No 57: July 2016
Eastrea
Village News
S U M M E R O F FUN FOR A L L
The Nag’s Head EASTREA Beer Festival has been a highlight of our summer for over a decade (above). This year’s spectacular event commences on Friday 15 July at 8 pm with live music from Retrolux and continues on Saturday with live music, then a family disco from 4 pm-7 pm before a performance from New Generation Crash and Burn 8 pm-11 pm. Sunday 16 July features Children of the Revolution playing from 12 noon till 4 pm. Last orders at 11 pm - and this year, in addition to all regular food and drink, there will be TEN real ales for people to try.
The Eastrea Centre ONE WEEK later is the annual summer party at the Eastrea Centre. Family fun is the theme of this year’s special day held to mark the opening by HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in July 2013. This exciting event will take place on Saturday 23 July from 11 am to 4 pm with live music performances throughout the day. There will be a large range of stalls to suit everybody’s interests and a barbecue/grill serving tasty hot food all day. This year’s event is being organised in association with The Gables Nursing Home and there will be free parking and free admission for everyone.
ALDI ARE INVITED TO INTERVENE
EASTREA Village News have been given final confirmation by Sainsbury’s that they will not be continuing with their proposals for a new supermarket on the A605. This also means that the plans for a country park cannot now be realised. With the disappearance of Tesco’s alternative proposals, an approach has now been made to another supermarket in case they would like to build on the site. The Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that Whitacre Developments are taking legal action against Sainsbury’s for breach of contract and they have also approached Aldi in case they would like to like to take over the scheme. The supermarket sector is in a state of disarray; the brand new Tesco in Chatteris remains mothballed. It cost £22 million to build but has never opened its doors.
E-mail: mail@rothayhouse.co.uk
Eastrea Village News
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WHERE IS THIS BIKE? SOMEONE took a Boardman bicycle like the one in our illustration (right) from a house in Wype Road last week. It was ready to be used in a charity cycle event by Eastrea resident Mr James Dighton. “We regularly collect funds for bone cancer research by cycling events,” he tells the News. “We raised about £12,000 a couple of years ago.” The racing bike, valued at £700, was parked near the end of his property, well away from the road, and Mr Dighton says: “It was parked safely at the bottom of my garden, and it didn’t occur to me at first that it could have been stolen. Eastrea is such a safe village, and we are all very shocked.” Anybody with information can call James Dighton on his mobile phone at 0771 104 8141. Please let him know if you can help retrieve the missing bicycle.
ABOVE: Boardman bicycles can cost over £5,000 and are equipped with the latest carbon-fibre technology designed in state-of-the-art wind tunnels. The missing bicycle costs over £700 and it is urgently being sought by police.
LOCAL LEVEL CROSSINGS MAY BE BLOCKED TWO local level crossings are under threat of closure by Network Rail. They are situated on the droves to the south of Eastrea and Coates and they are most often used by local farm workers. They are also popular with walkers. Over 130 unmanned level crossings in East Anglia are being considered for closure. Many will be permanently blocked though it is believed that others will remain open for pedestrians only, or as a public bridleway, while being permanently closed to vehicles. Mr Richard Schofield is the route managing director for Network Rail, who claim that these controversial plans will improve public safety and would save them expenditure totalling £4 million. LEFT: the unmanned level crossing at Eastrea Cross Drove. Along with many others in the Anglia region, this crossing is currently being considered for closure.
DIGITAL BUS SIGN? PROPOSALS for installing a digital bus sign for Eastrea have been rejected by Cambridgeshire County Council. The submission, made under the Local Highways Improvement Initiative, was for an indicator that would show the precise times when buses were due to arrive. Recently, a Stagecoach bus due at 2.18 pm did not arrive until 2.40; and one due at 12.18 did not arrive until 1.00 pm. Elderly residents have to wait without knowing when the next bus will arrive. The decision against the Eastrea proposal was stated to be because it was found to be “unfeasible” though it is not known why this was concluded. A digital sign in Coates has proved very useful for bus passengers. The rejection of our application was being made known even before the decision had been officially published. More information on the decision is being sought. RIGHT: A real-time digital bus sign already installed at a stop in Lincoln Road. Peterborough has this solar-powered energy source so does not require a mains power supply.