28 minute read
Town and Country Planning
South Cambridgeshire District Council Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) act 1990 Section 69 Melbourn conservation area NOTICE IS GIVEN under the provisions of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 that South Cambridgeshire District Council resolved on 15th September 2021 that the boundaries of the above conservation area should be amended. Some land has been deleted from the conservation area, and new areas have also been added to the conservation area. Public consultation on proposed changes to the conservation area was carried out from 18th January 2021 to 15th February 2021, and the Council has taken into account the representations made before making its resolution.
The areas added to Melbourn Conservation Area are now subject to planning regulations and controls set out under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990; conversely, areas deleted from the conservation area are no longer subject to those additional controls.
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The relevant maps and documents may be inspected via the Council’s website https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/ design-heritage-and-environment/historic-environment/ conservation-areas/ or free of charge by appointment at
South Cambridgeshire Hall, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, CB23 6EA Stephen Kelly Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development
Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme
Can we help you?
Can we help a relative?
Can we help a neighbour?
Who does the Scheme help? The scheme is open to the mobility impaired in Melbourn, Meldreth and Shepreth including those who live alone or with their families, but need the extra support offered by our services. Couples too are most welcome. It is also open to those in sheltered housing, as the scheme offers different, but complementary services. Note: The scheme also offers its services for short periods to cover the temporary absence of relatives who otherwise provide this support.
We offer help with: • Friendship and support via twice weekly visits and daily phone calls • Ordering and collection of prescriptions • Basic shopping • Collection of pensions • Setting up Lifeline service • Bereavement support • Going to the Post Office to pay your bills • Just coming round for a chat
What will it cost? We do have to make a small weekly charge for the warden’s services. The fee is only £7.50 per week (a little more for couples).
Jeannie Seers (Mobile Warden) 07808 735066 email: jeanseers13@gmail.com
Jane Cage (Deputy) 07592 821976 email: janec55@virginmedia.com
Melbourn Warden Scheme is a registered charity
books and our children’s section grows and grows. A new section added in September is books on health and wellbeing, both adult and junior.
To the delight of many small children, Mandy’s Story Time on Friday mornings has restarted. It is half an hour of stories, songs and games for the under 5s. At the end many of the mothers and carers stay on to have a coffee and a chat in the café whilst the children play together. Coming along to Story Time is a very good way to get to know people, especially if you are new to the area. Jane Stevens
Melbourn and District U3A
Melbourn & District U3A gives you opportunities to develop your interests, make new friends and have fun. As we endeavour to spread our wings again safely, demand for our U3A activities is as high as ever, with people looking for new ways to keep connected with each other and maintain their cultural, educational and social activities.
Find out what’s available in our U3A, including access to interest groups, sports, leisure and social activities. Our latest groups include Aviation History, with visits planned to aviation museums, and Cycling – pedal power and electric bikes. You will also have access to the national Third Age Matters magazine, to the national online newsletter and various social media sites, as well as our own local Newsletter and website.
New members and renewals are invited from 1 August 2021 at just £13.00 for the year. Great value for such good use of your time. Come and join us.
Following our AGM and Ballot the constitution was changed to include video conferencing, and many of our group meetings are being broadcast this way. More group activities are now being carried out face to face subject to Covid precautions.
For more information about what we offer, see our website at: www.melbu3a.org Contact: Email: secretary@melbu3a.org Tel: 01223 871480
News from Moorlands Court
With the summer firmly behind us and the darker evenings and cooler temperatures here again, we head towards the end of the year in a much better place than we were at this point last year. Covid restrictions have eased and our tenants are all, once again, enjoying their lunches together in the restaurant and making good use of the communal areas to chat and catch up with their friends in the afternoons. As usual, our extremely talented kitchen staff continue to keep our tenants, staff and community clients well fed and nourished with their delicious, homemade and perfectly balanced lunches. Seeing everyone back in the restaurant for lunch again is wonderful and feels like life has, at last, returned to normal. Communal activities This summer we began to re-introduce some communal activities which have been a great relief for everyone. One of our new ventures is a weekly cinema afternoon. We have had a variety of genres so far, from The Greatest Showman to the classic Casablanca. Popcorn and ice cream are on offer and we try to recreate as much of the “cinema” experience as we can, right down to issuing everyone with a cinema ticket to keep as a memento. Everyone appears to be enjoying the afternoons and hopefully this new activity will continue to grow in popularity. As we approach the festive period, I’m pretty confident there will be some Christmas films on the bill. After all, who doesn’t love a Christmas film?
At the end of the summer, we had a brilliant entertainment duo visit Moorlands Court to treat
our Tenants, Day Centre Clients and staff. Somethin’ Else provided a cheeky seaside inspired show which was hilariously funny and certainly perked everyone up. The laughter was infectious and everyone had a brilliant afternoon. The cheering and clapping was uplifting after the silence we have had over the past few months. Day Centre Our Day Centre is once again very busy and we have welcomed back some familiar faces along with some new ones too. One of the very popular activities
Seaside inspired show
Weekly cinema
continued on page 10
is musical bingo held on a Thursday morning. I’ve even noticed one of our clients up dancing to the music. How wonderful to feel so comfortable and engrossed, you lose any inhibitions and just “feel the music”. Our Day Centre staff strive to offer our clients an enjoyable and entertaining day and all the activities on offer give those attending a break from their usual day to day routine while offering their families a much needed break. If you have a friend or relative who you think might benefit from attending one or more of our Day Centre sessions, please give us a call and we can discuss your needs. The Day Centre runs every Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 3 pm.
At Moorlands Court we have some excellent facilities, from superfast Wi-Fi to private meeting rooms. These facilities could make the perfect setting to enable you to hold meetings, conferences or interviews here at very reasonable rates. We are also able to offer buffet style refreshments for your meetings, which are made on site by our kitchen staff. Please give us a call if this is something we are able to help with. Tenants’ stories
I recently went to speak to one of our tenants, Muriel, about her life before she came to live at Moorlands Court. Here is her story:
Muriel was born within the sound of Bow Bells at The City Hospital, London, in 1929, which makes her a genuine cockney. She was the first child born to her parents but was joined 2 years and 9 months later when her brother was born. Muriel and her brother were very close growing up and that continued throughout their lives until he sadly passed away when he was in his 60’s. Evacuated to the countryside The family grew up in the East End of London until war was declared. Like so many families at the time they were separated and along with over 1.5 million other children were evacuated to the countryside where it was felt they would be safe. 9 year old Muriel and her 6 and a half year old brother were sent to Shefford in Bedfordshire. Muriel recalls her mother’s parting words “Don’t you dare let your brother out of your sight!”
They stayed with an elderly couple, who although were pleasant enough, didn’t really want to have children billeted on them but the Government rules at the time stated if you had the space in your home, you had to take evacuees. The children couldn’t settle and within a year they returned to London and back to their parents in time to witness the Battle of Britain. Muriel said she recalls watching the planes fly over East London and the sky light up as the bombs fell and exploded. She doesn’t remember feeling scared, she thinks this was partly because of the calming influence of her parents.
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Shortly after returning to London, the family were separated again when their mother took them to live with their grandmother in Northampton to escape the continued bombing London was experiencing. Her Father remained in London throughout the war as he was an ARP Warden. The family remained in Northampton until peace was declared in 1945.
During her school years Muriel was a very able and competent student and was keen to go to university. She said she was awarded a scholarship for being – (in Muriel’s words) “a clever clogs”, but even with that in place, her parents were unable to let her go due to the huge cost involved. It was agreed that Muriel should continue her studies at 6th form as this would be the best way of her getting a good job.
After leaving school at 17, she went to work in a solicitor’s office which was located just off the Strand. She wasn’t particularly keen to work in an office but it allowed her the financial freedom to take time away and travel which was something she enjoyed. Muriel skipped between various office-based roles over the next few years which allowed her the opportunity to travel when she had saved enough money. Farming Camps She enjoyed many trips on what were known as farming camps. Due to the labour shortage after the war, many farms struggled during the harvest period and the “farming camps” were a way to alleviate the lack of farm workers. The pay was very low but the workers were offered board and lodging and the chance to leave post war London. The freedom the countryside offered was a huge draw because these roles suited Muriel and she loved the lifestyle. She also made many friends and recalls those years of her life with great fondness. She told me “I paid to go for one week and ended up staying for 6 months!” She remembers being sent to cut cabbages during the winter which made her decide it was probably time to go back to London as working in the ice and cold wasn’t much fun. Hitch hiking across Europe She struck up a very close friendship with one of the girls she met while working on the farming camps and the pair decided to travel together. It wasn’t long before they bravely embarked on a hitch-hiking adventure across Europe. Their journey began at the Blackwall Tunnel before heading down to Dover, across to Belgium, onto Holland, into Germany and then with the help of a blackmarket racketeer they entered Austria.
This wasn’t the most straightforward leg of their journey, as at the time Austria was divided into four occupation zones and jointly run by the UK, USA, the Soviet Union and France until 1955. The girls were eager to break free from the men who had assisted their entry into Austria and Muriel told them she would go to the British Embassy unless they allowed them to leave. It wasn’t long before they were leaving the Soviet Zone under cover of darkness. They faced a very perilous journey and just before they left, found themselves lying in the mud while Russian soldiers marched past just feet away from them. Muriel said if they had been discovered they would have been thrown into prison because of their illegal entry into the country, so they kept their heads down and waited for the soldiers to pass before making a hasty escape. They were relieved finally to leave the Soviet controlled zone and be in the British zone and safety. The girls’ trip continued into Italy which was much less hairy than the last stopover and Muriel said one of the highlights was riding pillion on a motorbike across the Dolomites, staying in youth hostels along the way before travelling over to the beautiful island of Capri. After the Italian adventure, the girls headed to Switzerland where they stayed for 3 nights with a Nurse before heading into France. The trip gave Muriel some wonderful memories but without an income and her savings dwindling, she had no choice but to return home and go back to earning a living. “Meet me at the pub” The next job saw Muriel demonstrating the new kitchen must have – a dishwashing machine! She demonstrated the machine to thousands of potential customers at the Ideal Home Exhibition. The company was owned by an Australian Millionaire and Muriel soon found herself becoming very friendly with his wife. She recalls her messages “Meet me at the pub”…….. the pub in question was not really a pub at all, but the Ritz!!
Muriel apple picking on a farming camp
West End high life During this time Muriel saw herself enjoying all that London had to offer, the bars, clubs and nightlife of the West End were a regular haunt and she especially enjoyed the newly opened “Ronnie Scott’s” Jazz club. The musicians of the time, Ray Ellington and Jack Parnell were firm favourites. Red Coat Around this time Muriel also found the time to work a summer season as a Butlins Red Coat secretary in Ayrshire Scotland. She worked within the entertainment team and remembered organising the various talent shows and beauty pageants. On a rare day off she said they went on a bus trip into Edinburgh to watch the famous Tattoo, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Another string to Muriel’s bow was horse riding which she tried to do as often as she could. She would head to the peace and tranquillity of Epping Forest at weekends where she spent many happy hours at the stables.
The horse pictured below was particularly strong and often naughty, but Muriel was an accomplished rider and recalls how beautiful she thought he was and how much she enjoyed riding him. While out riding, Muriel had a fall which resulted in an injury to her spine which unfortunately meant she had to give up riding, this was Leicester, where Muriel found work in a publishing company. The couple later moved to a small town just outside Cheltenham called Bishops Cleeve where their son Gary was born in 1965. Unfortunately, Muriel suffered some spinal damage during his birth which has caused her health issues since. The couple separated and Muriel and her son later moved into the centre of Cheltenham where she lived for the next 45 years. Due to ill health, Muriel was unable to work but did have a voluntary position with the WEA – (Workers Education) and was responsible for ensuring education courses in the county ran smoothly. She said she did this for over 5 years and found it very interesting. She was also involved in various other organisations, one of which was as secretary for the local history society. Holiday Fellowship trips Muriel made a large circle of friends in Cheltenham and enjoyed her life there. As she was particularly interested in history, she went on a couple of holidays with her son which were run by the Holiday Fellowship. The pair each found a course they thought sounded interesting and spent a week learning all about their chosen subject. She said she wished she had discovered these holidays sooner and only managed to do them for a couple of years before Gary left home. When Gary went to university, Muriel found more time for holidays with her friends. She discovered that universities opened their student accommodation during the summer months and this gave her the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the UK and to visit some beautiful cities. She continued to have an active social life with her friends and enjoyed the theatre and cinema until her eyesight made it impossible for her to enjoy it in the way she had previously. She said she still went to concerts when she could but she missed the theatre and the cinema enormously.
For the last 10 years of living in Cheltenham, Muriel’s health conditions meant life moved at a much slower pace. It was at this point she felt she would benefit from having the extra help assisted living could offer. This also gave her the opportunity to be closer to her son and his family. She moved into Moorlands Court in September 2019. Thank you so much for your time Muriel, I have thoroughly enjoyed talking to you. If you or a family member are looking for support with care needs, we may be able to help. Our services range from Meals on Wheels, cleaning, personal care and even a sitting service. At Moorlands Court itself properties occasionally become available for assisted living. We will be more than happy to talk over your
Riding at the stables in Epping Forest
something she missed very much. The friends she met at the stables introduced her to another pursuit – sailing. She recalls leaving London on a Friday evening and heading to Maldon to join her friends for a weekend of sailing. She spent the weekend on the water before heading back to London on a Sunday evening and it was during this time that she met her husband. Life in Cheltenham The couple both enjoyed sailing and quickly started courting. They married in 1962 and went to live in
needs in more detail, so please give us a call and we can discuss what services we might be able to help with, either in the community or at Moorlands Court. Please call 01763 260564 or alternatively e-mail Denise.taylor@chsgroup.org.uk Carol Bailey
Melbourn Parish Council
Addressing road safety concerns The Parish Council is aware of growing concern for road safety and especially for younger and older ‘nonmotorized users’ – people on foot, cycle and mobility scooter. An area of particular concern is the approach to Melbourn from the A505 along New Road where the speed limit changes from 60mph to 30mph, a key link road to schools and the village centre.
More than 300 new homes and a 75-bed care home make up three new developments at the top of New Road. The existing road layout and traffic calming is now in urgent need of updating. We want to encourage active travel – walking rather than driving – to local schools, shops and the village centre – but we have been contacted by, and spoken to, numerous families with young children who do not feel safe doing so.
The Futures Working Party (made up of parish and district councillors and local residents) in conjunction with County Cllr Susan van de Ven have put a great deal of effort into considering how to deal with this area of concern. There has been good learning from other communities dealing with the same problems.
You may have noticed our new MVAS (Motor Vehicle Activated Sign) recently installed on New Road approaching the village. The unit will not only warn motorists if they exceed the speed limit but will collect other data including volume of traffic. The unit will be moved to different locations around the village to provide an overview of traffic ‘hot spots’.
The Parish Council has now applied for a Local Highway Improvement (LHI) grant and the data gathered will support our application. The purpose of the grant will be to fund additional speed safety measures specifically along New Road and Mortlock Street, up to the High Street junction. Proposed traffic safety measures will be focused around: • Updating traffic calming measures on New Road village approach • Advisory signage at junctions and heavily used cross-roads • A 20mph speed limit along New Road and
Mortlock Street
What’s On @ Melbourn Child and Family Zone
Welcome to our Child & Family Centres. Our aim is to support you and your family as your children grow, especially through these challenging times. We are located on Mortlock Street, adjacent to Melbourn Primary School. Mini Movers For mobile babies aged around 9–18 months, focusing on activities that encourage physical development. Mondays 10.00 to 11.00am Stay and Play Stay and play session for children from around 10 months or walking. Thursdays 10.00 to 11.00am Baby Group For parents of pre-mobile babies. Meet other parents and access support and advice from the Child and Family Centre team. Thursdays 1.00 to 2.00pm
Booking is essential for all of our sessions and spaces are limited. Please call email ChildAndFamilyCentre. South@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or message us on Facebook to book spaces Please Note… Due to the current situation, some groups may have been suspended or reinstated. Please check our Facebook page or email us for more up to date information For further information: Email: ChildAndFamilyCentre.South@ cambridgeshire.gov.uk Facebook: search for South Cambridgeshire Child and Family Centres Instagram: @childandfamilycentre.south Youtube: Cambridgeshire Child and Family Centres
Buntingford independent opticians enters new era
An independent opticians in Buntingford is celebrating the exciting future of the practice with the announcement of new owners and services.
J Oliver Radley Opticians, on the town’s High Street, has welcomed Nichola Mason, Michelle Doherty and Mark Udobang to the practice as the new owners.
This is following Edel and James Radley’s departure from the practice in early July as they relocated to North Yorkshire.
To mark their arrival at the practice, the new owners are introducing updated services including complimentary hearing checks and out of hours appointments, as well as providing access to new brands and a lower, competitive price structure.
Dispensing optician and co-owner, Michelle Doherty, said: “We’re very proud to be taking on a practice that has established such a renowned reputation in the area and we are looking forward to being part of the next chapter of the practice’s history.
“We are looking to continue what James and Edel started, while providing improvements where we can. Between us we have over 40 years’ experience in independent practice and look forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise with our customers present and new.
Mark Udobang, optometrist and co-owner added: “We’re coming to the practice with our own values and beliefs, and have already made some positive changes for our customers by reducing many prices.
“We are looking to improve our product ranges and introduce a competitive customer friendly contact lens plan over the next few months.
To speak to the team or to book an appointment, please call 01763 273300.
JEREMY RULE FUNERAL SERVICE
Jeremy Rule. MBIE. Dip. FD. Ben Rule. Dip. FD. Independent, local family funeral directors
Office & Chapel of Rest 12 Church Lane, Royston, SG8 9LG Tel: 01763 242560
www.jeremyrulefunerals.co.uk
Carpet Cleaning &
Stone Floor, Upholstery, Rug’s
A few points that make us stand out, Rothwell’s has been in business since 1993 We’re an honest local family firm. Our large truck mounted machines mean more cleaning & drying power for the best results possible. Members of both the NCCA and TACCA. We will move the furniture. 100% satisfaction or it’s FREE.
Call Oliver and Max Campbell for expert help today.
01223 832 928 www.Rothwells.biz
In conjunction with the LHI bid, we anticipate that the ‘Melbourn Greenway Scheme,’ funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and seeking to significantly improve cycle, walking and mobility scooter connections between Royston and Cambridge, will propose a 20 mph speed limit in Melbourn High Street (supported by some physical adaptations), for the purpose of encouraging these travel modes within the village. We don’t expect that the Melbourn Greenway will come into focus for another year or so, at which point there will be a thorough public consultation. The current LHI bid would complement the principles of the Melbourn Greenway scheme.
We would welcome your views on the LHI bid: please email the Parish Clerk – parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk Claire Littlewood, Parish Clerk
Melbourn Parish Council has vacancies
Speak to us about what parish councillors do and how you can get involved Contact: parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk 01763 263303 x3
From your District and County Councillors
A10 Awareness Ride and gathering at Phillimore Garden Centre
Thanks to everyone who supported the October 4 for the A10 Awareness Ride. Fifty cyclists, many of them truly quite tiny, cycled from home to Trumpington Park and Ride and on to Phillimore’s for cake and conversation. We anticipate an exciting year ahead when, hopefully, the long-awaited Melbourn Greenway scheme will move ahead. There’s lots of information about this campaign for safe cycling between Royston and Cambridge at www.a10corridorcycle.com.
Flooding We were very concerned to receive two reports of household flooding following the very heavy rainfall this autumn. In both cases, the drains had been thoroughly cleaned out in the spring. We have been working with both households, Highways, which has ordered more drain cleaning, and the County Flood team, which gathers information for preventive action. Visit with Anglian Water With all the concerns around drainage and the impact of heavy rainfall on our foul sewage system, we arranged to meet with Anglian Water to discuss system capacity issues in the area. We brought a long list of questions and learned about efforts to anticipate increasing extreme weather events, such as the rainfall we experienced in July and September.
We also talked about our chalk streams and the recent Parliamentary majority in favour of allowing the dumping of sewage in rivers.
And we got down to the basics for good practice at home - including of course, please don’t flush wipes down the toilet! They get stuck and wreak havoc, whether in home systems or at the pumping station.
Finally, we were asked to remind residents of the phone number to ring with any concerns:
Water & Sewerage Queries 03457 145 145. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. #BeKind Campaign – Supporting all who work at our GP practices
At the beginning of the pandemic, we were all out on our streets once a week to clap for our health workers, in appreciation for the fantastic job they do. Nearly two years on those same health professionals are facing an ever-increasing load.
GP practices are under enormous and unsustainable pressure, like so many aspects of health and social care. Cambs NHS are urging us to support the #BeKind campaign – and write:
“Over the last 18 months our practices adapted at pace, in many cases overnight, to new ways of working and they have continued to work tirelessly to offer online, telephone and face-to-face appointments throughout the pandemic, alongside supporting our Care Homes, patients in the community and delivering the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccination programme.
The demand we are seeing on Primary Care is unprecedented and unsustainable. Demand that is increasing month on month and is expected to continue to increase further as we head into a difficult winter. Recruiting and retaining GPs and other healthcare professionals remains a significant challenge. We now have fewer GPs and healthcare professionals looking after more patients with more complex needs. BMA figures
suggest practices have seen a 22% increase in patients and a 4.5% decrease in full time equivalent GPs since 2015. Understandably many of our highly valued workforce are becoming increasingly demoralised.”
So – a chance to say Thank You to all who work at our GP surgeries! Thakeham – what’s happening In spite of Thakeham’s insistence that it would work within the Greater Cambridge Local Plan structures like everyone else, the Call for Sites stage is now over and Thakeham has not made a submission to South Cambs District Council, which holds statutory responsibility for planning.
The South Cambs District Council Local Plan’s ‘First Proposals’ are structured within basic principles for sustainable development, headlining climate change and water resource.
The Local Plan proposed development area does not include the area earmarked by Thakeham for its 25,000 home new town.
The speculative developer still appears to be banking instead on national channels to override local democratic structures, in advancing its new town aspirations.
‘My Maps’ and public information on public assets
A great deal of public information is available around publicly owned property and demography.
For property, please go the County Council home page and click ‘Maps’ at the top of the home page.www. cambridgeshire.gov.uk
For demographic information, please see Cambridgeshire Insights, and explore the various filters. https://cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk Home adaptations for the elderly We’ve had a couple of calls from residents about this service, including how confusing it can be to locate the right person to talk to. The number to call is 0345 045 5202. Susan is more than happy to be contacted directly with any questions for anything that is unclear. Unfortunately, as with so many public services now, and especially in health and social care, there’s a very long waiting list – about six months. Nevertheless, please, do still get the ball rolling if you have concerns. Oil Club A reminder as we move toward winter that our local bulk buying household heating oil club is still up and running. We work with a local supplier to get best prices on the day. There’s no joining fee and no requirement for repeat orders. An annual rebate is received each year and donated to a community group – this year’s donation went to Home-Start Royston and South Cambs.
Our supplier is Jeremy Cole, Agricole Oil: Tel 01954 719452 or 07860 904 045, jeremy@agricole.co.uk, www.agricole.co.uk
Tree planting: Queen’s Canopy This scheme will see thousands of trees planted between now and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next summer. Individuals, schools, businesses, community groups, councils are all being encouraged to plant trees where appropriate to do so.
The County Council’s website includes advice on this, and the national Queen’s Green Canopy website will soon include a map on which residents can mark the trees they have planted as part of the scheme. In Cambridgeshire, the initiative is backed by the LordLieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence. The County Council will be identifying some land in its ownership on which to plant trees. • https://queensgreencanopy.org • https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/ climate-change-energyand-environment/improvingthe-natural-environment/trees-andwoodland/ queens-green-canopy-project County Council’s New Shire Hall, Alconbury: To laugh or to cry?
A project of the previous administration, Construction of the ‘New Shire Hall’ building HQ for Cambs County Council is complete, and a phased return to work plan and September committee meetings have taken place there. Based at Alconbury Weald off the A1 toward Peterborough, there are no viable public transport connections from most parts of the county. It remains to be seen whether the impressive cycle parking facilities there will be put to use.
The most surprising feature of New Shire Hall is that it contains no space large enough to hold a meeting of Full Council. Therefore, the County Council is forced to hire a suitable venue for each of its Council meetings.
New Shire Hall stands directly adjacent to the ‘iMET’ vocational training centre, a £10 million project launched in 2018, which has now collapsed and is closed, due to lack of public transport access. Any questions or concerns? Please let us know! We are always available to help with any issues of concern – please feel free to contact us any time. We hold a Zoom Cuppa surgery on Wednesdays from 5-6, so if you’d like to come along do get in touch and we’ll send you the link. Jose, Sally Ann and Susan District Councillor Jose Hales jose@josehales.me.uk, 07703262649 District Councillor Sally Ann Hart sallyannhart@ riskingonpurpose.com, 07791233303 County Councillor Susan van de Ven Susanvandeven5@ gmail.com, 07905325574
