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.