Trading Standards

We are writing to ask you to help bring SuperFast Broadband to Melbourn homes and businesses. We all know the growing importance of broadband to our lives – for business, pleasure and for accessing services. However, the service available to many parts of the village is poor. What can I do to help?

Visit the website www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk where you will be asked your postcode and landline telephone number(s). That’s it! Really? Yes! The purpose of this is to show suppliers such as BT where there is most demand for broadband and it will encourage them to invest here sooner. The more people and businesses who register the faster we will get an upgrade to our service. What if I’m not connected to the Internet? No problem. Paper forms are available at libraries and council offices. Let us know if you would like one.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or comment – we will be delighted to hear from you.

Susan van de Ven County Councillor and Jose Hales District Councillor and Broadband Champion for Melbourn.

CATalyst news

By the time this article is being read CATalyst (Community Action Together) will have held the first of a proposed series of ‘Volunteering Locally’ information drop-in sessions in partnership with Royston Volunteer Centre.

There is always a need for new volunteers, whether it is for one-off events or a regular commitment. At the moment there are two new initiatives that CATalyst is hoping to develop -

WISEArchive is an inter-generational project. It is a webbased archive which records and preserves the working life stories of older people. Volunteer story tellers and collectors are needed locally.

Meet-in-Melbourn. A new networking initiative bringing people together for social activities such as cinema evenings, theatre trips or just a drink in the local pub. For more information please email: dianelou@hotmail.co.uk

LOOK out for forthcoming dates for Table-Top and Car Boot Sales organised by CATalyst and village partners. These will be posted on the village web-site, in the Library, Post Office and other public places. New volunteers always welcomed to help with these events. CATalyst 0774 953 0112 CommunityActionTogether@hotmail.co.uk Eat, drink and be merry this Christmas!

As the party season approaches and we stock our cupboards for the festivities, many of us are also watching the pennies. Everybody likes a bargain, especially when there are presents to be bought, journeys to be made and all sorts of other expenses chipping away at the bank balance.

With this in mind, Trading Standards would like to warn readers about the pitfalls of buying alcohol from unconventional sources such as car boot sales, strangers at the pub, workplace or selling from the back of a vehicle or any other unusual sources.

In recent times there has been an increase in the amount of counterfeit and fake alcohol found in the county. Counterfeit alcohol, just like any other counterfeit product, mimics a genuine branded article and tries to pass itself off as the genuine product. Usually the counterfeit product is very convincing and most consumers wouldn’t notice any difference in the packaging.

As well as counterfeit alcohol there are drinks designed to look like new and appealing brands. Often these products do not meet the required legal standards of composition – either having too little or too much of certain required ingredients or featuring ingredients that shouldn’t be present at all. Often these ingredients can be harmful to health.

Indeed, both counterfeit and other fake drinks should be avoided at all costs. They may contain either much more or much less alcohol than stated on the label and than is required by law but worse than this, however, is the fact that many counterfeit and fake drinks contain chemicals that are normally used in products such as cleaning products, antifreeze and screen wash. For example methanol, isopropyl, propan-2-ol, acetone and chloroform are commonly found in illicit alcohol.

Needless to say, these products can be dangerous if consumed and pose a risk to health. For example, people have been known to be sick or suffer dizziness, breathing difficulties, kidney damage, blindness and even death after consuming fake alcohol.

Nobody can tell what’s in a bottle of fake drink and so the risks are unpredictable. The simple message is to not buy or consume any drink of questionable source.

So if you choose to eat, drink and be merry this Christmas, please do so in a way that is safe and doesn’t risk your health or that of your guests.

If you see any alcohol that you suspect to be counterfeit or fake, please contact our partner, Citizens Advice Consumer Service, on 08454 040506. For business advice and support contact 0345 0455206.

CCORRN RePaint

Can you reuse some paint for a good cause

Do you know a local community or sports group, charity or other good cause that needs low cost paint which also is environmentally friendly?

The Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network (CCORRN for short) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that helps keep materials out of landfill for the benefit of the environment, the local community and charities. Its major current project is the Cambridgeshire Community RePaint Scheme.

CCORRN collects unwanted paint, which otherwise would have gone to landfill, from Household Waste Recycling Centres at March, Milton, St. Neots, Thriplow, Wisbech and Witchford and takes it back to the repaint warehouse in March. The paint is then sorted to ensure quality and colour and part-full tins are mixed to make up full containers, which are then provided to people on low incomes and benefits as well as community groups, charities and housing associations at just £1 per litre. Much of this work is done by long-term unemployed volunteers from Seetec, which provides Government funded employment and skills training programmes to help individuals find employment or gain qualifications. The volunteers gain valuable hands on work experience from warehousing to customer service skills through the RePaint Scheme and are able to update their CV and ensure that they have current references to assist them in finding employment.

The Cambridgeshire Community RePaint Scheme was launched in 2011, with the help of the famous Dulux Dog and is supported by Cambridgeshire County Council, waste management company AmeyCespa and a number of localcouncils and companies, including Ridgeons, housing associations and charities. Up to the end of October 2012 it has kept 180,000 litres of paint out of landfill, provided employment for two former Seetec volunteers and the paint has been reused by a range of organisations including March Royal British Legion, Priory Golf Club March, Fossils Galore in March, Benwick Football Club, Waterlees Boxing Club, The Jammin’ Project in Wisbech, West Norfolk MIND, Whittlesey Youth & Community Centre, Cambridge Woman’s Resource Centre and Momentum Arts in Cambridge. Also schools in Bassingbourn, Cambridge, Snettisham and Waterbeach have reused the paint as well as a large number of individuals.

If you need paint for a charity, community project, school or sports club, or simply need to brighten up your home please contact CCORRN on 01354 607667 or email repaint@ ccorrn.org.uk To find out more about CCORRN see their website at www.ccorrn.org.uk

To help pinpoint problems and find practical solutions to reduce anti-social behaviour in the village, Melbourn’s Practical Solutions Group (PSG) has recognised that a less formal and more inclusive approach is required to achieve its aims. This group remains multi-agency, and can work with and include Melbourn residents (young and old). If you are affected by ASB would like to be involved in this worthwhile project then please get in touch by using the contact form at; www.melbourncambridge.co.uk/problemsolving or phone 01763 221323

In Honour of Stupid People

In case you need further proof that the human race is doomed then here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods. On Tesco’s Tiramisu dessert (printed on the bottom) ‘Do not turn upside down’ (well… duh, a bit late?)

On Sainsbury’s peanuts ‘Warning: contains nuts’ (talk about a news flash)

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding ‘Product will be hot after heating’ (..and you thought..?) On a bar of Dial soap ‘Use like regular soap’ (and that would be???)

On some Swanson frozen dinners ‘Serving suggestion: Defrost” (but it is just a suggestion) On packaging for a Rowenta iron ‘Do not iron clothes on body’ (but wouldn’t this save me time?)

On Nytol Sleep Aid ‘Warning: this may cause drowsiness” (…I’m taking this because??) On a Japanese food processor ‘ Not to be used for the other use’ (now I’m really curious) On an American Airlines packet of nuts’ Instructions: open packet, eat nuts’ (and then?)

On a child’s Superman costume ‘Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly’ (I don’t blame the manufacturer I blame the parents for this one) On a Swedish chainsaw ‘Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands’ (Oh my God … was there a lever somewhere?)

Brand new homes to rent as affordable housing or to buy under a shared ownership lease

Hundred Houses Society, in partnership with Iceni Homes and Melbourn Parish Council is developing a small scheme of 13 affordable new homes in Melbourn for people with a local connection. 3 of these homes will be sold under a shared ownership scheme, 1 two bedroom house and 2 three bedroom houses. To rent there will be 3 two bedroom houses and 7 three bedroom houses. Affordable rents will be 80% of a market rent on a fixed term tenancy basis. These properties will be advertised on Homelink 3 months prior to completion www.home-link.org.uk Th e homes will be built on the site of the former police houses and police station.

an artist’s impression of the new homes at melbourn around the community hub

What is shared ownership? Shared ownership helps people who cannot afford to buy a home outright, to purchase a home in stages. Hundred Houses Society owns the freehold of the property and sells a share to you under a shared ownership lease. Initially, you will buy a minimum share of the property (usually 50% but it could be more or less), the actual proportion will be determined after we have carried out an affordability assessment. You will then pay Hundred Houses Society a subsidised rent on the remaining share. The total monthly costs of the mortgage and rent are lower than the cost of a mortgage needed to buy the property outright. After a year you can purchase further shares in the property in tranches of 10%, up to 80%. As you purchase more shares the proportion of rent due to Hundred Houses Society will reduce. How do I apply for Shared Ownership? You need to register with Orbit HomeBuy Agents as follows:

Orbit HomeBuy Garden Court Harry Weston Road Binley Business Park Binley Coventry CV3 2SU Telephone: 0345 8502050 Email: hba@orbit.org.uk Website: www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk

If your application progresses, we will carry out a full assessment of your financial circumstances to check that you can afford the home. You will need to provide us with original documents showing your income, savings, loans and debts and provide information on all your outgoings