Cambridge City Council Grants for Local Groups - One Week To Go!

Cambridge City Council has made available, via the Area Committees, grants for local groups. This round of funding is the last round for 2012-13 and there is only one week left to apply.

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).

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.

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.

Cambridge North Newsletter Spring 2012

The newsletter is available here (via Google Docs).

Cambridge North Newsletter - Spring 2012

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!

Lib Dems Tackle Fen Road Problems Head On For Residents

Cambridge Liberal Democrats are tackling problems on the city’s Fen Road head on by working cross-party and with multiple agencies to find a solution for residents.

Cllr Ian Manning and resident Clare Blair took control of the issue this evening (Thursday, January 26) at a meeting of Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee.

A working party has been set up which will co-ordinate the work between officers and councillors from the city council, Cambridgeshire County Council and South Cambs District Council.

At the North Area Committee meeting, which was very well attended, Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet member, Ian Bates, heard directly from residents about the daily issues they experience such as anti-social driving, noise and speeding and traffic calming measures that don't work.

Mrs Blair said: “It was great to see so many people come to voice their opinions and experiences directly to those in power. A wide range of solutions was discussed and there was a clear preference for an alternative access route out of Fen Road to provide a real solution to problems in the area."

Particularly important is the cross area working that the initiative brings.  Cllr Hazel Smith of South Cambs District commented "A solution to the issues on Fen Road will only be found by joined up working between both districts and the County Council, and I'm pleased that this will be taken on by North Area."

Cllr Manning said that the Chesterton Station project presents a real opportunity to make large scale change.
"I'm glad we're looking at really radical solutions like a different route out of Fen Road, which will divert traffic away from East Chesterton, as well as highways improvements to the Water Street/Water Lane area and better traffic calming,” he said.

North Area Committee Meeting Tonight!

Just a quick reminder that tonight the City Council’s North Area Committee will be meeting at the Shirley School, Nuffield Road, Cambridge CB4 1TF – note that this is a change from the usual venue of the Manor on Arbury Road.

The agenda for the planning part – which starts at 6.00 pm – is here.
The agenda for the main meeting – which should start at 7.30pm – is here. The main meeting will start when the planning items are completed, if that’s after 7.30.

The main items on the agenda (aside from the planning items and the Open Forum) are:

• The Fen Road Area – Issues and Solutions
• Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods
• Future Work Programme for the Area Committee

If you have any issues you would like your local Councillors to raise then please let us know.

North Area Committee – Meeting 26th Jan

The next meeting of the City Council’s North Area Committee will take place on Thursday 26th January.

It will be at Shirley School, Nuffield Road, Cambridge CB4 1TF – note that this is a change from the usual venue of the Manor on Arbury Road.

The agenda for the planning part – which starts at 6.00 pm – is here.
The agenda for the main meeting – which should start at 7.30pm – is here. The main meeting will start when the planning items are completed, if that’s after 7.30.

The main items on the agenda (aside from the planning items and the Open Forum) are:

• The Fen Road Area – Issues and Solutions
• Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods
• Future Work Programme for the Area Committee

If you have any issues you would like your local Councillors to raise then please let us know. 

Lib Dems Invest In Plans To Help New Communities Succeed

Cambridge City Council is preparing to bring residents' views centre stage to shape the future of their own communities.

In their budget proposals, they plan to invest in a new post of Community Engagement Officer to organise the processes.

Over the past year the council's Area Committee covering the nothern part of the city has experimented with methods of involving residents more in setting the agenda for its work. One of the successes was receiving the contributions of nearly 700 people to the setting of priorities for the city council and other agencies.

The LibDems are now making sure that other communities in Cambridge have the same opportunity to say what is best for their areas.

In addition to guiding the committees' regular work, this can help communities grasp opportunities such as the targeting of funds contributed by developers as a condition of their planning approval to schemes for neighbourhood open space and community facilities. From next year the council is planning to devolve much of this responsibility to its four areas.

Executive Cllr Tim Bick, who has responsibility for Community Development, said: "Lib Dems firmly believe that communities know what is right for them. We want to build on our track record in area working and community engagement to support neighbourhoods to shape how they are managed and how they develop.”

Lib Dems Act To Help Families Plagued By Speeding Drivers

Speeding drivers and inadequate traffic calming measures have made life a misery for families living on a Cambridge road.

For years residents of Fen Road, East Chesterton have been plagued by cars racing along the road and heavy lorries bouncing across the speed bumps.

Now the city’s Liberal Democrats have scrutinised the issue and come up with a number of ideas to solve the problem.

They are taking their findings to Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee on Thursday (November 24) and again in January to give residents the chance to have their say.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Ian Manning, who represents East Chesterton and campaigner, Clare Blair who lives in the ward have set out their ideas in a document which will be presented to the committee.

And it has been endorsed by Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert, who represented East Chesterton on the county council for eight years.

Ian said: “This has been a blight on our ward for a long time. In order to fix the problem, we are asking the whole area committee and all parties to support our push for solutions.”

Julian said: “Families living in this road have been plagued by speeding drivers for many years and traffic calming measures have failed to address the problem.

“I applaud Ian and Clare on the work that has gone into this document. I hope residents will take this opportunity to make their views known so that a solution can be found quickly.”

A year ago, at Clare’s request Cambridgeshire County Council highways officers drew up a scheme to improve traffic calming measures and prevent cars mounting grass verges to avoid speed bumps.

The scheme could cost around £150,000 and it is hoped this could be funded from the Northern Area Corridor Transport Plan.

Clare said: “This is certainly the most important highways issue affecting East Chesterton.

“Yet despite raising this issue with officers and the county council Cabinet for many years, no solution has been acted upon.”

Other solutions suggested in the document prepared by Ian and Clare include:

• an alternative route out of Fen Road to remove lorry traffic;
• minor environmental improvements;
• a footpath over the railway crossing to allow children to walk to school rather than be driven.

PDF attachment with the plans is available here.

North Area Committee – Thursday 22 Sept

The next North Area Committee will be held on Thursday 22nd September in the Large Hall at the Manor on Arbury Road.

As always, proceedings start at 6.30pm with the Planning Applications, of which there are 3:

11/0727/FUL Cambridge Guest House, 201 Milton Road
09/0731/FUL 107 Darwin Drive
11/0776/FUL Rear of 43-59 Elizabeth Way

Also starting at 6.30, there will be a Photograph Exhibition ‘Living in Horth Area’, and a City Council Customer Service Centre ‘Drop-in’ Session (until 7.30).

The main meeting starts at 7.30 (or following the conclusion of the Planning Applications), and will include the regular item on Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods. The full agenda is available here.

Reminder: North Area Committee Tonight 19:30 (18:30 planning)

Just a reminder that tonight from 6:30pm your local Councillors will all be at North Area Committee which will be meeting at the Buchan Street Community Centre (as opposed to it's normal venue of the Manor on Arbury Road).

If you'd like to come along there is an open Forum from 7:30pm where members of the public are encouraged to raise ideas and suggestions for the Committee to look at.

As always you can contact your local Councillors using the links on the left. If you can't make the meeting or you would like one of us to raise an issue please don't hesitate to get in touch.

North Area Committee 14/07/2011 19:30 (18:30 planning)

The agenda for the next North Area Committee has been published online on the City Councils website;

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/democracy/ieAgenda.aspx?A=960

The agenda is outlined below. The key point (that will take the huge bulk of the time) will be the Open Forum - this is your opportunity to raise any issues that you'd like us as your local Councillors to address. Of course you can contact any of us at any time to discuss practically anything but this is your opportunity to have it discussed much more widely.

Look forward to seeing as many of your there as possible!


1     Apologies for Absence
2     Declarations of Interest
3     Welcome and Introduction
4     Community Consultation (CB4): Local Priorities
5     Improving Health in North Area
6     TO CONFIRM WHAT WAS SAID (MINUTES) AT THE LAST MEETING AND WHAT WE HAVE DONE (ACTION LIST)
7     YOU WANT TO KNOW (OPEN FORUM)
8     Environmental Improvement Programme

What would you spend £60,000 on?

Your local Area Committee for the North of Cambridge has a small pot of money available for environmental improvements within King's Hedges, Arbury, and both East and West Chesterton.

Lib Dems pushed for these committees to be introduced so that local people can have a say in the decisions that affect their local communities.

Mike Pitt and Simon Brierley would be keen to hear your views about what environmental improvements you would like to see in King's Hedges and how you think the money could best be spent.

The Labour party have called for these committees to be scrapped. They say all decisions should be made in the Guildhall, where it is more difficult for local people to be involved in the process and whole sections of the community would be excluded. Your Local Liberal Democrats profoundly disagree.

If you wish to suggest something for a grant, please email Simon or Mike on mike-kh@einval.com or simon.brierley@gmail.com

North Area Committee - New Website

The website for the North Area Committee (on the Cambridge City Council website) has just been updated with the twin aims of providing more information and giving more people the opportunity to become move involved in their community.

The new website is here;

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/northareacommittee

If you have any comments on this you can contact any one of your local Councillors and we'll make sure you comments are passed on.

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.

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!