Parish Council

28 Station Road Melbourn Cambs SG8 6DX Telephone 262494 e-mail: parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

Chairman Donald Mowatt 23, High Street SG8 6AL 268388 Vice-Chairman Maureen Townsend 32 New Road SG8 6ER 260959 Clerk & Office Avril Mellor, 28 Station Road, SG8 6DX 262494

E-mail parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

Website www.melbourncambridge.co.uk Councillors Val Barratt 2 Station Road SG8 6DX 261227 Irene Bloomfield 78 Russet Way SG8 6HF 222558 Colin Charter 58 Bramley Avenue SG8 6HG 262278 Janice Guest 1 Mortlock Street SG8 6DB 260894 Rosemary Gatward 94 High Street SG8 6AL 261225 Dean Hardingham 1 Portway SG8 6EU 232757 Michael Linette 11, Chapel Lane 262534 Donald Mowatt 23 High Street SG8 6AL 268388 Clive Purbrook Glebe House High Street SG8 6DZ 260899 Andy Qulina 77 Orchard Road SG8 6BB Jocelyn Robson 91 High Street 261633 Mike Sherwen 3 Hale Close SG8 6ET 260070 Christopher Stead 70 Russet Way 260743 pm Maureen Townsend 32 New Road SG8 6BY 260959 Richard Wakerley 32 Chalkhill Barrow SG8 6EQ 262247 Employees Handyman and Caretaker Peter Andrews 243312

Emergency mobile. 07778-682245 Village Ranger Keith Rudge, 4 Dolphin La, SG8 6AF 221212 Internal Auditor Peter Chilvers, 68A High Street, SG8 6AJ 260742 County Councillor David Charles McCraith 104 North End, Bassingbourn D-Rmccraith@supanet.com (send agenda by e-mail) County Hall 01223-833555 District Councillors Janice Guest, 1 Mortlock Street, SG8 6DB 260894 Val Barrett, 2 Station Road 261227 South Cambs M.P. Andrew Lansley 01954 212707 South Cambs M.E.P. Robert Sturdy 01954 211790 The Parish Office at 28 Station Road, is entered by the door at the front of the building directly opposite Sheene Mill. The Parish Office is now open on Mondays from 9 am to 1 pm, on Tuesdays from 2 pm from 4 pm, and on Thursday from 9 am to 1 pm. The office is not normally open on Wednesdays or Fridays. As the Clerk is sometimes out on Parish business it is better to ring 262494 to ensure that she is in the office. Meetings of the Planning Committee are normally held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month commencing at 7.15 pm. Council Meetings are normally held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7.15 pm at Vicarage Close Community Centre.

The Press Royston & Buntingford Mercury

Tom Ship, Media Centre 40 Ware Road,

Hertford, SG13 7HU 01992 526639 Royston Crow Heath House, Princes Mews,

Royston, SG8 6RT 245241 Fax 242231 Cambridge News David Williams, 3 Melbourn Street,

Royston, SG8 7BP 249144 Fax 244502 BBC Radio Cambridge

Reception 01223 259696

Newsroom 01223 358510

From the Parish Clerk – Avril Mellor

After a long cold winter, spring is now with us and soon we shall be seeing bulbs and plants coming to life. When times are hard for very many people it was nice to see over the Christmas period a little glow of light in the centre of the village as a result of the generosity of two local businesses. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Phillimore for donating the Christmas tree and Leech’s, who once again supplied the electricity for the running of the Christmas tree lights.

Stored in the old Fire Engine House is a piano looking for a good home and, no doubt, tuning. The piano can be delivered free of charge within the village to anyone who is willing to take it in. Please contact the Parish Office if you are interested in this or just require more information.

There is only one unreserved space left in Orchard Road cemetery and this is for cremated remains. This means that all new burial plots from now on will be in New Road cemetery. Two hand-carved oak seats have been placed in the cemetery and two more are waiting to be fixed in their designated places. More bulbs have been planted and beds are being constructed at the end of rows to take flowering shrubs. This spring, when bulbs are in flower and leaves are open on the trees, the cemetery will start to take on a character of its own and will be a very nice peaceful place.

A lychgate is planned and will be placed in front of the main cemetery gates. At the present time negotiations are taking place with Mr Tyler who has very kindly offered to donate this extra piece of land to the parish council.

The Council submitted its application to South Cambridgeshire District Council for the precept for 2009/10 in February. The payment is made in two parts by BACS transfer, one half in April and the other half in September.

At the time of writing this article the police site in the village is in the process of being sold to a registered social landlord. This is likely to give rise to a planning application for the site at some time in the future. When this application is registered with South Cambridgeshire District Council, it will of course have to be submitted to the parish council’s planning committee for comment. As this site is in the centre of the village and in a conservation area, this will not be an easy application to deal with as I am sure that it will arouse a great deal of interest from concerned villagers.

Cllr. Mrs Val Barrett & Cllr. Mrs Janice Guest

At the time of writing this, Val and I, together with the Parish Council are endeavouring to secure a suitable site for the young people of the Melbourn catchments area to construct a BMX trail. It has been unfortunate that the previous sites used by the bikers did not have the correct permission from the landowners and the council.

South Cambs. District Council are keen to assist the young people in setting up this trail. The youth are themselves keen to have this facility and are willing to do some of the ground work involved in the setting up and managing of the trails with the help of the District and Parish Councils, together with their families. Councillor Dean Hardingham is leading the project on behalf of the Parish Council.

We are sure that everyone will wish every success for this project for the youth of Melbourn.

We seem to be getting somewhere with the matter of the yellow lines in Station Road, outside ESSE and the Parish Office, some of the road is in the Parish of Meldreth. It would seem that they understand the problem and have shown a willingness to assist in having the yellow lines installed. Of course, there is a greater fear of more parking in Station Road because First Capitol Connect is charging for car parking at the railway station. This being the case, it becomes even more important that these lines are put in for the safety of everyone concerned. It must be said that some parking will be retained.

We are pleased to have achieved a good result for the residents of Haggers Close in as much as having the green open space cleared of most of the shrubs and the whole area set with grass seed. We are sure that this makes for a more pleasing outlook and a much safer environment especially for those residents living in the bungalows.

There are a number of important planning and development issues at the present time, which are giving rise for concern. Therefore, you must be assured that we are very much involved in the discussions to secure the best outcome for Melbourn.

The kerbside collection of plastic bottles is a tremendous success and SCDC have a good rating nationally. So let’s continue to recycle. We are sure that you will have noticed that there has been an increase in the number of times our village streets are being swept. This is all part of the aims of SCDC to make our area a good place to live.

At the time of writing this, SCDC had agreed at the full council meeting in November, to ask the tenants in council properties to vote on whether to accept or reject the proposal to transfer the housing stock to a housing association. All tenants have had the opportunity of being involved in the transfer; also they have been kept informed and have been invited to participate on many occasions by attending meetings at South Cambs Hall, Cambourne and in the local communities.

It must be said that we support the transfer, mainly because, in our opinion, the benefits to the tenants far outweigh the prospects of the housing stock remaining with SCDC, especially when you consider that the budgeting restrictions together with the swingeing funding from central government would make it hard to maintain the stock to the standard the tenants deserve.

You can be assured that we continue to help the Parish Council and residents with a variety of issues. Please remember that we can be contacted at any time and we will endeavour to assist you by directing you to the appropriate officer or take the matter up on your behalf.

Cllr. Mrs Val Barrett - 01763 261227 Cllr. Mrs Janice Guest - 01763 260894

Spring Morning

Where am I going? I don’t quite know. Down to the stream where the king-cups grow Up on the hill where the pine-trees blow Anywhere, anywhere. I don’t know. Where am I going? The clouds sail by, Little ones, baby ones, over the sky. Where am I going? The shadows pass, Little ones, baby ones, over the grass. If you were a cloud, and sailed up there, You’d sail on water as blue as air, And you’d see me here in the fields and say: “Doesn’t the sky look green today?” Where am I going? The high rooks call: “It’s awful fun to be born at all.” Where am I going? The ring-doves coo: “We do have beautiful things to do.” If you were a bird, and lived on high, You’d lean on the wind when the wind came by, You’d say to the wind when it took you away: “That’s where I wanted to go today!” Where am I going? I don’t quite know. What does it matter where people go? Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow Anywhere, anywhere. I don’t know. by Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne