Footpath flooding on Milton Road and Nun's Way

We've had reports from a number of residents that the north end of Milton Road has had the footpath completely flooded.
It seems that the grass verges are now blocking the drains, so I have written to the County Council to try and see what can be done to fix this issue. I'll let you know if I get any response!

In addition, officers from the County have been and visited Nun's way to look at various footpath flooding there. It seems that there may be some drainage channels blocked, but they can't tell until the water dissipates. If the drainage channel is too small for the waterway, or indeed doesn't exist, then officers have agreed to look at putting some in.

Let me know if you have any other tales of woe, either in the comments or by the usual methods.

Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF) Statement

As part of a request from Liberal Democrat County Councillor Sarah Whitebread a statement will be released to the West Central Area Committee shortly detailing the plans for spending the 1.7m allocated to the Cambridge City for bus improvements in Cambridge City.

The original statement is available here (via Google Docs).

The text is below;

"Written Statement for the West Central Area Committee meeting on 26.04.12 regarding the Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF)


Cambridgeshire County Council has been asked to prepare a statement for the West Central Area Committee for 26th April regarding the Better Bus Area Fund (or BBAF), providing some background information on the bid and our plans to consult on aspects of the programme once this is finalised.


The County Council has secured £1.7m funding from Government to invest in improving the reliability of bus services, particularly through Cambridge city centre. The overarching aim of the bid is to improve accessibility, bus journey times and reliability on key bus routes.


One of the proposals included in the bid is the possible removal of motorised traffic, except buses and emergency service vehicles, from St Andrews Street between Emmanuel Street and Hobson Street, during the day time. This would be accompanied by the proposed removal of the taxi rank on St Andrews Street, at least during the day time. If this proposal is taken forward, the current taxi rank in Drummer Street would become the primary taxi facility for the historic city centre.


Buses using the route currently experience delays associated with over ranking by taxis, deliveries to premises and unauthorised vehicles using the street. There are also conflicts between buses, cycles and pedestrians which need to be addressed. Our intention is to enhance the environment and safety in this area and improve accessibility, especially for bus services. In doing this we will consider all access requirements by all users including those with mobility impairments.


To help us in achieving this, we will be consulting widely with all sectors of the city centre community before designing any detailed proposals. We are keen to hear from all those who live in and use the area and we will shortly be publicising details of when and how the consultation will be undertaken and details will be made available on our website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk.


We look forward to engaging further with the West Central Committee as part of this process.


Yours sincerely




Dearbhla Lawson
Head of Transport Infrastructure Policy & Funding
Cambridgeshire County Council


Background Information
Background:

• The bid was prepared in partnership with South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridge City Council, Stagecoach East and Whippet Coaches Ltd and is for a total of £1.724m of Department for Transport (DfT) funding. The total programme cost is £5.192m.
• The overarching aim of the bid is to improve accessibility, bus journey times and reliability on key bus routes in Cambridge.
• The programme will be implemented during 2012/13 and 2013/14.
• The full bid document is available here.

The BBAF programme area:

• The bid focuses on the core area of Cambridge City Centre and on four of the inner radial routes that are heavily used by buses (Hills Road, Milton Road, Histon Road and Mill Road). It also focuses on outer radial routes from the Trumpington Park & Ride Site and the villages of Sawston, Cambourne and Linton.

Benefits of the programme:

• The programme will improve journey times and reliability, and result in increased bus patronage (an estimated 508,000 more passenger journeys over the two years of the bid). It will improve access to employment, reduce carbon emissions (by reducing bus mileage in the bid area) and improve air quality in the core area (due to older vehicles being replaced with cleaner, newer vehicles).
• The programme will also result in wider economic benefits by reducing congestion and helping to enable planned growth to occur and that people can access employment and other key destinations.

Consultation:

• Cambridgeshire County Council is planning to consult on a number of the measures which are included in the BBAF programme. As we were only advised of the success of the bid in late March, detailed work on a programme including project plans/ options has yet to take place.
• County Council officers are currently working up a draft programme which will clarify how the various BBAF programme elements are proposed to be taken forward in the next two years. This will include consideration of how and when detailed scheme designs and proposals will be consulted upon. Our aim is to have a programme completed by June for publication and to share it with Members of the West Central Area Committee."

Planning application on Milton Road

This week there is one planning application on the weekly list an application for a single storey rear extension to 398 Milton Road. Reference number 12/0019/FUL, and you can get more details from the online monitoring system.

In the interests of openness the applicant is well known to several of the King's Hedges team.

As always if you have any difficulties getting more information please do get in touch with us.

First planning applications of 2012: Milton Rd and Campkin Rd

After a few weeks without any planning applications this week there are two to report to you.

Firstly the Jenny Wren pub on Campkin Road has applied for a "new pitched entrance canopy to existing main entrance." The planning reference number is 11/1567/FUL, or click on the link to go to the online planning system of the City Council.

The second application is at 347 Milton Road and is a retrospective application (meaning work that has been made without permission and the applicants want to make it legal) for "front boundary wall, fences and gates". The reference number is 12/0008/FUL, or again follow the link.

Details of how to look in person, or how to comment on applications is available online. In case of difficulty contact the team.

Minor Highways issues within Kings Hedges

As you might have picked up from the minutes of the Cambridge Area Environment and Traffic Management Committee (no? It's a riveting read) Cambridgeshire Highways used to have a list of all the open highways issues in each division (split into unfunded and those with an identified means of funding) which would come to the AJC meeting, be discussed (usually added to) and then would be back in the hands of officers who would get done what they could, identifying new streams of funding if possible, and then report back to the next meeting of the AJC.

As you can see it's a fairly simple process but doesn't actually add a lot of value as a) most of the work is done by officers and (in my view more significantly) b) it encourages Councillors to get things added to the list that won't ever get done. Basically anything that doesn't have an obvious source of funding, isn't a legal requirement, or isn't part of some bigger project is just not going to happen.

The list, after a few years of b), is now pretty long and some of the the reasons why some of the items are sitting on the list have been lost in the mist of time.

Clearly it's time for a change and so the County Officers are now proposing that they spend some time in each Division with local members and prepare a list of highways issues relevant to that division.

In light of that I've been looking at the highways list we already have for Kings Hedges and the new items that people have already suggested (note that in some cases it is a problem that needs a solution rather than a solution!) and come up with the following list;

• 20mph speed limit on Northfield Avenue (outside KH Primary School), 
• Coach parking on Woodhead Drive, 
• Car parking on Lovell Road, 
• Arbury Road cycle path (specifically doing something around the Milton Road junction), 
• Verge parking on Milton Road, 
• Pavement parking across the division,
• Traffic improvements on Arbury Road outside the Manor,
• Verge parking on Hawkins Road, and 
• Cycle route on KH road (specifically around CRC junction)

That's just off the top of my head. What else do you think should be on this list?

North Area Committee: Update on Woodhead Drive/ Milton Road Junction Improvements

Update from Cllr Ward regarding Tree Works Application and other suggested improvements at the Milton Road junction of Woodhead Drive.

The improvements to Milton Road/ Woodhead Drive junction, relate to trees with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) (38/1988). These are unusual circumstance in that ordinarily the Council would not TPO its owns trees, however, when the land was transferred to City Council ownership, this also transferred the TPOs.

As works were proposed, an application was considered on the basis that the City Council was an external applicant, and the Council therefore followed the established process for determining TPO decisions.

Attached below is a link, which shows the proposed works, neighbour letter and consultation drawings:

http://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/onlineapplications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LFQA7TDX03Q00

The application was also included on the planning application register that is circulated weekly.

As there where no objections, the application was determined at Officer level.

Changes To Whippet Bus Service for Arbury

Whippet Coaches have informed the County Council that they will be making changes to services 14 and 21. The 14 is relevant to us in North Cambridge and will from the 5^th December have a revised route; currently this is via Bridge Street and Histon Road, and will switch to Victoria Avenue and Milton Road. It will also serve Howgate Road in Arbury.

Timetables are available from Whippet, although sadly when I checked their website to put together this post the 14 Service seems to be completely missing (and the only service that mentions Arbury is the T4 Free Bus to Bar Hill Tesco!).

Hopefully all will become clear before the changes happen on the 5th!

Whippet Coaches are contactable on 01954 230011.

Real-Time Passenger Information (on Milton Road)

The County Council is currently rolling out it's RTPI project across Cambridge. This is the system you see on bus stops with the electronic signs that tell you how many minutes till the next bus arrives; this information is either based on the busses actual location (via a tracker installed on it) or is just the repetition of timetabled information.

I have been asked to express a view on the order in which the bus stops along Milton Road should be upgraded with RTPI. The view I have expressed is that the Downham's Lane and Union Lane stops, based on north/south traffic, are the two I'd like to see upgraded next.

If you have a different view let me know and I'll pass it on.

Remember, remember...

We are approaching November 5th and the City Council is once again hosting a bonfire and fireworks on Midsummer Common. The event is always good fun, and public displays tend to be both more spectacular and safer than private ones. The funfair opens from around 6pm, with a display by Wildfire Productions from 7pm to 7.20pm.

The main event are the fireworks and bonfire lighting at about 7.30pm.

The display does cause transport problems around Misummer Common, and this tends to have knock on effects up Milton Road. The police have used the eCops to pass on some of the details:

Victoria Avenue, Trafalgar Road, Trafalgar Street, Fair Street, New Square, Maids Causeway between Four Lamps Roundabout and just west of Brunswick Gardens, Jesus Lane and Kings Street between Four Lamps Roundabout and Manor Street, will be closed between 6.30pm and 8.30pm, as crowds build up.

There is also a one way system in the De Freville area north of the River. The River is also closed to traffic.

Full details of closures, and access arrangements are on the City Council website.

I hope as many people as possible enjoy the display.

(Finally a thanks to all the sponsors, listed on the website, for making the event possible.)

Planning application in Milton Road

After a little break from us the weekly list of planning applications is back.

Just one to report this week:for "Installation of two fascia signs and one pylon sign (all internally illuminated)." at 383 Milton Road. The online planning system now seems to allow direct links to the application, so if you need more details follow that link.

383 Milton Road is in the stretch between the Lovell Road and the bus way on that side of the road.

As always in case of difficulty contact the team, and for more information see the Development Control pages of the City Council website.

Today's Cambridge Area Joint Committee

Earlier today the Cambridge Area Joint Committee, a mix of City and County Councillors representing the interests of Cambridge city (for which I am a substitute member) met to discuss city-wide traffic management and environment issues.

The leader of the County Council, Cllr Nick Clarke, was in attendance at his first AJC representing the Conservative-controlled County Council.

The agenda was fairly straight forward and the meeting took a little over two hours (which isn't that bad to an AJC meeting - as Cllr Clarke pointed out the room is booked for four hours for the meeting). There was nothing really contentious and so there was only one or two members of the public in attendance. Not really a surprise but given the County councils pending review of AJCs it would have been nice if more people where there as it does seem to be the only AJC in the County which is actually fit for purpose and working!

Agenda item 4a (off-street parking) was the first real item with debate. Several members raised the issue of queuing to enter Park Street being a real issue during peak periods over the weekend (with long tailbacks interfering with the bus network amongst other things), comments were also raised regarding full day charging (£25) and officers clarified that the high charges were to discourage use for long periods, and finally the "grace period" was asked about and officers revealed that the grace period isn't fixed and varies across the cities car parks and even at different times of year. You have been warned!

When the vote was taken Cllr Clarke abstained and all other members (Labour and Liberal Democrat) voted in favour.

Agenda item 4b (On-street parking account) was looking like a fairly uncontentious item right up until the point where Cllr Clarke decided to raise the issue of why the AJC was even discussing it as it had no power of control over it.

The debate was lengthy and the gist was that committee members (except Cllr Clarke) believed that as the Committee looking strategically at traffic management across Cambridge it was right that it should express its view on how the surplus in the scheme should be spent - Cllr Clarke seemed of the view that the best place for local members (by which he specifically said County Councillors - not City Councillors) to raise their views was directly at Cabinet. I think Cllr Clark doesn't understand how the City works - the interdependency across Electoral Divisions seems to elude him. For example how Kings Hedges users would benefit from a Milton Road crossing opposite Downhams Lane (in East Chesterton) or how having additional Cycle Parking and/or a disabled bay outside the Milton Road shops (in West Chesterton) would be of direct benefit, etc.

Cllr Clarke seemed to adopt the view that democracy started and ended with local members and that committees, like the AJC, were a bad thing. There is, of course, a balance to be struck but I'm happy with where the AJC puts this balance and I do believe it benefits the people of Kings Hedges for certain decisions (like Radial road/bike routes) to be taken by a joint City/County committee.

The fact is if it didn't exist we'd need too invent it.

Cllr Rosenstiel proposed an ammendement, which I supported, which asked the County Cabinet to look at (not necessarily do, just look at) using some of the scheme surplus to reintrouduce the scrapped city centre shuttle bus.

Cllr Clarke voted against this amendment, all other Councillors (Labour and Liberal Democrat) voted in favour.

To be fair to Cllr Clarke he does seem to be generally trying to understand the city (which is in many ways better than the seemingly complete indifference that preceded him) but despite doing a few good things in Kings Hedges and Arbury I still feel that he just doesn't "get" the City. And judging by the number of Conservative City Councillours I can't help but feel that he isn't alone in his party on this one ...

Cllr Clarke also agued against this item even being on the Agenda.

Other items of note; ANPR was raised as an issue and a report requested from officers regarding the entire system (to assuage privacy concerns - which officers largely did in the meeting), a tour of the highways management centre is going to be arranged so members can see what goes on there, and the (Civil Parking Enforcement) CPE deficit is currently the subject of a review by government on how local councils can move out of permanent deficit.

This nicely brought us on to item 4c which dealt with the CPE account in detail. There was some concern expressed at the numbers (as they seemed to be different from those given in the previous section!), an offer was made to send round the CPE process flow diagram to clarify what was being covered by "There has been a procedural impropriety by the council" (down from 11% to 0%), it was agreed that a clarification would be sent by email.

Item 4d (South Area Parking plan) was uncontentious except that there was a request to add the Cambridge Cycling Campaign to the list of member organisations (not just the forum), officers responded by saying that the members list was intended to just be elected members and the parking demand generators, AJC members could see this point but still felt that having the Cycling Campaign would help.

Item 5a the Ring Road and Radial Route Parking Review was next, members suggested that Milton Road and Histon Road would benefit from being in a Northern Area more closely aligned with the North Area Committee. Milton road was the only radial route in Kings Hedges mentioned and the current plan is for no stopping at peak times, no waiting, loading or unloading, no parking on footways, no parking on highway verges, and a 24-hour clearest on all bus stops. All of those things I support, and no parking on verges is something I have been after for a while!

There was a debate about priorities and it was agreed that the new Northern area would be second (unfortunately I failed to note the positions of the other schemes - that will come in the minutes).

Agenda item 5b (Regent Street Toucan Crossing Upgrade) gave Cllr Clarke another opportunity to display his lack of understanding of the city. He raised the question of why the local member had not just decided this themselves rather than it coming to Committee. Officers pointed out that the local member had been consulted and Committee Members pointed out that the proposed upgrade was on one of the arterial cycle routes and so the change would have an effect on many divisions - in fact several of the Councillors sitting on the committee had used the route within the last few days.

Cllr Clarke, to the frustration of many of the Committee members present (including me) didn't seem to deviate from his point that taking decisions like this in committee will in some way "disenfranchise" local members.

Cllr Clarke then responded, rather darkly, to a comment from Cllr Nethsingha that the Committee had spent quite a lot of time on discussion whether or not issues should come here but saying that this "would be born in mind during the review [of AJC's]".

Cllr Brown (Chairing) attempted to help Cllr Clarke understand by comparing this cycling issue to issues we had discussed around Newmarket Road (i.e. strategic - bigger than a single division).

This issue was never going to be resolved in this Committee. Chair moved us on.

Agenda item 6 (Cambridge Centre Area Quality Bus Partnership) followed. Cllr Rosenstiel raised the issue of pollution (specifically nitrogen dioxide) in the City Centre and how buses with higher Euro ratings have lower emissions and asking if there was any plan to move providers like Stagecoach and Whippet onto buses with higher Euro ratings. Past progress has been quite good;

There was major investment a few years ago and officers did stress that it was unlikely that this would continue over the next few years.

The Committee questioned the reporting officer regarding "Low Floor Buses" as the current 90% of buses entering the central area are apparently "low floor". Officers clarified that this means that the bus is not just having a physical low floor but is also suitable for buggies, wheelchairs, etc - i.e. is suitable for disabled access (Cllr Rosenstiel had raised an issue with some low floor buses having a central column in the middle of the doorway and thus not being suitable for buggies).

It was pointed out that national legislation will require all single-decker buses to be low floor buses by 2016, double deckers by 2018, and coaches (which is going to be the most interesting to see!) by 2020.

The officer also pointed out that buses on the Guided Busway must be a minimum of Euro 4 and that the one hybrid bus currently being trialled by Stagecoach will be trailed by Whippet in a few weeks. This bus cost approximately £100,000 more than the already £120,000 cost of a Euro 4 bus. The fact that London has them was raised, and the officer confirmed that Transport for London paid for them - not the operators. As prices come down I'm sure hybrid (or maybe purely electric) buses will be the solution to Cambridge's air pollution issues but clearly at these prices it's not going to be this year or next year!

The final item of note, item 7 Programme Delivery Monitoring and Issues Update, followed and officers revealed that the list was going to be ripped up and tours arranged with local members and officers so that a definitive list of Division-based issues can be assembled.

That being said I raised the issue of the "missing" slow sign (that King's Hedges School agreed to pay for) on Northfield Avenue and the fact that there seems to have been some confusion regarding no-waiting on a bend in King's Hedges - I think this refers to Woodhead Drive but the table says Molewood Close which is actually in Arbury.

After a brief discussion of future Agenda items the meeting was closed.

Whippet Guided Buses to stop on Milton Road

Finally; some good news as a result of the Guided Bus for people in the North of Cambridge!


When the Guided Bus finally starts running (scheduled on the 7th August) Milton Road will get a new bus service. Whippet coaches have agreed that their hourly service along Milton Road will stop at the Arbury Road/Union Lane junction.

The Monday to Saturday services will start at 0816 and run until 1816 southbound taking 10 minutes to get to the city centre and a further 9 to the railway station where they will stop. Northbound, the buses will stop every hour from 1003 until 1903 taking 5 minutes to get to the Science Park and a further 20 to get to St Ives via Histon, Oakington, Longstanton and Swavesey. On Sundays, services are every 2-3 hours starting after 10am and finishing before 7pm.

Click here for the whippet timetable.

Earlier today, Cllr Kevin Wilkins met Peter Lee, the Director of Whippet Coaches to welcome the news and discuss details. Mr Lee agreed that Whippet buses would stop at any stop along Milton Road not just Union Lane. This is very welcome news – but County Council officials are believed to be unhappy about this!

All the buses (with green, euro 5 engines) will show up on the real-time information signs at the bus stops and on various mobile phone apps.

Cross-company tickets will be available so that passengers wishing to transfer to a Stagecoach bus for example in the city centre will be able to do so.

Despite repeated requests, Stagecoach have no plans to follow suit with stops on Milton Road.

Save Milton Road Library Public Consultation

The friends of Milton Road library (which is still under threat of closure by Cambridgeshire County Council) are holding a public consultation meeting at St. Laurences Church on Milton Road at 7pm on Monday the 16th of May.

It's important that as many people as possible attend these public meetings to show the local communities support for the local library.

If you'd like to contact the Friends of Milton Road Library their email address is fmr.library@gmail.com.

Attached is a PDF of the library poster (shown on the left), please print this out and display wherever possible.

Planning and tree works: Garry Drive and Milton Rd

Two applications in the weekly list for last week.

The first is for a planning application to fit "an additional Velux window" to 9 Garry Drive. This is application number 11/0310/FUL.

The second is for some tree works on the park adjacent to 301 Milton Road. I am checking the details of this application for a local resident and will update when I have more, but the application is reference 11/0430/TTPO is to improve visibility into the park by thinning the yew row, and lifting the crowns of the others.

As always more information is available online, and via the usual methods. Get in touch with us in case of problems.

Two planning apps on Milton Road

This week has two planning applications on the list, both at the same adddress on Milton Road.

The first is for a "side and rear roof extension, part first floor and part ground floor rear extensions and removal of existing conservatory" at 347 Milton Road, with reference 11/0271/FUL. The second app is for an outbuilding at the same address, with reference 11/0272/FUL.

More details can be found at the City Council website, or contact the team in case of difficulty.

County wide library petition

The various Friends groups of libraries across Cambridgeshire have set up a County-wide petition.

The petition reads:

We the undersigned call upon Cambridgeshire County Council to reject proposals to close libraries or to replace the existing professional service with a reduced service run by volunteers.

We believe that libraries are a vital part of the community.

Every community that has a library values this service, whether it is in the City, like Arbury Court library in our ward, or in the villages.

I hope you can join me in signing the petition.

Planning applications: Milton Road and King's Hedges Road

The weekly list of applications gives two applications this week, one each in Milton Road and King's Hedges Road.

At 146 King's Hedges Road is an application for a "First floor extension and ground floor", reference number 11/0187/FUL.

The other is for a "Single storey conservatory to rear" of 287 Milton Road, reference 11/0213/FUL.

As always more details available from development control, and contact the team in case of difficulty.

Funeral procession on Friday

We have recieved via eCops a warning about a large funeral procession on Friday of this week (18 March):

The procession will be led by a hearse, followed by a horse-drawn carriage and anywhere from 500 - 800 mourners walking behind.

It is due to leave the Blackwell Site on Kings Hedges Drive at approximately 10am, going down Kings Hedges Road to St. Andrew's Church, Church Street, East Chesterton, with the service due to start at 12pm. At approximately 2pm the procession will walk up Milton Road, through Milton village to Milton Cemetery on Landbeach Road, Milton.

All timings and numbers could vary on the day, but we wanted to make you aware of it and ask for your patience if you are travelling in the area whilst it is happening.

If you haven't already you can sign up for eCops at the Cambridgeshire police website.

Planning application: Milton Road

I didn't manage to sit down and post last weeks planning application, but there was one application on last weeks list. This was for "Installation of one non-illuminated double sided totem sign" at 414 Milton Road (reference 11/0180/ADV).

There isn't anything on this weeks list.

As ever see the City Council website for more details about an application.

Read-In at Arbury Court Library

Yesterday's read-in at Arbury Court Library was a great success. The library was packed with people reading and determined to do what they can to help support the Library Service and save it from damage.

Julian Huppert came along to lend his support after his morning surgery, and in the rather posed photo at the top you can see me, Julian and East Chesterton Councillor Clare Blair. Many residents took up the chance to chat to Julian about libraries and other issues.

There was also a photographer from the Cambridge News, and I'll update this post with a link when they publish their story and picture.

It was nice to meet a lot of old friends I wasn't expecting to see, as well as the members of the Friends group.

One resident chatted to me about the value of the library to her in gaining legal advice, others about the importance for their children, others about their role in providing access to services that are online.

The Friends of Arbury Library did a superb job organising the event: and they deserve a huge thank you. Your local Focus team will continue to campaign to protect Cambridge Libraries, not just at Arbury Court but also on Milton Road and throughout the City. Libraries are not a luxury but an important part of our educational and social infrastrcuture.

We will keep you posted about any future events, or anything else you can do to help.

Update 8/2/11: The Cambridge News article was published yesterday.