feature - Memories of the Mel

Chris Thomas

Cambridge Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

Carpet and upholstery cleaner based in Cambridge. Working in and around Cambridge, Royston, Saffron Walden, Newmarket and Huntingdon.

•Carpet cleaning using Dry Fusion™ system • Hot water extraction cleaning • Host® Dry Cleaning for natural floor coverings • Stain treatment • Upholstery cleaning using Crystal Fusion™ • Curtains cleaned in situ • • Infestation treatment Odour neutralisation using ozone generator

Competitively priced Fully insured with public and product liability Environmentally-friendly products used Mobile: 07830 227138 Landline: 01223 836002 email: christhomascleaning@gmail.com www.carpetcleaningcambridgeuk.com

southcambsmotors@btconnect.com feature

Memories of the Mel

Recently local residents shared their experiences of the Mel River when it seemed to have been much more active than it is now. Chris Duguid exclaimed “this was our playground”! Many of the other participants also remembered happy hours playing in and around the Mel. Elizabeth Williams provided a photograph (below right) of her daughter in the river and a lot of others remembered swimming in it, especially enjoyable when there was a very hot summer, like 1976, when areas of the Mel dried up (as the upper stretches did in 2012).

Barbara Harding described a large tree on the recreation ground in Melbourn which was a favourite spot for children to climb on and jump either into the water or onto the other bank. However, she said “I never did it; it was only the boys”. Molly Chamberlain remembered trying to float down the river in a galvanised bath, but unfortunately it had too many holes! Someone else described how they had travelled from Sheene Mill to Topcliffe mill on two oil drums tied together. Chris Duguid told of her adventures “paddling on tyres from the bottom of Woolpack Way, and you could get quite a long way up towards The Court (The Court is a large house near the stocks in Meldreth). The river always seemed to be wider and deeper when I was a child”. There were other descriptions of using a variety of materials to ‘boat’ along the river including a story that the Roberts used to canoe in the river near to the junction with the Rhee.

Someone described how a former owner of The Bury would make Papier‑mâché boats which he floated on the lake for his children and their friends. There are pictures in the Melbourn History books of boats on this lake in the past (and also at The

Court in Meldreth). They remind us of a more leisured past with ladies reclining under elegant parasols.

People remembered fishing off the bridges on the river and in local ponds. Some even remembered catching eels. They used jam jars, nets and bent pins on string from sticks. Nets could be bought from the post office in Melbourn. Barbara Harding said, “I used to ask my mum for a penny to go and buy a net to enjoy myself at the river”.

Apparently at Bury Farm they once sealed off their stretch of river with chicken wire and stocked it with rainbow trout. However, the Royston paper then published a small ad saying, ‘fishing for free in Melbourn’ and the trout were soon gone! Trout were also introduced at Sheene Mill before it became a restaurant. Boys would catch and sell them locally.

Flooding was a problem related to the river, particularly where Station Road turns the corner by Sheene farm. Mr Joseph Andrew Pepper of Orchard Cottage, Station Road was badly affected on a number of occasions. Jenny Pollock has provided a very interesting set of documents collected by her grandfather, Cyril Hagger, when he was chairman of Melbourn Parish Council in the 1950s. He tried to find a solution to the flooding and drew up a plan for a re alignment of the river. The County Council provided a summary to the local MP (who had also taken up the issue) of 124 letters and reports that they had accumulated since 1930. The problem was diagnosed as being due to the fact that when the mills closed down the mill owners no longer maintained the river course. Also, osier (willow) beds and water meadows were no longer maintained. The riparian owners (those owning land on the banks) were reluctant to take on the responsibility. During the second world war it was proposed that prisoners of war should do the clearing (as they had during the first world war). However, this was turned down as it would relieve the riparian owners of their responsibility. Funding solutions ranged between the river coming under the control of the River Great Ouse Catchment Board (but then the river would have to become a ‘main’ River) or a proposal that a Drainage Board be set up (but the area was considered to be too small). The War Agricultural Executive Committee was heavily involved in discussions with the County Council due to complaints from the farmers. I think the problem was only solved when the river levels fell with increased abstraction for housing, although there may have been some straightening, by what is now the recreation ground, in the late 1950s.

Fields around the river were also a lot wetter before new drainage systems were introduced associated with the bypass. The wetter fields were an inheritance from the water meadows (introduced in the 17th century). These were areas that would have been regularly flooded in the winter bringing deposits of silt onto the pastures to enhance fertility and produce more grass for grazing. The Meads, near the station, were always wet and only used for grazing.

We are extremely fortunate that the River Mel Restoration Group have done such an excellent job of maintenance over the last ten years so that villagers and visitors can still enjoy the abundance of wildlife and plants that inhabit our own, very special, chalk stream.

If anyone has any memories that they would like to share or comments on the flooding problem I would be very interested to hear them. Please contact me on 01763 232855 or by email on brucehuett@compuserve.com.

The reminiscences were captured as part of the Waterlight film project which has received funding from Melbourn and Meldreth Parish Councils, for which we are very grateful.

A version of this article appeared in Meldreth Matters in June 2018 Bruce Huett Photographs from the Melbourn History Collection.

is passionate about the village you live in, wants to see tax‑payers money spent responsibly, cares about future development and facilities, and wants to try and make a real difference to the community that your Council represents, then why not apply? Simon Crocker Parish Clerk to the Parish Council Telephone 01763 263303 parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

From District Councillors Philippa Hart and Jose Hales

In May, the District boundaries changed for all electoral wards across South Cambs with a reduction in councillors from 57 to 45, the Melbourn ward now covers Melbourn, Meldreth, Shepreth and Whaddon villages.

We are both delighted to have been re‑elected in May and representing you as your District Councillors across this new ward. Following the election and the new administration that now runs SCDC, both Philippa and Jose have been given additional roles. Philippa is now the Customer Service and Business Improvement Portfolio Holder and Jose is the chair of the Grants advisory committee.

Alongside County Councillor Susan van de Ven, much work has been done by us with the Highways department to address the nasty pothole situation and significant progress has been made with some of the roads worst affected having been repaired since May. The programme of work continues.

South Cambs District Council drafted a local plan some years back to determine its house building programme needs across all villages up to 2031 but has not to date been signed off by the Planning Inspectorate. The absence of an approved local plan has exposed villages to speculative development, the 199 houses’ now being built in New Rd and the 23 down The Moor are a case in point. Following a letter sent to the inspectorate in early May, SCDC received in early July a reply stating that the plan was going through “fact checking”. It’s anticipated that the Inspectorate could sign off the plan around late summer and this should finally protect our villages from further speculative bids.

Residents may recall that TTP (The Technology Partnership) situated at the Cambridge end of the village, have submitted a planning application to extend their site. There was a presentation to the Parish Council back in early July and a public exhibition in the Hub on the 10th July. The latter was well attended by members of public with a large team from TTP to answer any questions. Jose attended the consultation and spoke to a number of people who were raising points.

You may have seen the mini road sweeper vehicle in action around Melbourn recently. The sweeper vehicle is supplied by South Cambs District Council and is operated by local trained volunteers. This initiative gives the community the flexibility to carry out their own street cleansing as required, in addition to the programmed cleansing delivered by South Cambs. You will often see ‘Melbourn’s own’ Tim Stebbings operating the sweeper, our gratitude goes to him.

The large ‘Celebrating ages’ events have been led by Jose since 2013, these bring together older and younger generations. Some 1600 guests have enjoyed the events since its conception which indicates just how well received and popular it is. The next event is planned for late November. Contact Jose for further details.

We are both very involved in local planning matters and are keeping a close eye on the village development work already underway.

It Starts With You

Our local Healthwatch in Cambridgeshire is launching their ‘It Starts With You’ campaign to encourage more people to share their experiences of using local health and care service.

The campaign will run to September 2018 and will tell the stories of local people who are helping to improve the services we all use.

Last year, Jason, who is Deaf told us about visiting A&E and not getting a British Sign language Interpreter for over 7 hours even though he had a serious lung condition. Thanks to Jason and other people who shared their experience, we are challenging the local NHS to do better for disabled people.

Have you got a story to share? Tell us about your experiences and ideas to help services understand what works, what doesn’t and what you want from care in the future.

No matter how big or small the issue, tell us about it. If it matters to you then it’s very likely it matters to someone else.

Sharing your opinions with Healthwatch is quick and easy and could make a big difference. Tell us what you think and help make care better for you, your family and community.

Volunteer as a Community Listener and help us find out what people who live locally think about their health and care services. You will get training, support and out of pocket expenses.

Call our free Information Service if you have a question about local health or care services and need some help with what to do next. You can contact us on: Call us on 0330 355 1285 or text 0752 0635 176 www.healthwatchcambridgeshire.co.uk

We will continue to assist individual local residents with a variety of issues.

We look forward to representing our wonderful community over the coming years. Philippa and Jose Contact us on Philippa – philippajoyhart@gmail.com – 07811 323571 Jose – josehales@gmail.com – 07703 262649

From County Councillor Susan van de Ven

Question to County Council. I’ve submitted this formal question to the council’s July meeting, following a local resident complaint about the County Council’s rejection of his compensation claim: “Given the state of ‘managed decline’ of the County Highway network, which is reflected in the dramatic jump in numbers of pot holes reported and compensation claims made thus far in 2018, should the County Council be reviewing and increasing its network inspection schedules?” NHS Funding Boost and us. Recently there was a national announcement of an NHS funding boost. I’ve queried whether this would offer some relief to the County Council’s Public Health budget – Public Health responsibilities now sitting with local authorities. It would appear that the NHS funding boost excludes Public Health, so our task will be to find about £700K in ‘savings,’ also called ‘disinvestments,’ for 2019–20. This affects the delivery of public health contracts in our community. Of course, we try to identify waste and save money that way, but after so many years the reality now is increased ‘targeting’ – deploying funds to the most extreme need first. Police community support, in response to local rise in crime. The Neighbourhood Police Panel meetings no longer exist, and policing is clearly being done in a ‘new way.’ South Cambs now has one police station, which is located in Cambourne and is closed Tuesday‑Sunday. Opening hours are Monday 10–3. The phone number is 101.

Anyone on the Ecops mailing list will have noticed the rise in reported incidents of crime in South Cambs villages over the months. I’ve been personally contacted by the victims of two local violent assaults this past spring, both concerned about lack of visible police presence in the villages. Other councillors in other South Cambs villages have also raised concerns. I’ve asked for a briefing to answer residents’ concerns and have been offered a meeting in early August. I would hope that widespread concerns will result in positive change; we’ll have to wait and see. Trains. It’s a given that our community is largely built up around the availability of rail services; the importance of the May timetable failure cannot be overstated. The Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group meeting at the Melbourn Hub on 27th June was attended by about 70 people. While it provided none of the answers we wanted (when will things get better; how will the range of rightful compensation due be properly addressed), it was important in keeping our three stations on the radar of all those in positions of responsibility. For all updates please see Meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk Children’s Centre Changes. At the time of writing in July, I still have no firm detailed information to pass on. Drop-in advice surgeries. Please feel free to bring us your questions and concerns: with District Council colleagues, I am at the Melbourn Hub on first Mondays of the month, 3–4pm. Occasionally we need to switch days around – unfortunately 3rd September is one we can’t make, so please get in touch by phone or email. Otherwise back 1st October. Susan van de Ven, susanvandeven5@gmail.com, Telephone07905325574

The Fall

(From the point of view of a leaf!) Floating through space, falling, falling: Cut off; broken; abandoned; let go and helpless, Falling to touch a new Universe Alien and uncomfortable to my lofty senses. I am dying, my veins are shrivelling. I am shivering, Separated from the entity That no longer needs me, the organic lung. I have played my part. In my dying moment My purpose now to be a chameleon: Change my colour; say goodbye; Show a see-through pattern of lace, Baring the structure of my soul. Unhinged. Unfastened. Set free. At the mercy of whirling force, Nibbling teeth, And wetness, decay, Elimination and death. But that death will not be in vain; I return to beginnings, to succour new life again. Yvonne Chamberlain