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Parish Council
28 Station Road Melbourn Cambs SG8 6DX Telephone 262494 e-mail: parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk
Chairman
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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 Barrett 2 Station Road, SG8 6DX 261227 Frank Benfield 2-4 Little Lane, SG8 6DX, 261227 Irene Bloomfield 78 Russet Way, SG8 6HF 222558 Alan Brett 44 High Street, SG8 6DXBB 260306 Rosemary Gatward 94 High Street, SG8 6AL 261225 Jose Hales 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH 262651 Dean Hardingham 1 Portway, SG8 6EU 232757 Michael Linnette 11 Chapel Lane, SG8 6BN 262534 Donald Mowatt White Walls, 23 High Street 268388 Clive Purbrook Glebe House, High St, SG8 6DZ 260899 Jocelyn Robson 91 High Street 261633 Mike Sherwen 3 Hale Close, SG8 6ET 260070 Christopher Stead 70 Russet Way 260743 pm only Maureen Townsend 32 New Rd, 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
Susan van de Ven 95 North End, Meldreth 261833 susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.
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 All Saints’ Community Hall.
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
From the Parish Clerk – Avril Mellor
How nice to be greeting spring after such a long hard winter. I hope that most of you managed to stay on your feet during the very icy and slippery periods, which seemed to go on for weeks. I was one of those that succumbed to the pull of gravity but fortunately I was only a little shaken up and had no broken bones. In December Dr Frank Benfield was co-opted to the Council. I would like to welcome Cllr. Benfield and hope that he will find his involvement with the Council rewarding. There are now 15 Councillors, which is the full quota for Melbourn. This year is election year for the Council. Parish Council elections take place every four years and are usually held in the first week in May. If this coincides with the date chosen for the General Election, the Council’s election date will be postponed, by law, for three weeks. Anyone who wishes to be considered for election to the Parish Council should contact South Cambridgeshire District Council Monitoring Officer and request election papers. An election will only take place if more then 15 residents apply for nomination to the Council.
At time of writing the precept for 2010/11 is being worked on and at the beginning of February the final figure will be submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council for inclusion in the Council Tax calculations. This precept provides the money that the Council has to work with for the coming year.
The process of preparing a lease for the village car park is in the hands of the solicitors and as usual these things take time, due to the complexity of the content. In December some of the Councillors attended a meeting with the Council’s Solicitor to discuss various aspect of the proposed lease.
The police have now moved out of the centre of the village, a site which they have occupied for fifty years as a police station and homes for police officers. Planning permission has been granted enabling work to commence on an office in the grounds of Melbourn Village College. In the meantime the police will operate from a Mobile Office at the college.
The gates for New Road cemetery have been ordered and it is hoped to have them in place by summer. Some of the trees have died due to lack of rainfall in the summer months. These will be replaced and additional planting will take place as soon as the weather conditions allow. The trees and hedges are now beginning to mature and in another couple of years we shall have a very attractive rural cemetery rather than the corner of a field we had when the cemetery was opened.
The gates from All Saints’ churchyard were removed in January for restoration and have now been replaced. The removal of the gates was carried out by Sam Bowden Countryside Services, a difficult and lengthy task due to the depth that one of the iron gate posts was buried. The restoration work was undertaken by Matthew Lane Sanderson who is also making the gates for New Road Cemetery. Work in the churchyard has also included the reduction in height and reshaping of a yew tree and the removal of a diseased elm. Under section 215 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Parish Council is responsible for the maintenance and repair of this churchyard, as it is a closed churchyard.
Meldreth Pre-School
Reg.Charity no.1034965
Village Hall Meldreth High Street
This friendly, non-profit making Pre-School now has spaces for September 2008.
We offer Morning, Lunch Club and Afternoon sessions to children between the ages of 2 and 5 years.
We offer a high staffing ratio, whilst maintaining competitive rates. £8.20 per session, £3.00 for Lunch Club
We accept Government Vouchers (which makes sessions for the over 3’s free)
For more information please Contact: Pre-School Leader, Jane Cable on 07952 295655 during Pre-School Hours (Mon/Tue 9-3, Wed/Thur/Fri 9-12.30) or telephone The Admissions Secretary, Yasmin Croxford on 01763 220246
Little Foxes
Baby & Toddler Group
Little Foxes is a friendly, fun, good value, baby & toddler group. The baby & toddler group provides a great opportunity to meet other mums and for the children to play together. It is run by mums & child carers for babies and children up to 5 years old. There are a baby area, dressing up clothes, trikes, trampolines, duplo, cars, dolls, etc. There are creative activities, song & story time and refreshments for the adults & children. Foxton Village Hall Hardman Road Foxton Tuesday (term time only) 09.30 – 11.00 £1.50 per session
A Great Response From The Like – Dislike Survey!
The autumn issue of the Melbourn Magazine included leaflets for residents to return and “Have their Say”.
Huge numbers of completed leaflets were returned carrying a host of ideas and comments. The comments included both things that were good about living in Melbourn and some that were perhaps less good. All of this information is vital to the development of the Melbourn Village Plan. A big “Thank You” to all who contributed.
A completely independent and voluntary Steering Committee is undertaking the Plan. It is hoped to complete most of the preparation this year, after which the Plan will be published as a public document and used to underpin local planning and development generally. This process has the support of local and regional authorities.
During 2010 the whole village will be consulted house-by-house through a questionnaire to fully understand the needs of everyone.
What is happening now?
The recent survey also produced a wonderful range of good ideas and positive suggestions. It has become clear that many of the ideas will work best if seen as a partnership between residents and the local authorities. The Steering Committee has decided to implement some of the best suggestions as soon as possible. Our thanks to all those people who have already volunteered to help us. We are also urgently looking for more volunteers who want to get involved with this exciting project. So – if you would like to help make a difference as a volunteer please contact: Lynn Harris, Volunteers Co-ordinator, on 07519791256 or register on the village website.
Please help us – Melbourn needs you!
From County Councillor Susan van de Ven
Telepone 01763 261833 www.susanvandeven.com
The past three months have been busy and challenging, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know new people through issues concerning Melbourn.
Working with the Anti-social Behaviour Problem Solving Group has been very worthwhile, due to the residents and officers who have worked together to come up with constructive ideas. A sense of perspective, and turning problems into opportunities for better communication and better facilities for the village, have been fundamental to our approach. We are still at the work-in-progress stage, but hopefully there will be results to report soon. Back Lane highways issues: I had quite a few representations regarding highways issues associated with two planning applications in Whiting Way. Everyone who got in touch with me about the proposed ambulance station noted their support for accommodating the emergency services. Concern about the safety of pedestrians in nearby residential areas resulted in a helpful suggestion by one of the members of the South Cambs Planning Committee that a liaison group comprising residents and representatives from the Ambulance Station be formed. This idea is drawn from the Barrington Liaison Group which was set up to facilitate communication between the cement factory and local residents, and which was very successful in ensuring that industrial traffic adhered to safest and most sensible routes. I’ve been in touch with the officer who will help to set this up.
In addition to the memory of winter snow and ice is the image of crater-sized pot holes left in their wake. This has been something of a disaster across the county, and one can only wonder what the future holds in store for our very tired and worn out roads. Something residents can always do is to report dangerous pot holes direct to the council – this is the quickest way of getting the problem sorted, and Highways have a statutory duty to fill in dangerous pot holes. You can either call 0345 045 5212 or email street.scene@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Little Lane, Meeting Lane and Except for Access Signs: a visit for a closer look made it obvious just where the missing signs once were, and why it is no longer clear to drivers that these lanes are not intended for through traffic. Highways are coming out for a closer look, and hopefully will agree to replace the missing signs, back in their original locations.
Student rail fares: There is good news to report following on from the December meeting to which I invited our rail operator, First Capital Connect, and Cambridgeshire County Council. FCC agreed to pre-publish a student discount fare, in order to be able to work in tandem with CCC’s budget for student transport subsidies, and hopefully this will make for a clearer system. Meanwhile, CCC agreed that its student transport booklet is difficult to understand and this will be rewritten. Unfortunately, the financial burden of transport to post-16 education is unlikely to be removed, but hopefully it will be eased a little.
At Meldreth Station, FCC came out for a visit and agreed to put in an application to ‘Access for All’ for a wheelchair ramp on the Melbourn side platform – though as ever this is a protracted process. It is important to keep the pressure on for projects people want.
I am sending out a monthly email newsletter with local information and updates to anyone who’d like to receive it – just drop me a line at susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk. Not everyone has email, and if you would like to talk directly about any issue or concern, please give me a ring. Failure of Proposed 20 mph Trial Speed Limit
When parish councillors and I were asked by County Highways for our views on a 20 mph speed limit trial in Melbourn, as an experimental 12-month scheme to be paid for out of
Definitions of a few words clarified and made very clear
COMMITTEE: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together DOCTOR: A person who kills your ills by pills, and may even kill you with his bills CIGARETTE: A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other! MARRIAGE: It’s an agreement wherein a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her master LECTURE: An art of transmitting Information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of students without passing through the minds of either CONFERENCE: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present COMPROMISE: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece TEARS: The hydraulic force by which masculine will power is defeated by feminine water-power! DICTIONARY: A place where divorce comes before marriage CONFERENCE ROOM: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on CLASSIC: A book which people praise, but never read SMILE: A curve that can set a lot of things straight! OFFICE: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life ETC: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do EXPERIENCE: The name men give to their Mistakes ATOM BOMB: An invention to bring an end to all inventions PHILOSOPHER: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead OPPORTUNIST: A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river OPTIMIST: A person who while falling from the EIFFEL TOWER says midway “SEE I AM NOT INJURED YET!” PESSIMIST: A person who says that O is the last letter in ZERO, Instead of the first letter in OPPORTUNITY MISER: A person who lives poor so that he can die RICH! FATHER: A banker provided by nature CRIMINAL: A guy no different from the other, unless he gets caught BOSS: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early POLITICIAN: One who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence later pre-allocated County funds for five such schemes across Cambridgeshire, there was enthusiasm and eagerness to take the next step of public consultation. 20 mph schemes pioneered in other parts of the country had signalled significant success in creating safer road conditions.
Reluctantly this scheme has had to be abandoned. Two anonymously authored flyers, containing some erroneous information, and objecting to the scheme were distributed around the village, and there were very heated discussions on the new village website.
The majority of objections refer to the lack of police enforcement available to monitor vehicle speeds, and the fact that the restrictions would not apply in areas where the limit is mainly needed, i.e. between Melbourn Science Park and Cherry Park Industrial Estate. Many people doubted the validity of the scheme as the present 30 mph limit is not currently enforced.
I myself feel I can no longer support the scheme.
I’m sure that other councillors representing other villages across Cambridgeshire will concur that speeding traffic is among the main issues raised by residents and parish councils, but rarely are solutions available. Traffic calming measures cost money which the County Council has less and less of. Police enforcement of speed limits is extremely difficult at best, due to a thinly spread and understaffed police force throughout the county. Parish councils generally make regular requests for speed limit reductions, which Highways say it cannot grant, for a variety of reasons involving legal, policy and financial constraints.
To end on a positive note, I would like to express a huge thanks to the parish council and to residents for their willingness to consider and discuss this matter. Adopting a pioneering role is not easy and I hope that the steps we have taken collectively will contribute useful knowledge to the introduction of future speed limit reduction schemes elsewhere.
Melbourn Village Plan
We need a LOGO!
Can you design one for us? Then if you LIVE in Melbourn Enter the MVP logo competition Age categories: 4–10 years & 11–16years • First prize and then runner–up prizes in each age category • Closing date 31st March 2010 • Post your entries in the MVP boxes in your school; the library or the post office. • One side of A4 paper with your name, age, address and contact details on the back.
REMEMBER you MUST live in Melbourn to enter!
If you need further information please contact: MVP Community Co-ordinator on: 0774 953 0112 Email: community@villageplan.melbourn.org.uk
