise service is available on 01223 457457 if the machines are not as advertised (although the works have been approved by South Cambs and the City and so this shouldn't be the case!)

Another way to stay in touch

We've just sent the second King's Hedges email newsletter out.

We promise not to clutter up your inbox too much (the first was back in August!) and only the King's Hedges team will send out emails.

To subscribe enter your email address in this page or send an email to sympa@lists.libdems.org.uk saying

subscribe kingshedges

with no subject.

Or just ask one of us to sign you up.

Planning applications on Ramsden Square and Amwell Road

Two applications to report this time. Both for single storey extensions.

In Ramsden Square it is for a rear extension to number 5. Planning reference 09/0867/FUL. In Amwell Road it is a front extension to number 7, reference 09/0872/FUL.

More details from the City Council website as usual. In case of difficulty get in touch with the team.

National "Freeview" Re-tune on Wednesday!

Due to changes in the way Freeview is broadcast everyone (across the whole of the UK) will need to re-tune their Freeview boxes (and Digital TV's) at about lunch-time on Wednesday 30th September*.

More information is available from the Freeview website (click here), you can find easy-to-follow retune guides for popular makes and models which can be printed or emailed at:

http://www.tvretune.co.uk/productmanuals/

If you experience any problems you can contact Freeview on 08701 111 270.

This change will affect anyone using a Freeview box, Freeview + digital TV recorder or digital TV (including Freeview PC cards). If you receive your TV from Sky, Virgin, or via Freesat these changes will not affect you.

*- You have to wait until after this date to re-tune, re-tuning early will just mean you have to retune again once Freeview have made the changes.

Rubbish row yesterday

If you went into the city centre yesterday you may have seen "Rubbish Row". This was an event organised by the Cleaner Cambridge Campaign in partnership with the City Council. I was there in my role as Executive Councillor for Environmental and Waste Services.

The idea was to remind people of the problems caused by dropping litter and alert them to the amount of rubbish that the City Council cleans up. The row was two days worth of litter picked from all over the city by the City Council. I have been promised some photos and will put them up when I get them.

It was also useful as it gave people a chance to talk to City officers and campaigners about problem areas near them. The Council can then act on the problems.

We provide a large number of bins in the city centre and in regional centres (like Campkin Piazza) but some people still drop litter. Part of our message yesterday was to remind people that we have an enforcement team who (along with the police) can issue £75 fixed penalty notices. We'd far rather we didn't have to however.

We also used the opportunity to promote the new blue bin system. The bins should be delivered in late October, and the collections start on 16 November. Your first blue bin collection will be the day of your next green bin collection after that date. Contact us or the City Council if you have any concerns.

e-Cops Update (from Janice Upex)

Warrants - A drugs warrant was executed last week on Minerva Way. Police are still making enquiries, if you have any information that can assist with the investigation please don't hesitate to contact the team on 03454564564.

Vehicle Nuisance - You'll be pleased to know that reported vehicle crime and the use of mini-moto's have decreased across the North of the city.

Successful Arrest - A person who has been wanted for some time for a public order incident was successfully arrested last week by our Neighbourhood constables PC Gallagher and PC Ware.

The Next Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Meeting is on Thursday 24th September at 7.30pm at no.37 Lawerance Way,on Campkin Road (next to Tesco's), everyone welcome.

"20 is Plenty" on Northfield Avenue

At the end of July the Police installed traffic monitoring equipment on Northfield Avenue for a full week in order to collect data on the number and speeds of vehicles travelling along this road.

The overall results were very encouraging; just a little under 90% of vehicles were travelling under 35mph.

Unfortunately a little over 3% of people were travelling in excess of 40mph.

Seven people (one person a day) were caught driving between 58mph and 68mph. No-one drove over 68mph.

The petition to have a 20mph speed limit on Northfield Avenue outside the school is still active, if you'd like to sign the link is here.

New Leaflet: "Thank You!"

We are working hard to delivery a "Thank You" leaflet following my election victory in the County Council elections and Andrew Duff's in the European Elections earlier in the year. It should have gone out to most areas in King's Hedges as you're reading this but in case you haven't seen it an electronic version is available from The Straight Choice website.

We are always looking for more deliverers across the ward. If you are interested in delivering leaflets and becoming more involved in your area please get in touch.

10:10 Campaign

10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.

Cambridge City Council has already signed up to the campaign and committed itself to attempting to meet this very ambitious target. In addition a number of City and County Councillors (including myself) have signed up as individuals.

Everyone is invited to make a commitment through the website 10:10UK;

Appeal for witnesses

The Cambridge News report a robbery on the path between Campkin Road and Ramsden Square on Sunday evening around 9.40pm.

An appeal for witnesses has been made by Det Sgt Cooper.

The first man is described as white, age between 28 and 33, 5ft 7ins tall, with a muscular build. He was wearing casual clothing and a black hooded top.

The second is described as white, between 28 and 33, 5ft 6ins tall, with a slim build. He was wearing a white hooded jumper.

(Quoted from the article.)

If you saw anything please contact Parkside police station on 0345 4564564 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111 (anonymously).

The team are investigating what options might be for improved lighting on the path.

Planning application for Citygate

An application has been made to erect "five 2-bed and three 1-bed" flats and "works to parking area" at Citygate, which is a block of flats on the corner of Woodhead Drive and Milton Road.

The application has reference 09/0769/FUL, and more information can be obtained from the development control pages of the City Council website.

A reminder that you can see applications in person at City Homes North on Arbury Road and Milton Road Library (More information including opening hours).

Using the Guided Bus from King's Hedges

In only a few months the Guided Bus will start running into the Centre of Cambridge and while the busses will not be going through the heart of King's Hedges they will be passing very close by - close enough so that if you live on the Northerly or the Easterly edges of the ward it will be quicker getting to the centre using the Guided Bus.

From Stagecoach the Day Rider ticket will be changed to cover both the Guided (as far as Oakington) and Citi busses.

Unfortunately the cross-provider tickets the Liberal Democrat group had been hoping for (i.e. tickets that allowed you to travel on either Whippet or Stagecoach) don't look like they have materialised - which in my view is a huge missed opportunity. In what I'm sure will lead to more than a bit of annoyance the ticketing system has been designed so that you need to purchase your ticket and choose your operator before the bus has arrived. So, to paraphrase Clint Eastwood; Are you feeling lucky??

The four new stops in the area are; Orchard Park (East and West), Cambridge Regional College, and the Science Park (see below);

The full map, listing all the stops in Cambridge, is available from the County Council website (click here). Ticketing and Pricing information is available either from the County Council website (here) or direct from Stagecoach or Whippet.

North Area Committee tomorrow

The next North Area Committee is tomorrow at Manor School on Arbury Road.

This is your chance to put any questions or problems to all the North Area's Councillors in the Open Forum.

As well as this there are several formal items on the agenda:

• Review of the Council's Gambling policy
• An update on the introduction of the Blue Bins for easier recycling
• Further updates on our Environmental Improvement schemes, including Campking Road Piazza

There are also planning applications considered.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm with the first set of planning applications (Roseford Road, Rees Thomas site, High Street Chesterton, Green End Rd)

At 7.30pm the main agenda will start with the Open Forum.

When that is finished we will finish the planning apps (probably Trafalgar Street, two in De Freville, and Pretoria).

Downham's lane surface and verge

The state that that the second stage of Downham's Lane has been left by developers has been raised by some residents. The road has been left in a mess, but I have been assured that the verges will be reinstated. The damage to the road surface is more controversial: the builders say that they had made repairs to the surface prior to the works and that they will leave it in a better state than they found it. This may not be the state we would in an ideal world like.

However officers from both the City and County are continuing to chase the developers and I have received an assurance that the worst potholes will be repaired by the builders as a good will gesture anyway.

We will keep working and hopefully have better news soon.

The situation is made more complex as the road is not Highways land but privately owned.

Planning application on Arden Rd

Just one application in the ward this week. A single storey front extension to 11 Arden Road. The reference number is 09/0752/FUL.

Again for more details see the City Council development control website.

Phone working again!

My phone has been fixed by the nice man from the telephone company, so once again I can be called on 01223 709544. Also messages can again be left.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Planning applications: Crossfield Ct and Ramsden Sq

Two planning applications to inform people about.

An application for a side extension that is "part two and part single storey", and a car port has been made for 2 Crossfield Court, Roxburgh Road. The application number is 09/0681/FUL.

There is another application on Ramsden Square. This time for the "erection of a single storey front and rear extension including conversion of garage" at number 15. The reference is 09/0705/FUL.

More information on applications and how to comment can be found in the City Council development control web pages. In case of difficulty contact one of the team.

Free swimming for under 18s at the learner pool: more details

As promoted (twice oops) on twitter...

The City Council and SLM have agreed on free swimming for the under 18s at our own King's Hedges learner pool from Monday 17th August until Friday 28th August.

Some details from the flyer that we have been sent:

• The sessions are on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 1-4pm
• The pool has capacity for 30 swimmers at any one time so entrance is subject to availability
• Children may be accompanied by an adult as required who will also swim for free
• Under 8's must be accompanied by an adult

(For those who don't know the pool is on Jedburgh Court just off Buchan Street.)

On a related note the City Council is consulting on its parks and open spaces strategy, the deadline has been extended beyond the 21st August.

Phone problems

I have just returned from my holiday to find my phone out of order. I don't know how long this has been the case, but the nice people from the Telephone Company promise to look at it on Tuesday.

Until then you can email me in the usual way, or call Neil or Andy (look on the left), or email any of us or even write to us!

I'll update when the phone works again.

Pembrokeshire is very beautiful, but I am glad to be back to somewhere flatter!

Guided Busway Nearing Completion

BAM Nuttall (the contractors working on the project) have told the County Council they expect to complete all the work needed on the northern section of the guided busway by the end of October 2009 at which point they will hand the busway over to the County Council who will then complete additional works (related mainly to the cycle path). The current plan then opens the Busway to the public approximately a month later.

For King's Hedges residents the nearest guided bus stop will be at the Regional Collage (pictured - Aug 2009) and running alongside it will be the new cycle way.

Hopefully now that the main construction work (at least on the northern section) has completed and buses will soon start running we should begin to reap the benefits; both for people living outside the City who need a quick and convenient way to commute in and for people living within the city who will hopefully benefit from their being less traffic and therefore less pollution.

As with so many of these grand projects time will tell.

Cambridge Festival of Ideas 21st October

A festival celebrating the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is coming to sites across Cambridge from Wednesday the 21st October until Sunday 1st November. This festival is being brought to you by the same team behind the annual Science Festival.

From the literature;

"Historian David Starkey will headline this year's Cambridge Festival of Ideas which, in the University's 800th year, focuses on centuries of people and thought".

Looks like a really interesting event, especially if it's anything like the Science Festival. If you're interested in finding out more you can always visit the website (which includes a downloadable programme);

www.cambridgefestivalofideas.org

Campkin Road Shop Forecourts Consultation

As part of the Environmental Improvements programme, the city council is looking to improve the forecourt in front of the Campkin Road shops (Tesco etc).

The shop forecourt was resurfaced in 2001 and since that time the surface has lifted and moved due to tree root movement. This has caused trip hazards and interferes with the drainage of the area. We can deal with this problem with one of two ways.

Option 1: Retain the two existing trees, remove a significant amount of surfacing from beneath their canopies and create a path between the two trees. The surfacing outside the canopies will be raised slightly and resurfaced over the top of the existing tree roots. This would be a shorter term solution as the tree roots would eventually cause the new surfacing to move.

Option 2: Fell the existing trees and replace with two new semi-mature trees in specially constructed tree pits so that long term movement by the root system is minimised.

All options also include:

• relocating the existing two circular seats to Nun’s Way Recreation Ground and replacing them with alternatives,

• moving the recycling facility to the southern end of the Tesco building,

• creating a lay-bye on St. Kilda Avenue,

• installing modern lighting and moving the column positions,

• relocating the cycle parking,

• resurfacing the area with resin bonded gravel,

• ensuring the drainage is in working order.

Residents in the area should be receiving letters soon about these possible options, including maps etc. If you want more information, please get in touch!

Two planning applications (Arbury Court and Campkin Rd)

Two to talk about this time:

There has been an application for the "installation of 2 fascia signs and 6 printed vinyl signs (non-illuminated)" at 46 Arbury Court. The reference number is 09/0640/ADV.

The other one is for a "Single storey front extension" to 12 Campkin Road. The application is 09/0628/FUL.

As usual to get more information you can see the plans by visiting City Homes at 171 Arbury Road, or Milton Road Library or the Guildhall. More details, including how to comment on the applications and opening times, is available from the Development Control web pages.

As usual get in touch if you have any problems.

Out and about with the Graffiti team

I was out with the graffiti removal team from the City Council yesterday.

We removed graffiti from various places mostly in King's Hedges, including the bus stop on Campkin Road. It was very interesting to see how the team works.

Whilst removing some graffiti we spotted some that haven't been reported yet and treated them as well.

However the City rely on getting information from residents. If you see any graffiti please let the team know by calling 457000, or by emailing Street Scene. Whichever way you do try to describe fully where the tag is as that makes the job a lot easier and reduces the risk of it being missed. The City will then clean it up and pass on the details to the police.

In case of difficulty contact the team!

Today I was out with the kerbside recycling collectors.

Free bus travel!

We received this from Stagecoach, are you interested?

Do you travel into Cambridge using a Stagecoach bus?

If so, then you could benefit from half price travel by volunteering to take part in Stagecoach’s smartcard trial. A smartcard eliminates the need for paper tickets - you simply add your Megarider onto your
smartcard and then scan your card against the reader every time you board a bus.

Stagecoach have recently installed smartcard readers across their fleet and are looking to begin a trial into the use of smartcards in Cambridge in the next few weeks.

The trial is open to customers who purchase Stagecoach weekly or 4-weekly tickets (including Park & Ride Weekly, Megarider or Megarider Plus).

What’s in it for you?
Stagecoach are offering all participants 1 free week of travel plus a minimum of 3 further weeks at half price.

What does Stagecoach want in return?
For you to complete a journey diary every week - if you participate in the trial you will be sent a ‘diary’ to complete. In this diary you will need to record all the journeys you make during the week, including
where you get on and off the bus. The purpose of Stagecoach running the trial is to enable them to ensure that the entire smartcard process is running smoothly before the cards are rolled out to a wider audience.
The feedback you provide through your diary gives them the data they need to complete this process. Please note, failure to complete and return the diary will result in your smartcard being cancelled.

How do I get involved?

1. Send an email to info@love-cambridge.co.uk saying you would like to participate in the trial along with your postal address and the bus service you use. Given the time of year, please also include the dates of any holidays you have booked in August and September so Stagecoach can be made aware of these as the trial can work around them.
   
   
2. Your details will then be forwarded to Stagecoach who will then contact you directly for the period of the trial.
   
   
3. You will receive a ‘Trial Pack’, direct from Stagecoach, which will include your diary, instructions, plus 1 smartcard with 1 week’s free travel loaded onto it.

The trial is open to a limited number of participants and offered on a strictly first come first served basis.

Recycling Getting Easier: Blue Bins

This is the first time we've mentioned it on the Blog, but you may have seen it in Cambridge Matters or at the stand at Arbury Carnival.

The City Council is changing how we collect kerbside recycling to try and increase the amount we collect and hopefully make it easier for residents to recycle more.

The change is to drop the boxes and introduce a third blue wheelie bin. You may have seen the argument about the colour in the Cambridge News! Other cities have introduced similar schemes: I know Derby has a three bin system.

At this stage the City Council are keen to hear from people where the third bin may not be possible. On their website we have a list of places we know may be a problem. If you think there may be an issue where you live check the list and if you aren't on it get in touch with the council by email or through the website.

Where there isn't space we have a range of options that need to be discussed with residents.

Of course if your are worried you can also get in touch with one of the team: in this case it might be best to contact me.

Speed Survey: Northfield Avenue

At the last North Area Committee it was agreed that Northfield Avenue along with King's Hedges Road would be subject to a "speed survey" sometime in the near future. Once the survey has been completed we will have one whole weeks worth of traffic data for these two main roads which will enable us to put a much stronger case to the Conservative-controlled County Council for some form of speed reduction/ traffic calming in this area (as requested by numerous local residents).

Watch this space ...

PS. You can still sign the petition to have a 20mph speed limit on Northfield Avenue outside the school. The link is here. The more signatures the more weight we have with the County Council!

Planning applications on Garry Drive

There are two planning applications on the weekly list in Garry Drive.

At number 9 there is an application for "Erection of a two storey rear extension and a loft conversion with a dormer to the side of the property", and at number 11 a "First floor rear extension".

The reference numbers are 09/0608/FUL for number 9 and 09/0607/FUL for number 11.

More information is available from the City Council development control page, or in case of difficulty contact one of the team.

Coaches On Woodhead Drive

Good News! Since being elected last month I've been working to solve an issue raised during my campaign with coaches using Woodhead Drive as a drop off/collection point. The Cambridge Cycle Campaign raised a safety issue regarding the volume of traffic and the suitability of the road (as can be easily seen here) and the Coaches were also causing inconvenience to local residents.

As I said during my campaign the first point of call was to identify and contact the company organising the coaches. Fortunately with some help from Neale Upstone and a local resident the company was quickly identified. I've been in touch with them and they have agreed to stop using Woodhead Drive from the end of August. Unfortunately they can't stop immediately as booklets specifying this site have already been printed and sent out to Europe.

If there is something concerning you locally you don't have to wait until an election is due; we're here working for you all year round just let us know.

Another Ramsden Square application

The weekly list of planning applications is out, and for the first time in a while it has a King's Hedges application.

There is an application for a "single storey rear extenstion" at 5 Ramsden Square. The application is number 09/0549/FUL.

More information is available from the City Council development control website including how to see and comment on the plans.

North Area Committee next Thursday

The next North Area Committee will be on Thursday 2nd July.

Planning starts at 6.30pm, and one of the items is an application concerning the Rees Thomas site (and two others in other wards).

The main meeting starts at 7.30pm, and will include the open forum, which is a chance to ask questions or raise concerns with all the local Councillors in the north of the city. There is also some formal business to conduct:

• The police will be there with the latest safer neighbourhood report, which includes setting local priorities
• Their is a briefing on the new format for community development grants and discussion on these
• The environmental improvement projects programme will give us an update

I hope to see some of you at the meeting.

Police non-emergency contact number

First off: if you need the police in an emergency dial 999.

However Cambridgeshire Police have changed their non-emergency number in order to try and save people on some phone packages money. They have moved from an 0845 number to an 0345 number, which is meant to count as a local call on most packages.

The new number is 0345 456 456 4.

This has been sent out to Neighbourhood Watch members and ecops subscribers.

The old number (which was the same but for the start) will continue to work until April 2011.

To give anonymous information to Crimestoppers you can call free on 0800 555 111.

(If you do not wish to use a non-geographic number then follow this link, which will tell you the main Police switchboard number is 01480 456111.)

More guided busway construction congestion?

The good news is that it looks like the work on the junction at the Milton Road end of the busway is complete. Just a little bit of tidying up to do...

However as one bit of work is finished another will start.

The junction of King's Hedges Road and Histon Road will be subject to reduced traffic flow starting some time next week.

At the Guided Busway local liaison forum last the exact details were not made clear, but I was assured that there would be at least one lane in each direction at the junction.

Chesterton Community Association

For those at the Milton Road end of the ward I thought I'd make you aware of the meeting that should set up the Chesterton Community Association.

The meeting to formally set this up will be on Tuesday 23 June at St Andrew's Hall. The meeting starts at 7.45pm.

If you are interested get in touch with one of the team and we'll put you in touch with the steering group, or you can come along on the night.

One small bit of housekeeping: I have moved across the postings from the old News blog. Hopefully this won't cause any issues (my RSS reader seemed to cope). If it did please accept my apologies!

Arbury Court planning application

An application has been received for "New shopfront to existing shop and electrical remote controlled roller shutter" at 42 Arbury Court (the fish and chip shop).

As usual more information can be found by contacting development control at the city council, either online, or via the helpdesk on 457000 or by looking at the plans in the City Homes North office (see this webpage for opening times)

Tree works application

There is a major tree work application at 31 Woodhead Drive to "fell and remove ... Various trees (Maple x3, Birch x1 and Alder x2)". If you are interested in this get in touch with us (usual way) or the Arboricultural Officers at the city council.

The deadline for comments or more information is 19 June 2009.

The tree people have a section of the city council website including contact information. In case of any difficulty get in touch with us!

Arbury Carnival this weekend

Just a reminder that the Arbury Carnival is this Saturday (13 June) on the town green next to the Community Centre on Campkin Road.


It starts at 11am and more information can be found at the Carnival Website. Our new Councillor will be busy as he is one of the organisers.


The LibDems will have a second hand book stall, so come and say hello. Thanks to Rhodri for organising this!

Also coming up soon is the first Chesterton Festival on July 4th. More details when we have them.

The pully closed temporarily

It is with regret that I have to post that the paddling at Kings Hedges Pool or "The Pulley" as it is locally know will be closed over the weekend and not open until Tuesday 9th due to vandalism in the area.

We have had heavy paint damage around the play area with paint being thrown over everything including the play equipment and the paddling pool surfaces. City Services anti graffiti teams are currently onsite removing as much of the paint as they can.

SLM, who manage the pool, have reported that due to the amount of paint damage and the removal process they will have to repaint the whole pool again before opening, which they will do ASAP. We need to allow time for the chlorinated rubberised paint to cure properly before filling, so the pool will be filled and operational again on Tuesday 9th.

Andy Pellew elected as 4th LibDem Councillor in King's Hedges

Somewhat later than I hoped here are the results for the County election:

1. Andy Pellew (Liberal Democrat 751)
2. Liz Hughes (Labour 500)
   
3. Matthew Adams (Con 439)
4. James Youd (Green 228)

Thank you to everyone who supported Andy! He will make an excellent hard working local councillor.

I've updated the page subtly... can anyone spot how?

Thank you to those who voted... result to follow

A big thank you to the large number of you who voted yesterday, and also to everyone we spoke to over the last few weeks (and indeed all year!) in the run up to the election.

This year the count is taking place today (Friday) rather than overnight, which means we don't have a result yet!

I'll post the result when it comes in, but it is likely to appear first either at the City Council site or on the Cambridge Election archives.

Update: still no results but actually the County Council are publishing the results when they come in.

Today is polling day!

Good morning!

Today is polling day and this is a reminder to go out and vote for a hard working member of the local Lib Dem team: Andy Pellew.

Three reasons to vote for Andy:
1. Andy is the only local resident who can beat Labour here
2. The local team work all year round
3. Electing more Lib Dem councillors will send Gordon Brown a clear message

Have a look at our archives for a small selection of our work.

Remember: elections here are often very close!

Thanks.

Campkin Road pavement

I've just heard back from the County Council highways that they will inspect and then hopefully fix a major piece of damage to the footpath on Campkin Road. Picture to follow later!

Please report any damage to pavements to the County Council and if they don't get back to you let us know of the issue and we'll chase.

In the County Council elections on Thursday (June 4) remember that the Conservative run County Council has squeezed funding from repairing the roads and vote for an active local councillor who will work for King's Hedges: Andy Pellew!

Planning application: Ramsden Square

One planning application to report in the ward.

There is a new application to develop 140 Ramsden Square a two story front and side extention.

The application reference is 09/0421/FUL. More details from the City Council development control website, including how to see the plans and how to comment

City tree works consultation

The processes involved in tree works in public spaces are being reviewed by the City Council and they are keen to get the public's view.

Details of the draft proposal, and information on how to comment, is now available online.

Trees are one important part of what makes Cambridge such a nice place to live, so if you are worried about the trees please have a look at the proposal and let us (and the City Council) know about any concerns.

Planning application on Rees Thomas site

There is an application for "Construction of an external plant compound to include an electrical sub-station, two air conditioning condensers and four air source heat pumps" on the Rees Thomas site off Hawkins Road and Downham's Lane.

If you are interested in this application the reference number is 09/0358/FUL and more details can be found from the planning department of the City Council.

North Area Committee tomorrow

Short notice, but it is North Area Committee tomorrow.

As usual there are planning applications at 6.30pm, and the main meeting from 7.30.

The agenda includes items about Environmental Improvements, the use of Arbury Court Car Park, and other items. The Open Forum is your chance to raise any issues you like with local councillors.

The meeting is at Manor School on Arbury Road. I hope to see you there.

Northfield Avenue petition

Just a reminder that if you would like to see action on Northfield Avenue to make it safer for local residents then you can sign our petition online.

Another Milton Road planning application

The weekly list has one planning application in King's Hedges this week. This time it is for a "single storey conservatory to the rear" of 287 Milton Rd.

The planning reference is 09/0371/FUL. For more details see the City Council development control people. In case of difficulty get in touch.

Police surgery in Arbury Court

I've just received by email the news that the local policing team are running a surgery in Arbury Court tomorrow between 11am and 2pm.

The e-cops email said:

We are bringing the CCTV van and will be in the Arbury Court car park.
Please do come and say hello, or tell us about any concerns or worries you may
have. Also, Pauline Grounds from the Cambridge Mediation Services will be in
Arbury Court Library at the same time and she would love to see you.

To sign up for e-cops, which is a regular email service from the local police team visit the Cambridgeshire Police web site.

In unrelated Arbury Court news the toilets are opening on Wednesday 29 April.