No dearth of the salt in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Council's gritting teams are geared up and ready to go for the winter season – whatever the weather brings. A fleet of 39 specialist gritters – six of them newly acquired for this season – and their team of around 100 highly trained drivers are ready to hit the road loaded with some of the 10,000 plus tonnes of salt which is stockpiled at depots around the county.
Gritting runs are triggered automatically by sophisticated weather monitoring equipment which alerts Highways chiefs when temperatures are expected to fall below freezing – on some occasions the fleet will carry out three runs within a 24 hour period when weather conditions and temperatures are particularly bad. In addition, specialist brine spraying equipment mounted on a four-wheel drive quad bike will again be available to treat harder-to-reach foot and cycle paths in Cambridge and backpack sprayers will be used to 'spot' treat other areas as necessary, including 11 foot and cycle bridges in Cambridge.
Treatment runs cover a network of primary routes across Cambridgeshire designed to keep commuter and passenger transport traffic flowing with secondary routes covered when resources allow. Salt bins, which are kept stocked by the County Council, are also available to local parishes and the county council works in partnership with the district councils to try to ensure maximum treatment of winter-weather affected areas.
Local County Councillor John Reynolds, said: "We have done everything we can within the resources available to us to ensure we are as prepared as possible for the winter weather,whenever it arrives.
"We have top quality equipment, full stocks of salt and a highly trained and dedicated team of drivers and support staff who will do all they can to ensure that the community and business are kept on the move when bad weather hits – but I would remind all road users and pedestrians that they also have a responsibility to take care and to keep traffic moving by taking account of the conditions and by avoiding any unnecessary accidents caused by inappropriate driving or speed."
Going for gold: the Olympic heritage of Cambridge
From the stories of Fen Sporting Champions to the development of hi-tech sporting equipment, Cambridge has many local stories which link to the spectacle of Olympic and Paralympic Games. Thanks to a grant of £43,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, local people from across the city and beyond can explore their links to our sporting heritage.
The launch of the Cambridgeshire Competes project took place at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge on 27 September.
The British Number One Javelin Thrower Goldie Sayers talked about memories of past competitions and her feelings about competing in the 2012 London Olympics. She will also offer advice to young hopefuls. Young Paralympic goalball player Georgina Bullen was identified by GB coaches as a Paralympic talent in 2008.
Councillor Martin Curtis, who leads on the Olympics at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "Cambridgeshire Competes will help encourage pride in our local sporting achievements, generate local support for the Olympics and hopefully inspire young people to develop an interest in competing.”
Roy Swanston, Committee Member for the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "As the race to the Olympic and Paralympic begins to quicken, I am pleased to help launch this exciting project. Our sporting heritage is so important and through archives and other historic material, people can share their memories of games gone by and future generations will have a clear record of how celebrated our success in 2012."
The project will create an exhibition trail across the county using inspiring collections from museums to explore local champions and heroes, and provide insights into different aspects of the Olympic story. The story of the classical Olympics will be told at the University Museum of Classical Archaeology by selected plaster casts from the collections. Cambridgeshire Competes is a partnership between museums and sports centres across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For further information please contact Gary Hughes, County Sports Development Officer on 01223 715479, go to the Cambridgeshire Competes webaite.
NB Goldie Sayers is originally from Newmarket. She got into athletics at The King School Ely where she was a fantastic all round sportswoman and scored in excess of 100 hockey goals in five years for the 1st XI; Georgina Bullen made her debut in 2009 at the European Championships where she scored a goal in her first game.
Emerging library vision agreed
An emerging vision to design a twenty first century library service to suit the varied needs of communities has recently been agreed by Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet. The vision to make libraries community hubs builds on the extensive public consultation and uses ideas put forward by residents, local library groups and in light of new Government guidance.
It is proposed that no community will lose access to library services but changes may be made in the way they are currently delivered. Some communities may even get better access than they currently have. Cambridgeshire's library service will be a pioneer for modern, innovative and local public services in every community. Work already carried out with 13 libraries across Cambridgeshire will be used as pilots to show what changes or support can be achieved with the county council working with local communities.
The Council will also look at whether other council services and even local business or community facilities such as Post Offices could share buildings making them real community hubs. Already new libraries such as at Ramsey are being used by a range of pubic and private agencies as well as providing rooms for communities to use.
Moving to shared premises has the potential of saving the council money from its overall budget as well as joining up services and creating income. This could also give the potential of putting library services in places that currently don't have them. Ideas such as shared services across Councils, use of volunteers, staff restructuring and self service will continue to go forward. Members agreed that plans for a Charitable Trust should no longer go forward due to recent changes in Government guidance in how councils could now benefit from national Non Domestic Rates.
Cambridgeshire County Councillor David Harty, Cabinet Member for Learning and Libraries, said: "Like our communities we want to protect our library services and make sure they are fit for the twenty first century.
"Our ideas will mean services in the future will be accessed by communities in more places, at more times and in more ways. We will create true community hubs. Every community will continue to have access to library services. We will work with individual communities to design with them and create a truly twenty first century service. I want to praise the work of the 13 libraries who have already come up with ideas and shown how we can work together for the good of the local library service.
"We are being innovative with services sharing facilities as well as looking in a commercial way at all the possibilities. We have already seen Post Office, doctors and other councils share our library facilities and believe this is a model that could be rolled out across Cambridgeshire. But to do this we will be talking to communities to see what they want and how this can be delivered. This could mean that services are delivered from completely different or even brand new buildings but this will be decided by residents. Library services will be tailored by local communities for their own needs.
"Borrowing ideas from the commercial sector the council will also look at different sized libraries to suit community needs. This will be much like major High Street retailers who have a range of stores depending on the communities they are serving."
Recycle your rigid plastic with us
Residents can now recycle rigid plastics as part of a new recycling scheme being launched across all of Cambridgeshire County Council's nine Household Recycling Centres. The new scheme is being introduced after feedback from residents who said they wanted more opportunities to recycle bigger, bulkier plastics which have come to the end of their useful life. This includes rigid plastics such as corrugated pipe, buckets, dustbins, water butts, garden furniture, plant pots, and non-electrical children's toys. However, materials such as plastic bottles, yoghurt pots, ice cream tubs, PVC pipes and UPVC door and window frames are not suitable.
The County Council, in partnership with Waterbeach-based waste management company AmeyCespa, successfully trialled the new scheme earlier this year at Milton and Grunty Fen recycling centres. The trial netted nearly 27 tonnes of rigid plastics in three months. All of the rigid plastics collected were sent for recycling to a local company, Data Shredders, which is based in Wimblington near March.
Councillor Mathew Shuter, Cabinet Member for Enterprise at Cambridgeshire County Council said: "We are really pleased to be able offer Cambridgeshire residents this new recycling service. This new service will help to recycle as much as 500 tonnes of rigid plastics a year which means we can save over £27,000 in landfill tax annually. We can then invest this money in important services for the local community."
"The success of the trial collections were due to the fact that our recycling centres staff have been trained as to which rigid plastics are suitable for recycling, so they can sort these materials out from other waste and put them into the recycling banks. The recycling industry only wants specific types of rigid plastics and we were able to supply them with high quality material, which has meant they have asked if we can supply them with more. We will maintain this procedure when the scheme expands to all nine household recycling centres.
"We would ask members of the public who take rigid plastics to any of the recycling centres to keep the material separate from other waste and inform our site staff they have these types of plastic. Our staff will then ensure the plastics are placed into the recycling containers, so we can maintain the high quality of plastics collected."
The Household Recycling Centres in Cambridgeshire are managed by AmeyCespa as part of its multimillion 28 year waste management contract with the County Council.
For more information about what can be recycled at your local recycling centre, go to www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/recycling and follow the links.
Leaders give broadband backing for greater good of Cambridgeshire
Council leaders across Cambridgeshire have backed plans to use money clawed back from Government to bring super-fast broad band to the county for the greater good of communities. Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet has agreed the plans to use around £4 million of the Local Public Service Agreement money to bring super-fast broadband to the majority of the County.
Originally Government were holding onto this money which had been gained by local public services meeting tough targets. But after a campaigning local councils managed to get the Government to hand it back. Unfortunately in the meantime, many of the projects it had been earmarked for had either been stopped or not even started making it difficult to share out the rest.
Cambridgeshire County Council and District Council Leaders from Huntingdonshire, Fenland, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire have agreed the rest should go to the broadband project. The move is also supported by Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Cambridgeshire NHS.
The remaining £460,000 will be spread between the district and city councils as well as Cambridgeshire Police and NHS Cambridgeshire to be used in their areas.
Bringing super-fast broadband to Cambridgeshire would help encourage business and link isolated communities as well as having the potential of supporting people in their own homes.
Local County Councillor John Reynolds, said: "I am pleased that the majority of councils and public bodies across Cambridgeshire could come together and find a way to spend this money that will do the most good for all our communities. It is what residents expect of their councils. "Better broadband is vital for Cambridgeshire. It brings business, jobs and therefore opportunities and better quality of living. In turn this means less strain on our support services and charities freeing up their resources to deal with the most needy."
"The term Silicon Fen has often been used to describe our area as it fosters new technology, ideas and innovation. Super fast broadband will push this forward, putting our region in an excellent position to help drive growth and economic activity in the UK. We should not forget the impact this will have in rural areas that you find in parts of East Cambridgeshire - isolated communities, businesses and residents will be able to become part of the future rather than feeling left behind."
Huntingdonshire District Council Executive Leader, Jason Ablewhite, said: "Using this money to bring super-fast broadband to the majority of the county which includes Huntingdonshire would be a huge step towards achieving what we need in terms of broadband delivery. Broadband is described as the fourth utility, an essential requirement for modern living and we recognise the importance of access to digital services and the expected benefits it provides."
* BT has announced that Cherry Hinton and Histon are the latest places included in the company's £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre broadband. It will take the number of Cambridgeshire homes and businesses being passed by the new super-fast network to more than 153,500. The County Council Cabinet has agreed to invest in super-fast broad band for Cambridgeshire as part of a drive to encourage business and enterprise as well as the prosperity of communities.
Cambridgeshire County Council Leader, Nick Clarke, said: "Broadband is already an essential of life and improvements to local infrastructure which help deliver faster broadband speeds can only benefit businesses and homes. “Cambridgeshire needs to be open for business; coupled with our own investment in superfast broadband, BT's announcement is another important step in the right direction." The latest upgrades are due to be completed by Autumn 2012.
Have your say on bus changes in Cambridgeshire
Residents and bus users are being asked to have their say on proposed reductions to subsidised services and the introduction of more locally targeted initiatives. The public consultation, which is also asking various interest groups and bus users to comment, is part of the Council's overall budget planning process.
The County Council's Cabinet has agreed that a review of last year's budget decision to cut the £2.7 million that is currently spent on subsidising bus journeys in Cambridgeshire over the next four years should take place.
It also agreed the Cambridgeshire Future Transport project should go forward. This could see £34 million spent by different public services on supported transport combined and used to create better targeted local services, designed with the help of communities. The project looks to find alternative and more community-led solutions to providing transport to meet local needs and mitigate changes made to subsidised bus services where possible.
Letters are going out to interested groups and local councils as well as posters on buses encouraging people to have their say. An online questionnaire is available at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/busreview.
The majority of bus services in Cambridgeshire (about 80%) are provided by commercial operators without subsidy. However, the County Council subsidises some bus services which bus operators are unable to operate on a commercial basis.
In the future, this may not be possible due to reduced overall grants to councils from Government and increased costs of services. The County Council needs to make cumulative savings of around £540 million over the next five years and some of these savings have to come from the transport budget.
This review is being carried out as part of the council's budget planning process, ensuring the authority consults widely and seek views on not only the principle of making the cuts but also on the impact of specific route changes. The Council is also looking back at the routes that have already been cut, gathering feedback on how this has impacted communities in these areas.
Alongside this work, the Council is working hard with operators, community transport providers, local councils and businesses as part of the groundbreaking Cambridgeshire Future Transport project.
This aims to look at innovative ways of providing transport and to focus this more on community and local needs. This could be through the expansion of community transport or developing completely new forms of demand-led transport.
Local County Councillor John Reynolds, said: "Your views are an important part of this process to help us decide on how we implement the financial savings and where possible find local solutions. We urge people to have their say so we can plan properly and design new transport initiatives to help meet the needs of our communities."
The closing date for responses to the questionnaire is 4.00pm on Friday 9 December 2011.
Paper copies of the questionnaire are available by:
- By email bus.tenders@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, By telephone 0345 045 0675.
- By post Cambridgeshire County Council, CC1301, Castle Court, Shire Hall, Cambridge CB3 0AP.
Communities put in the hot seat to shape services and priorities
Communities are being put at the heart of shaping County Council services and priorities as part of the most comprehensive budget consultation seen in Cambridgeshire.
Residents views are vital in making sure Cambridgeshire County Council services and priorities reflect what communities feel are important.
The Council has to make some £540 million in cumulative savings over the next four years. The council has already set a five year Integrated Plan for the budget which left the last three years as initial proposals subject to change.
The consultation will look at how the current Integrated Plan can be improved to match the needs of local communities and changes in Government guidance.
The Council is also asking people's views on investing in areas such as community transport, highways maintenance, action to try and prevent future needs for social care and the creation of community hubs where local services, such as libraries, can be accessed in one place.
A face-to-face survey has begun across the County which will provide an in-depth analysis of resident's preferences on where to invest and where to save taxpayers money. This will engage with almost double the number of people it did last year. There will also be special workshops for interest and hard to reach groups.
An online consultation is also available at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/budgetconsultation and a special helpline has been set up for those with visual impairment on 0345 045 5213.
As before, the Council is putting members of the public in the hot seat like a councillor having to make decisions about the budget. The consultation asks residents to allocate money to services and produce a balanced budget. It takes about 20 minutes to complete.
The consultation will look at all aspects of the Council's services as well as new initiatives such as providing more targeted local transport through the Cambridgeshire Future Transport scheme.
From this the Council can see what people's priorities and shape services accordingly.
Cambridgeshire County Councillor Mac McGuire, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, said: "This is the largest public consultation we have carried out in recent years. The views of communities are vital in shaping services. We have deliberately started earlier so we can fully assess people's views as part of the budget setting process. We are building on the budget exercise carried out last year so we can shape future years and properly plan services and how they may transform. We are a new leadership team and we want to take into account new ideas and initiatives.
"The consultation puts residents in the place of a councillor and some of the difficult decisions we have to make. This year we are also investigating people's views on the Council investing in large scale projects that could improve the quality of life for residents and deliver initiatives quickly that our communities want and need."
The consultation closes on October 7 and the findings made public in December.
Going places Cambridgeshire ready for growing places fund
Cambridgeshire is ready to do its bit to help communities in the Local Enterprise Partnership benefit from a newly announced half a billion pound fund aimed at kick starting the economy. Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the new £500 million Growing Places Fund will create jobs and deliver key infrastructure.
Although the fine details of the fund have not been released the treasury say LEPS, such as the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership are eligible to bid for the funding. It is recognised that Cambridgeshire's economic success could help kick start the national economy.
Local County Councillor John Reynolds, said: "This is brilliant news and Cambridgeshire is ready to join with its partners in the LEP to bid for the funding. We are already looking at bringing super-fast broadband to the County as well as investing in schemes such as the Ely rail crossing bringing more business opportunities and growth for our communities.
“Our LEP has done a great job in securing a local enterprise zone at Alconbury and Cambridgeshire will support it in bidding for these newly announced funds once we have seen the detail. Cambridgeshire is open for business and the more we invest in encouraging employment the better the quality of life is for our residents. More importantly we want Government to know Cambridgeshire is a good place to invest in as our county is well placed to help drive forward the national economy."
Extra support for families with multiple problems
Cambridgeshire has applied to be in the next round of pilot areas focussing on how to help families across the county with multiple problems.
The County Council has agreed to work with the Government to be a pilot area for Community Budgets (Families with Multiple Problems).
The pilot will build on the Family Intervention Project (FIP) already in place, and will focus on addressing the needs of families who cause expenditure across a range of public sector organisations, and whose problems are multi-faceted and entrenched.
Cambridgeshire has continued to support intensive work with families who may have a range of problems which need a range of solutions. The County Council made the decision at the beginning of the year to continue to invest in intensive family intervention services as a priority, recognising the need to support these families in order to improve their outcomes. The Council is currently consulting on what this investment should look like in the future.
By supporting a coordinated multi-agency approach to problem solving alongside the family it is hoped greater potential costs to a range of public sector agencies will be avoided in the future.
This work is now being taken forward at a County level with partners, with discussions between the County Council, Police, City and District Councils and Health taking place to look at what opportunities there may be to work differently and more jointly with some of the most troubled families in Cambridgeshire.
The Family Intervention Project is part of a range of evidence based programmes provided by the Council and other partners to work with families who need it. It will continue to support the work of the redesigned children's social care workforce. It also forms part of the work the Council is doing to support working with families before problems become critical.
As part of the next round of Local Authorities piloting Community Budgets for Families with Multiple Problems, the partnership work which has started in Cambridgeshire around the family intervention services can be expected to gain momentum.
Local County Councillor John Reynolds, said: "I am delighted we have agreed to put our name forward for this worthwhile project. It could open opportunities to be linked into a national network of other partners who are already engaged in setting up and running community budgets. Most importantly, it will enable us to build on the good work we have already started to help those families who need it most."
Trading Standards take charitable approach to helping homeless people
More than £10,000 worth of fake designer clothing and donated food has been handed over to homeless people thanks to the work of Cambridgeshire Trading Standards and charity His Church. County Council Trading Standards Officers seized thousands of pieces of fake designer clothing, fashion and music items -,which had they been genuine would have been worth around £50,000 - in raids on fraudulent traders operating in Cambridgeshire.
The seized items are given to the His Church Charity where they are de-branded and have the charity's logo added before being handed over to worthy causes - the latest batch of clothing was given to Wintercomfort which supports homeless people in and around Cambridge.
In addition, a pallet loaded with food donated by major manufacturers was also handed over to Wintercomfort at the same time.
Wendy Martin from Wintercomfort, said: "As a homeless charity good quality warm clothes are obviously of great importance to our clients. The fact that the donation was up to date and modern is such a bonus. We also have a very limited budget for food so any donations are gratefully received and will allow us to increase the numbers on our cooking classes at which clients learn to cook from scratch, to have cheaper and healthier meals."
In the past items seized by Trading Standards were either destroyed or sent to landfill for disposal, but the partnership with His Church now allows the items to be re-cycled to support less fortunate people in the community.
County Council Cabinet Member for Trading Standards, Councillor Mathew Shuter, said: "Our Trading Standards team does a magnificent job keeping fraudulent traders out of Cambridgeshire and the fact that the items they seize can be re-cycled to help those in our community who need support is an added bonus - the partnership between Trading Standards and the His Church Charity is the cornerstone of this highly successful arrangement.
Richard Humphrey from His Church Charity, said: "Not only do Cambridgeshire Trading Standards do an exceptional job taking counterfeit products off the streets they demonstrate a tremendous commitment to help local people who live on the street. Their awareness of Cambridgeshire Charities helping vulnerable people has enabled us to lend vital support to many superb local organisations and we are delighted to now add Wintercomfort for the Homeless to that list.
PLANNING AND OTHER UPDATES
Cambridge North West
The University site planning application – An outline planning application was received on 23rd September for up to 3,000 dwellings, up to 2,000 student bedspaces; and 100,000 sq.m. employment floorspace. The development is on Land between Huntingdon Road, Madingley Road and the M11 in Northwest Cambridge.
The proposals include a community centre, indoor sports provision, primary health care, primary school, nurseries, hotel (130 rooms), and energy centre. Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council are consulting on the proposals. New Communities Service is consulting internally and will draft a County Council response scheduled to be considered by Cabinet 15th November
Northstow
Gallagher and partners are expected to submit an application for a phase one development, comprising of 1,500 new homes and supporting infrastructure including a primary school, in January 2012.
Alconbury Enterprise Zon
The Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced Alconbury as one of 11 new Enterprise Zones. (This covers 150 hectares of the 575 hectare site). Enterprise Zones are intended to remove barriers to private sector growth through reduced burdens for businesses, particularly in terms of lower tax levels, planning and other regulatory and administrative burdens
The bid was made by The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, and the development is anticipated to create 8,000 new jobs. The uplift in Business Rates income will be retained for a minimum of 25 years to reinvest in the Local Enterprise Partnership area. Discussions with the developer have recently commenced to identify the infrastructure needed for the whole site which is proposed to include 5,000 new homes.
Contact John Reynolds
County Councillor John Reynolds
4 Holly Trees
Bar Hill
Cambridge
CB23 8SF
T 01954 200 571
F 01954 200 571
M 07720 379699
E john.reynolds@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
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