14 minute read
Community matters
Bin Changes for Melbourn
From the 28th February Melbourn’s bin collection day will be Tuesday. Bins will continue to be collected on alternative weeks, black bin emptied one week, blue and green the following week. Bins must be put out for collection by 6 am to avoid missing the collection. See page 38 for details on collections
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Why the changes? In order to save £700,000 over three years, waste collection services for South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City are to be shared.
New bin collection rounds will work across the City and South Cambs boundary, travelling approximately 20,000 fewer miles per year, saving money and reducing traffic and emissions. The savings will help meet some of the Council’s overall targets as the funding received from Government has been cut considerably.
The new rounds mean that changes to collection days will affect most properties.
See South Cambs website for more details www.scambs.gov.uk/bin-changes Telephone 03450 450 063
Melbourn Parish Council
The Parish Council has been planning very carefully what it wants to achieve over the coming year until elections are due in May 2018. Councillors want to make Melbourn Parish Council into a body respected and trusted by residents of Melbourn and also by local communities. How are we going to achieve that? • We are focussing on five areas: • making sure that the Council is run according to the best principles of governance; • financial management; • keeping everyone informed about what the Council is doing and why; • welcoming public participation and debate in shaping Melbourn’s future; and • being a good employer to Council staff. One of the lessons from the turmoil within the Council last year was that the Council was not conducting its business properly. It had not been following the correct procedures in many areas of responsibility. We are looking in depth at how we do things and comparing what we do currently with what is recommended and what is done by other Councils. At the end of this, the way the Council does business should be transformed and Councillors intend to apply for the National Association of Local Councils Quality Award so that we have independent proof that the Council has changed.
Very tight financial management will be needed over several years to ensure that the Council builds up money held in reserve. This is an obligation so that the Council can continue to pay staff and provide services if, for example, there is a delay in receiving its income from South Cambridgeshire District Council. Councillors will be looking at all aspects of the Council’s spending to see where savings can be made, looking at ways of increasing the Council’s income and making sure everything spend provides good value for money.
It is lovely to see so many people still attending Council meetings and taking part in the debates. Being open to scrutiny in this way is such an important means of ensuring that a Council is accountable. Telling people what the Council is doing, showing what we do as Councillors and encouraging participation are the only ways we are going to achieve our aim of having a contested election in May 2018. The Annual Parish Meeting will be held in May and this year Councillors want it to be an event that you will want to come to. We will be presenting the Melbourn Awards for people who have contributed to the community over the last year. So, keep an eye out for a poster asking for nominations.
Having this 2-way conversation with Melbourn provides the Council with a very good idea of what is important to the community, and how you think the Parish Council should be spending money or campaigning on the community’s behalf. At the time of writing, the outcome of the boundary review for Parliamentary constituencies has not been published. However, the Council decided to encourage everyone to make their views known because people came to a meeting and said how unhappy they were with the proposals.
Finally, Councillors and residents depend on our Council employees to keep the Parish running. In return, they deserve to be supported, trained and provided with good working conditions. Tim Stebbing, our litter picker, was featured in the Winter 2016 magazine. But do you know what the other employees do? We will tell you in our Summer 2017 letter. Sarah Adam, Melbourn Parish Clerk Cllr Julie Norman Chair – Melbourn Parish Council
Is there something not working in Melbourn? A faulty streetlight? Grass too long in your local play park? What can you do about it? Report it to the right authority. Don’t worry whether someone else might already have done it – the more times a defect is registered, the more likely something will be done about it! Who should you report it to? For services provided by either the District or County Councils, go straight to the reporting facilities they provide: Road markings and road signs; Pot holes; Street lights For all three, there is one on-line reporting site: www4.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20081/roads_and_pathways/10/ roadworks_and_faults Or contact Cambridgeshire County Council: 0345 045 5212 Bin emptying, breach of planning control; broken street name plate; abandoned vehicle, dog fouling; graffiti; littering Use the following link and chose the correct form: www.scambs.gov.uk/form-type/report-it Or phone the South Cambridgeshire District Council Contact Centre: 03450 450 500
Crime and Antisocial Behaviour To report less urgent crime or disorder, to contact the police with a general enquiry or to speak to a local officer, dial 101. 101 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system is smart and will identify where you are calling from and connect you with the local police for that area.
Parish matters If the service is provided by the Parish Council or you are not sure who to contact, notify the Parish Clerks (Sarah Adam or Claire Littlewood) either by phone (01763 263303 #3) or e-mail (notifications@melbournpc.co.uk). Do not wait until a Parish Council meeting to report a problem.
From January 2016, supporting documents are published at the same time as the meeting agendas, on the Wednesday before the meeting. If you are not able to attend the meeting, please e-mail the Clerks with any comments or questions you would like raised at the meeting.
From County Councillor Susan van de Ven
26 bus – can we have an hourly service back? The reduction of the 26-bus service to two-hourly has concentrated minds on the vital importance of local bus services. Compared with surrounding villages, Melbourn has been lucky in having an hourly service to Cambridge and Royston. This is a big plus for anyone thinking about making their home in Melbourn, and is especially important for anyone with health constraints that make driving impossible, or who depends on using their free bus pass. Train services are great, but mobility difficulties of any sort can be a barrier to getting over the steps at Meldreth Station, and bus passes can’t be used on the train.
The 26 is a commercial service run by a private company – Stagecoach – and the County Council’s only involvement is authorizing bus stops along the public highway. It has always had to compete with the rail line, but still it’s a popular and well-used service. Downgrading it to two-hourly is bad news – this is how bus services dwindle down and disappear. So, we must persuade Stagecoach to reintroduce an hourly service.
I went to visit Stagecoach Manager Andy Campbell, together with representatives of other villages on the route. We asked if Stagecoach would reconsider bringing back an hourly service. The answer was ‘no’ because the service isn’t paying for itself. Andy explained that for passengers travelling with a bus pass, the bus company is reimbursed only 50% of the fare – previously this was set at 75%. We asked what level of ridership increase would be necessary to make an hourly service commercially viable. The answer: about 300 more passengers per day. It costs Stagecoach £150K per year to run one bus; the 26 service on an hourly service needed three buses.
A new idea was raised: what if the 26 route were altered to terminate at Trumpington Park and Ride, running on an hourly basis? Passengers could transfer easily to the Guided Bus for Addenbrooke’s and Cambridge Rail Station, or use the Park and Ride shuttle bus into the city centre. Stagecoach is considering this. If the conclusion is ‘maybe’, then a questionnaire will be circulated to gauge support. So – please watch this space!
Street lights and winter gritting: Last February’s controversial decision to freeze council tax meant that winter gritting routes were reduced and street lights were switched off in the early morning hours – and significantly dimmed at other times. Considering the chaos of replacing most of our street lights in the first place, to then have them switched off was a comic twist. In December, a group of councillors proposed that these decisions should be reversed – with success. So, the gritting routes have now been reinstated, and
Melbourn Parish Council Allotments
We currently have several vacant allotments at The Moor. Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to find out more or have a look around.
the street lights are staying on through the night, and are bright enough to allow people to see. Covering the cost has meant taking from reserves, which is not a sustainable way of paying for things. Long-term funding must be sorted out.
Melbourn Oil Club donation to Home-Start: Every year the Melbourn Division Oil Club, McDoc, receives a rebate from its supplier Agricole Oil, which is donated to a local community group. This year’s rebate of £115 has been donated to Home-Start Royston and South Cambridgeshire, which provides key support at home to young families experiencing crisis.
The idea of the Oil Club is to enable households to access lowest prices on household heating oil, through bulk buying. There is no joining fee, and no obligation for repeat orders. You simply make a call to the supplier when you want to place an order.
Our local Home-Start says that the most commonly identified needs are parent isolation and parental mental health problems. Most of its work is carried out by volunteers, and the overall service is recognised in Cambridgeshire County Council’s care plan – but central government cuts to local authorities mean that the councils are no longer able to give financial support.
To place an order via the Melbourn Oil Club, please ring Jeremy Cole on 01954 719 452 / 07860 904 045.
Drainage Action Group and public information evening: The County Council does a fair bit of good drainage maintenance work in parts of Melbourn, but more attention is needed. To maximize opportunities, a Drainage Action Group is being set up. This will work with County Highways officers on sharing local knowledge about problem areas, and also, sharing good prevention information with the local community. If you’d like to know more, all welcome to a public information meeting which has been organized for 22 March, 7:30PM, in the meeting room upstairs at the Melbourn Hub. If you’d like to join the Action Group, which will be set up as a Parish Council working party, please contact me. I’ve offered to coordinate this effort in my County Council representative role.
New path connecting Melbourn with Frog End A10: If you’ve been following the story, you’ll be familiar with the strange world of local government finance in which we suffer from a lack of funding to pay for regular services, but benefit from one-off grants for unique projects to get off the ground.
The government has been giving grants for new walking and cycle paths that help people to make short journeys without a car. The idea is to reduce vehicle traffic problems and improve people’s health through better physical fitness. Public health experts tell us that physical inactivity at any age contributes to significantly poorer health, and that one in five children are now obese at the time they start school.
The grants that have been successfully drawn in to create a network of paths along the A10 connecting us northward to Cambridge include the stretch nearing completion between the Frog End junction at Shepreth and the entrance to Melbourn near the Science Park.
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The A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign has been working with Melbourn Science Park tenant AstraZeneca, which has kindly agreed to provide a sponsored maintenance plan for the whole of the A10 path network. This is about to kick off. And Melbourn Science Park itself will create a dedicated cyclist entrance to the site, saying that it will be able to increase jobs due to less pressure on car parking spaces.
To mark the opening of the new path there will be a walk and ride in March, followed by refreshments at Wyevale Garden Centre – exact date and details to be announced. All welcome.
Additionally, the annual A10 Awareness Ride will take place on May 7, starting at Trumpington Park and Ride and finishing at Phillimore Garden Centre for refreshments.
All details will be publicized at a10corridorcycle.com. Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group: This group has been going since 2010 and is set up to lobby for improvements to rail services. We have good regular communication with the train operating company, Govia Thameslink Railway, and there is a constant stream of issues that need addressing.
The group meets next on March 14, 7 for 7:30-9:00PM at Shepreth Village Hall. If you value the rail service on our doorstep and would like to learn more, please come along – everyone’s help needed!
Meldreth Station Booking Office: Thanks to all who’ve been in touch about frequent random closures at Meldreth Station Booking Office. This is a big worry and Govia Thameslink Railway has not been forthcoming with helpful ideas. While our booking office was spared in the most recent round of cuts, other stations including Royston have had opening hours reduced. This has resulted in various staff reconfigurations, and mixing of part-time roles. So while temporary staff are on duty at Meldreth, the cover clearly isn’t sufficient to keep the office open as normal. I’ve asked why if they would consider recruiting locally for what would be an attractive part-time job – but clearly they want to keep the role in house. Meanwhile, please do let me know if you find the office closed when it should be open – we must keep the pressure on.
Get involved in station gardening: The Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership has teams of local people who look after the platform gardens at each station. Twice per year the tubs are replanted for the new season, and if we’re lucky, Scouts or Duke of Edinburgh Scheme volunteers help us out with keeping the tubs watered and looking good. At the December Rail User Group meeting, British Transport police attended to update us on their work and said that crime and anti-social behaviour rates at our stations are about a quarter of what they would expect at comparable stations. They believe that well-tended environments, established firstly by the presence of flower tubs, are part of the reason why.
Platform lengthening work is about to begin at all three stations, and some of the flower tubs have been suffering from the elements and need replacing. We’ve recently received a grant from the Association of Community Rail Partnerships to replace the tubs with a weather-proof synthetic variety (that look nice). The plan is to relaunch the gardens with the new tubs, when platform lengthening work is completed.
Melbourn to A10 foot and cycleway update
Work on the new foot and cycleway linking Melbourn to the A10 is progressing well and the new path is scheduled to be completed and opened in March.
This new route will provide links to key employment sites, such as Melbourn Science Park and Sagentia, local businesses on Cambridge Road, railway stations and further into Cambridge. The new and improved path will be mostly separate from motor traffic, and therefore be safe and enjoyable for all.
The Greater Cambridge City Deal is investing in transport infrastructure that makes it easier for people to travel between home and places of work or study using sustainable modes of transport to reduce congestion and strengthen the local economy.
