Stagecoach Fare Increase

Stagecoach will be putting up it's prices on the 28th February.

The new prices will be;

• Dayrider - £3.40 (+10p, +3%)
• Dayrider Plus - £5.20 (+20p, +4%)
• Family Dayrider Plus - £5.70 (+20p, +3.5%)
• Megarider - £11.50 (+50p, +4.5%)
• Megarider Plus - £20.50 (+50p, +2.5%)

The announcement is available here (from Stagecoach's website).

It's disappointing that in a time of economic hardship for residents across the region the bus provider in the area is raising fares. Especially when looking at it's published accounts Stagecoach managed to turn a £205m profit in 2008 into a £227m profit in 2009 - clearly escaping many of the effects of the recession.

At the same time as raising prices Stagecoach has also been proposing many cuts to the local bus services (like the evening stops for the Citi 4) and this is even before the cuts related to the opening of the Guided Bus take effect.

It's very difficult to see how this can possibly be justified. Perhaps The Office of Fair Trading knew what it was doing when it referred the Local Bus Market to the Competition commission.

Full Council on Thursday

The theatre of Cambridge City Full Council is being held this Thursday at the Guildhall. The meeting is important as it is the one that agrees the budget for next year.

Anyone who wishes to attend is more than welcome to do so, and if you wish to ask a question or bring a petition you can find out more details about these from Committee Services.

(I'm sure Neil and I will tweet highlights of the meeting at @nmcgovern and @cllrmikepitt)

Planning applications in Kirkwood and King's Hedges Rd

Two planning applications this week.

First one is in Unit 3 Kings Court, Kirkwood Road for "Installation of one fascia sign (non-illuminated), one hoarding sign (verge sign) and one captive balloon". An unusual application! The reference is 10/0072/ADV.

The second is for a single storey front extension to 173 King's Hedges Road. The reference is 10/0108/FUL.

As usual get in contact with the planning officers, instructions on how to comment are on the development control webpages of the City Council. As always any difficulties get in touch with us and we'll try to help.

North Area Committee advance warning

Councillors on North Area have been sent the draft agenda for the March 4 meeting of the NAC.

As usual the meeting will take place at Manor Community College, Arbury Road, with planning at 6.30pm, and the main meeting at 7.30pm.

The planning items appear to be in West and East Chesterton, and one in Arbury.

The main agenda includes

• Feedback on the 2009 Youth Summit, including a report on actions resulting from it
• The traditional open forum
• The Police are coming in to look at the local priorities.
• And we'll be getting an update on the Environmental Improvements Programme.

Police surgery in Arbury Court

The latest ecops update includes a reminder that the next police surgery will take place in Arbury Court between 11am and 1pm next Wednesday (24th February).

This is an opportunity to meet the local team and raise any concerns you might have in an informal setting. The local police team are very nice! (and very keen to help.)

The ecops newsletter also says that the crime figures appear to be on the way down again.

Cambridgeshire 2010 Integrated Plan - Budget Amendment

At the meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council the Liberal Democrat group proposed an amendment to the Conservative groups budget. If you'd like to read the full budget amendment it's available here (via Google) or you can download it as a PDF here.

"It’s not just about cuts and savings; it’s also about investing in our county"

Cllr David Jenkins, Liberal Democrat Group Leader

Cambridgeshire Registration Service - Looking for Feedback!

Cambridgeshire Registration Service is seeking comments from across the County on the service they provide (for the registration of births, civil partnerships, marriages and deaths) and how they can work to improve it.

Registration Offices are located in Cambridge (by Shire Hall), Ely, Huntingdon and March. A limited range of services are also available at offices in Addenbrookes Hospital and Wisbech. On-line services for customers include making appointments to register births and deaths as well as ordering copy certificates is available here.

Survey Forms will be available at the offices above, and an on-line Survey is available here. There is a prize of a £50 High Street gift voucher for one participant.

I've used the service twice and have never encountered a problem, neither have I heard of one from friends of colleagues (I don't doubt that there are problems out there! It's just that they seem to me to be the exception rather than the rule). It's difficult to know how to improve a service like this other than "make it ubiquitous"/"make it easy".

In the current climate though if it ain't broke ...

Planning application on Buchan Street

It has been a while since we had a planning application in the ward to report. Today's weekly list has one in Buchan Street.

Application 10/0062/FUL is for the erection of a conservatory to side of property, and is for 15 Buchan Street.

As always more details are available from City Homes offices on Arbury Road, or via the development control web pages. In case of concern or difficulty please contact the team.

Community development and leisure grants

We have been contacted by the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation concerning Community Development and Leisure grants.

The CCF administer grants on behalf of the City Council to organisations who provide services and activities to people who live in the North Area of Cambridge. In particular they aim to support organisations who work with "people whose opportunities arerestricted by disability, low income or discrimination".



Previous grants have supported youth organisations through set up costs, the Arbury Carnival, Chesterton Carnival and Ambaby's.

If you think you know of an organisation or project who might benefit get in touch with the Foundation or with a member of the team.

The next North Area committee is on 4 March at Manor Community College on Arbury Road.

Electoral reform in the news so...

I'll use it as an excuse to have another Youtube link to John Cleese!



There is a longer (9 minute!) version on Youtube as well.

Pupil premium policy launch

We don't often link to policy announcements, but as a teacher and a school governor I was very excited by the relaunch of our pupil premium policy. This will take steps to raise the achievement of pupils in more deprived areas by providing money to reduce class sizes and provide targeted catch-up classes or 1-1 tuition.



More details about the plan can be found at the Liberal Democrats website.

(The next video will hopefully be John Cleese again!)