Cambridge City Council Grants for Local Groups

Cambridge City Council has made available, via the Area Committees, grants for local groups. Some examples of the type of things that can be fully or partially funded;

• Summer outing for elderly people
• Producing a newsletter for local residents
• Sports and arts activities
• Community events and festivals

Full information (and contact details) are available here (Google Docs, PDF).

The first round of funding was completed in March and grants were awarded at the 17th May meeting of the North Area Committee. This round closes on the 30th September for decision at the 22nd November meeting.

If you want help putting together a bid please contact us using the details on the left.

North Area Committee 17th May @ The Manor

The next North Area Committee will be at the Manor on Thursday 17th May.

The planning part of the meeting will start at 6.30; there are two applications on the agenda but the one that will probably be of the most interest is the application to convert the Grove Pub (opposite the Manor) into a Sikh temple.

The main meeting starts at 7.30 and the agenda is available on the City Councils website (see here). The main agenda items are:

• Community Development and Leisure grants*
• Engagement with Young People
• Primary School places in North Cambridge
• Northern Corridor Area Transport plan
• Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods

And, of course, the usual open forum where you can ask questions.

* (see here for report) There are two grants specific to King's Hedges in the list; Cambridge Music Festival (requesting 2,000), and Cambridge Carbon Footprint (requesting the very precise 2,323). The Cambridge Carbon Footprint event is targeted at both King's Hedges and Arbury.

North Area Committee Tonight!

Just a quick reminder that North Area Committee (Arbury, King's Hedges, East/West Chesterton) will be meeting tonight from 6pm for planning and 7:30pm for the Open Forum which is your opportunity to question your local Councillors.

Tonight's North Area will not be at the Manor but will instead be at the Shirley School in East Chesterton.

Please come along and make your voice heard.

Cambridge City Area Committee Grants for Local Organisations

Cambridge City Council has made available, via the Area Committees, grants for local groups. Some examples of the type of things that can be fully or partially funded;

• Summer outing for elderly people
• Producing a newsletter for local residents
• Street party to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee
• Sports and arts activities
• Community events and festivals
• Events celebrating the Olympics

Full information (and contact details) are available here (Google Docs, PDF).

There will be two rounds of funding in 2012-2013, the first closes on the 31st March and will be decided at the 17th May meeting of North Area Committee and the second closes on the 30th September for decision at the 22nd November meeting.

If you want help putting together a bid please contact us using the details on the left.

North Area Committee - 22nd March 2012 (Thursday!)

The next North Area Committee will be in the Centre Hall of the Shirley School, Nuffield Road, on Thursday 22nd of March.

The planning part of the meeting will start at 6.30pm, with the main meeting starting at 7.30pm, or as soon as the planning part finishes, if that over-runs.

The theme of the meeting will be TRANSPORT, with particular emphasis on the impact of the proposed new rail station on Chesterton Fen.

Also on the agenda:

• Tree Planting Project – Parks and Open Spaces 2011/15
• Update on Street Scene Issues
• Environmental Improvement Programme (for decision)

The agenda for the main meeting is here.


This is your chance to get involved with your local councillors – you can even ask them questions!

Advanced warning: North Area Committee

This is a short post about the next North Area Committee.

It is on Thursday 24th March at Manor School, Arbury Road. Planning will be at 6.30pm (with one item on the draft agenda, an application in East Chesterton). The main meeting starts at 7.30pm.

The meeting has a new format, with a "Community Forum" session after the usual Open Forum. The final agenda will confirm the details, but we hope to have sessions on Libraries and the Localism Bill.

The formal session at the end looks likely to cover grants, the new format of the meeting, and licensing of "Sex Establishments".

When the agenda is published I'll try to put a more complete post up!

North Area Committee results...

Last night at North Area Committee a few issues that affect the ward were discussed.

Firstly we had many Friends of Arbury Court Library along, and I'd like to promote the meeting they are holding at 7pm on February 2nd. This meeting is to formalise the group and come up with ideas to support it, and the other libraries threatened by the Conservative County Council. They are also staging a "read-in" at the library on Saturday February 5.

The report back from County Councillors suggests that Milton Road library is under bigger threat, but the local Liberal Democrats are campaigning to save all of Cambridge's libraries.

We also had some community grants to groups in King's Hedges. I managed to get the committee to agree to go against officers and give a grant to the Meadows Children and Family Wing, who do a lot of work with families in Arbury and King's Hedges. This is subject to checks that it isn't a "double" claim, but seperate project work. There were also grants to King's Hedges Brownies and the King's Hedges Family Support Group.

There is still some money in the pots, so if you know of a community group that could do with some help get in touch.

We also had the police priorities and I discussed issues of ASB with Sgt Wragg. He has agreed to meet me to see what can be done about some specific local problems.

Police surgery at Arbury Court on Wednesday

The latest e-cops email bulletin contains a reminder about the Police monthly surgery at Arbury Court this week:

The 26th January will be the last Wednesday of the month which means its the Arbury Court Surgery. it will be held between 11:00-13:00. In attendance will be 2/3 PCSO's. Feel free to attend, whether it be to discuss any issues or whether it be simply to say hello.

It also has a reminder about the North Area Committee on wednesday that includes a slot on police priorities.

For more details on e-cops, check the e-cops pages on the Cambridgeshire police website.

North Area Committee: Thursday 27 January

The first North Area Committee of 2011 is coming up soon.

As far as I know there is no planning so the meeting will be starting at 7.30pm at the Manor School on Arbury Road.

As well as the Open Forum, a chance for you to raise any issue you wish with your local councillors, it looks likely that we will have items on...

• Local police priorities
• We hope someone from Tesco to talk about issues related to their stores
• Information about the UK census, which is this year
• A regular item on community grants.

We will also be looking at how we can improve local participation in decisions that affect the North Area. The hope is to extend how many people get involved in making decisions on public services.

We hope to see you there!

North Area Committee: 25 November

The next North Area Committee is next Thursday, and the agenda is due out later this week.

The meeting will be at the usual venue, The Manor (School) on Arbury Road. We will start at 6.30pm with planning, and the main agenda at 7.30pm including the Open Forum: your chance to ask councillors about local issues.

I'll try to post more details when the agenda is published, but you will be able to get it from this page on the City Council website.

Advance warning of North Area Committee

The next North Area Committee is scheduled for Thursday 30th September at Manor School, Arbury Road. As usual the meeting will start with planning at 6.30pm, and the Open Forum will start at 7.30pm, or after we complete the planning if we need more than an hour.

The Open Forum is a chance to raise questions to local City and County Councillors on any topic you wish.

I'll post about other agenda items when they are finalised.

North Area Committee 15 July

This is a bit late to warn people but it is North Area Committee tomorrow.


As usual the meeting is at Manor Community School on Arbury Road. It is on Thursday 15th July, with planning at 6.30pm, and the main agenda starting after that or at 7.30pm.


Planning looks like it will include an application relating to Citygate on Woodhead Drive, as well as other applications from the other wards.

The main meeting agenda has the Open Forum, a chance to ask the local councillors questions on any topic, the public consultation on licensing policy (see the city council website for more information if you can't wait!).

The agenda is online at the City Council website.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

North Area Committee coming soon

The next North Area Committee will be in a fortnight's time, on Thursday 19 March at the Manor Community School on Arbury Road. It starts at 6.30pm with the planning, and the main agenda starts at 7.30pm.

There are five planning applications relating to sites in East Hertford Street, Frenchs Road, Green End Road, Green Park and De Freville Avenue.

On the main agenda this time

1. Safer neighbourhoods: your chance to talk to the police about priorities and issues.
2. Public art: information on the scheme Miller Homes and Future Cities are proposing in the George Nuttal Close development.
3. Open Forum: a chance to ask any questions you may have of your local councillors.
4. An update on Environmental Improvement projects.
5. Community development and leisure grants.

Please do come along and watch or join in.

Unfortunately Stagecoach have had to pull out, but hopefully they will be along to the next meeting.

North Area Committee this week

On Thursday this week (22 January) is the next North Area Committee at the Manor School on Arbury Road.

Apparently we are in a different room so if you wish to attend look out for signs.

Planning is at 6.30pm with applications in Milton Road, Hertford St and Ramsden Square.

The main meeting starts at 7.30pm with the Open Forum (your chance to ask questions of local councillors) and an item on Environmental Improvements.

Unfortunately Tory County Cllr Martin Curtis has turned down his invitation to speak to justify the cuts to many Children's services in Cambridge. He will be asked again!

Do come along if you can make it!

Burglary

At the last NAC we made burglary a local police priority due to the worrying rise in burglaries.

If you see anyone acting suspiciously please do report it to the police on 0845 456 456 4. Use 999 if you think a crime is happening! The police need this information to build up pictures even if it isn't enough to catch a burglar on its own.

The main reason for this post is that in the December Neighbourhood Watch newsletter the police mention something called Smart Water, which they say is "a fantastic way of marking your property and making it less desirable to burglars and thieves, etc. It is virtually invisible to the naked eye, can be applied to just about anything and once applied is practically impossible to remove."

If you are interested go to the SmartWater website for more details.

There will be more on what the police have done later.