From your County Councillor

Some big decisions have been made recently about roads and transport, affecting anyone who drives and anyone who doesn’t – so I will try to encapsulate the changing scene:

A mere £90 million will be spent over the next three years on road and pavement maintenance, but it is difficult to know how much of an impact this will have, bearing in mind that climate conditions play a big role. Whilst this is a massive sum of money, the goal is firstly to prevent further deterioration to a network which has suffered badly through years of underfunding.

A drastic cut is to be made on subsidised bus transport. Essentially it means that most county-supported buses will disappear, and in Melbourn that’s the number 128 connecting Melbourn to Royston – though not until September 2014. The 26 bus is still a commercial service, so is not affected by the cuts, though it’s difficult for any infrequent bus service to thrive. The end result is of huge important to those people who rely on it, whether because they cannot drive or can’t afford to.

Affordable public transport will indeed become increasingly important. I’ve been helping to design a scheme for free transport for young people out of education, employment and training, in order to facilitate access to possible opportunities, though thus far the council administration hasn’t shown much enthusiasm in taking forward the idea. Nevertheless I will be helping with the administration’s coordinating group tasked with looking at alternative transport provision when subsidized buses disappear.

Small fry perhaps, but valuable to know? For anyone aged 15 or under, a return train journey from Meldreth to Foxton is £1.05 at peak time or £1.00 off-peak. This is a good way for young people to move between villages, and possibly cheaper than starting up an engine to drive the same distance. Offpeak, with a 16-25 student rail card, the return fare is £1.35. A Job Centre Plus rail card (yes, this discount is available) buys the journey at £1.05 and £1.00 return, peak/off-peak. The regular adult return is £2.00 and £2.10 peak/off-peak. Also worth knowing that it takes only an hour to cycle to Cambridge – which can be exhilarating! I’ve been liaising regularly with officers to look for funding to upgrade the path alongside the A10 to make the cycle journey a bit more enticing.

Armingford Crescent and Hale Close: the county council owns the track between these two neighbourhoods but had let the maintenance go for years and years – and then suddenly commissioned a morning sweep to clear up brambles and elder and everything other living thing in the middle, with a devastating effect to the landscape. The work was halted mid-way and a meeting between residents and officers was arranged to discuss what steps should take place next. It was agreed that rather than continue on with the clearance work, as the county council would like to do, the council should go back and determine whether its legal rights to the neglected track are in fact intact, which if so would remove the imperative for any further clearance work. The council was also asked to investigate the rights of residents in making good the natural physical borders to their back gardens, demolished by the county’s contractor. Follow-up will be reported once we hear back.

We’re now coming up to two years of ‘official localism’, whereby the county council asks parish councils and local people to take over various public services. It’s important for local people to have a fair say in how their own services are run, but it is not always realistic or fair to ask parishes to take over so much without the necessary funding. Melbourn has been exceptionally energetic and committed to helping out, and really should be proud of what it has achieved with the structures it has created to run a youth club, keep the library going and give it a future, offer lifts through Royston and District Community Transport, and so on.

The county council needs to take care to provide the necessary support at its end. Jose Hales and I have spent a good deal of time prodding behind the scenes.

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if I can help in any way. Susan van de Ven Tel 261833 susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk

Practical Solutions Group

The Melbourn Practical Solutions Group continues to meet every two months, enjoying the hospitality of Melbourn Village College, and we are now standing ready to help out with the implementation of the Village Plan.

Of particular note is a visit we had recently from Michelle Bosworth, the County Council’s advisor for young people not in education, employment or training. There are various things that a community like Melbourn, with so many businesses, can do to help and one is to provide opportunities for training and apprenticeships. The PSG was able to help put Michelle in contact with the Melbourn Business Association with this in mind.

In our regular report from the Police, a number of incidents have taken place in which police were called out to deal with ‘young people who had not made a disturbance’.

We’re aware of the fact that two local services – Pippins Children’s Centre and Melbourn Leisure Centre – provide opportunities for people of different generations to meet and socialize. Pippins has had a difficult funding cut from County Council affecting its ability to do outreach work, and this is particularly unfortunate in an area where bus links are so poor. We will be looking at any opportunities to support both centres. Please do get in touch if you have any ideas you’d like us to help promote.

We are putting together some thoughts for a gardening scheme at Vicarage Close to help define the public path through to the Recreation Ground. We understand that there are some green thumbs at Melbourn Village College and would be delighted to hear from anyone who’d like to get involved. Susan van de Ven