It was the annual meeting of the County Council this month and that meant a little more ceremony than usual. In previous years that would have been all that we would get but the rules were changed recently, at the request of the Lib Dems, to allow oral questions. There were also a couple of motions but even then we were still finished by lunchtime.

John Powley was re-elected for a second year as chair with Kevin Reynolds as his deputy.And there was a minor cabinet re-shuffle with Steve Criswell stepping down from the hot seat of 'buses, potholes and speed limits' to be replaced by Tony Orgee. Steve Tierney joins the cabinet and as a result it is no less white male but at least the average age has gone down a tad.

There were neither questions nor petitions from the public.

There were 2 motions:

The County Council has just published a newsletter to explain where it's got to with respect to its project to bring 'superfast broadband' to Cambridgeshire. Click on the icon below to read it.

This initiative is important because BT plans only go so far and would cover about 70% of the country in total. With the County Council's 'add-on' that will rise to 90% in Cambridgeshire.

Some parts of Cottenham, Histon and Impington are well served already, namely Histon and Impington. The rest of the division is poorly served.

To find out how good your broadband speed is at the moment go to http://bit.ly/r4R0lJ and click on 'check your speed'.

Residents who are not currently well served by broadband should go to the County Council's Connecting Cambridgeshire website (http://bit.ly/IV7hp2) and click on 'REGISTER HERE for better broadband'.

David says: 'I'm lucky. I live in Histon where we can get BT Infinity today but even before I've been getting decent download speeds. However I remember the days of dial-up internet and know how frustrating a slow link can be'.

Our county councillors’ monthly report for April 2012 is now available on-line. Click on the icon below.

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Improvements to the Cottenham to Histon cycleway have now been completed. The £450,000 scheme was funded through the Housing Growth Fund administered by Cambridgeshire Horizons. Cyclists now have a pretty good route all the way from Cottenham to the A14 junction. 

Additional width was achieved by purchasing adjacent land and piping a watercourse.

Local cyclists have been impressed with the smooth machine-layed asphalt surface with solar powered cats eyes to light the way at night and the scheme has already been successful in attracting commuters to cycle to Cambridge in preference to adding to traffic congestion by driving.  

To mark the opening of the route a free Cyclists’ Breakfast, sponsored by Station Cycles, will be held on Cottenham Village Green on Tuesday, 8 May 12, from 7.30am to 8.30am. Staff from Station Cycles will be on hand to undertake free cycle safety checks.

Sue said: 'Residents have been eagerly awaiting the completion of the improvement works and are keen to consider cycling as an option for commuting to Cambridge.

David said: 'It is pleasing to see the completion of the improvements and there is already evidence of increased cycling along this route.'

 

 

It will soon be May and in South Cambs that means election time. If it's not the county council, elections which come round every 4 years, it's the district council and that's what it is this year.

The Lib Dem candidate in the Cottenham ward, which includes Oakington and Westwick, and Rampton, is Richard Gymer. Richard is a long term resident of Cottenham. he is a keen cyclist and a daily user of the improved cycle path beween Cottenham and Histon.

In the Histon and Impington ward, which includes Orchard Park and the Meadows, the Lib Dem candidate is Yemi Macaulay. Yemi lives in Orchard Park where he was the first resident. He is chair of the Orchard Park Community Council.

There's too much of a tendency in our villages for motorists to park on our verges and, sometimes, to use them as an extension of the road. And results in them being damaged. Sometimes it's the only option but often it's a lack of patience or simply poor road design.

Cambridge Road in Impington, the stretch that runs between the two ends of the Crescent, is a case in point. There's a traffic calming restriction at each end, people park on both sides and the road isn't very wide. It's also a bus route. And although it's lost much of its grass verge, as dropped kerbs have been installed to enable residents to park off road, that which remains is routinely abused as the photograph shows.

Local residents bought this matter to David's attention and he has since walked the stretch with a local parish councillor.

David says: 'It would be easy enough simply to put some bollards in. That would keep people off the grass but it doesn't address the root cause of the problem which is a badly designed bit of road. The traffic calming does us no favours and the road isn't really wide enough for the buses.'

'I have discussed a series of measures which would protect the verges, make it easier for the buses to get through and provide better parking. The problem will of course be funding but at least we can start with the intent to do things right.'

David and Sue met county officers last week to address an issue raised by a local wheel chair user viz the poor state of the footpaths and crossings in our villages as far as the disabled are concerned.

The meeting focussed on the area at the Station Road/High Street junction in Histon and several issues were identified;

1. the width of Station Road, it's lack of a central refuge and the poor disability when crossing from the Co-Op side.
2. the width of the pavement outside the Co-Op
3. the poor state of the footpaths and the presence of several unnecessary drop curbs
4. the absence of drop kerbs where they are needed
5. the absence of a controlled crossing point between the Co-Op and the Green.

These issues don't just affect those in wheel chairs of course. They affect the elderly and infirm and parents with push chairs. And the absence of a controlled crossing is a serious problem for students going to school at the junior school.

David says: 'We do make some progress, look at the improvements in the footpath along Station Road beyond the baptist church towards Kay Hitch Way but too much of what is done is not joined up. We need to look at the total end to end system and make sure that it's practical for people to use it.'

Sue added: 'And it's not just pedestrians: many disabled people use their cars for shopping and it would be useful if our local stores could provide suitable reserved space for them. Tesco is very good at its big stores but does nothing in this respect at its store in Histon.'

It was another long day at Shire Hall with lots of motions, a good dose of public input and a contentious issue revisited.

There were two questions from the public: one about bus cuts from South Cambs Cllr Tumi Hawkins and one from Martin Lucas-Smith of the Cambridge Cycling Campaign about cycling. Even though the Council's big headaches generally involves adult social care and children's services the public seems more focussed on transport and travel related issues.

There were also two petitions. The first related to street lights in Cherry Hinton and the second requested a decent bus service from Abbey to Addenbrookes.

Then we revisited the issue which caused so much contraversy when it was first debated last year: members' allowances. Last time the Tories pushed though a 25% increase only for the process to be ruled wrong. Since then a second independant panel has recommended no increase (it also made several other sensible recommendations) and this was debated yesterday. Is it possible that the Tories were contrite? It was certainly a muted debate and the recommendations of the Panel were accepted unanimously.

We then debated Data Transparency and CEO pay policy. There was a Labour amendment requiring CCC to pay the National Living Wage which got lots of lots of support from non-Tories. David spoke about recruitment policy and the need to aim for people with potential, both internally and externally, and not the mature, experienced candidates who generally expect higher salaries as a way of managing the total size of the wage bill. The amendment was defeated. The motion passed unanimously.

Motion number 1 came from the Tories and was a cycling motion. There were lots of platitudinous speeches in support. Almost Albanian. Sue spoke about local routes and thanked officers for their hard work. David also spoke and highlighted the poor provision along Histon Road and the need for lights on the guided bus cycle way. This motion also passed unanimously.

Lunch time: 4 votes and all unanimous. Harmony again?

The third motion was back to buses. The Lib Dems asked that the current arbitrary 'cut all subsidies' approach be withdrawn and replaced by a more measured approach. Sue spoke about the 110 Freedom Bus, the local survey which confirmed its value and the cabinet member ignoring invitations to visit. The Tories voted collectively and the motion was lost.

There was then a motion on drought proposed by Labour. This one was passed unanimously.

Motion number 5 was a NEETs motion proposed by the Lib Dems. It suggested that the £100K saved by not paying a members allowance increase be used to fund bus fares etc for NEETs going to job interviews. It provoked a sour response from Tories and the motion was lost.

The last motion of the day was again from the Lib Dems and asked for a more deliberate commitment on the part of the Council to the Chisholm Trail (a cycle path that runs across Cambridge). The Tories claimed that this was unnecessary because they were already doing it and voted against the motion which was as a result lost. They could of course simply have amended it and we'd have ended the day with more harmony again.

In questions about fire and police Sue asked about plans for PCSOs and invited Ruth Rogers, current Police Authority chair, to the neighbourhood panel. She also asked for attention be given to gritting roads close to fire stations.

Finally (it was a long day): oral questions. David asked about graffiti and litter bins at the guided busway in Orchard Park and  Sue asked about litter on the A14 and requested forewarning about grass cutting along verges. Both got positive answers from the rather overworked Cabinet Member for transport and travel.

Our county councillors’ monthly report for February 2012 is now available on-line. Click on the icon below.

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have revealed their alternative budget investing £10 million in transport over the next five years, supporting schools and young people and embarking on a radical programme of energy efficiency. 

The budget identifies around £67 million worth of savings in the years to 2017 while reversing the Tories’ withdrawal of financial support for bus services. 

Transport investment includes:

• reinstating Cambridge’s city shuttle as the county’s first electric bus; 
• an extra £300,000 next year for community transport and further cash injections over the following two years making a total of £1 million. A Quality Bus Contract scheme would be used to deliver an improved countywide bus service;
• transport interchanges would be built to make sure people in rural areas have better access to services;
• the Chisholm Trail, a strategic cycle route linking up Addenbrooke’s Hospital, the CB1 development and the Science Park, would be built; and
• the Wisbech to March railway line would be reopened giving an hourly passenger service to Cambridge and allowing people to travel by train to Peterborough and London. 

Young people feature high in the Lib Dems’ alternative budget with the promise of a top up to the government’s Pupil Premium for disadvantaged young people by a further £250 per pupil per year. 

And there would be free public transport for every young person seeking education or employment. Youth clubs would also be kept open.  

Over the next five years £10 million would be spent on maintenance and energy efficiency in schools and a further £1 million on solar panelling. 

The voluntary sector would receive £1 million worth of investment over the next two years and Citizens Advice Bureau would receive financial help to assist people facing hardship due to the tough economic climate.  Concessionary fares for pensioners have also been protected.

Among savings identified in the budget is £25 million on Northstowe and a further £12 million by replacing the controversial Ely southern bypass project with an underpass under the railway line.

David says: 'this is a constructive amendment. It focuses investment on Wisbech, young people and the environment and it once again looks at ways to improve the effectiveness of the council. It builds on and is consistent with the alternative budgets of the last 5 years.'

The budget is due for debate next Tuesday, 21 Feb 12; 1030 at Shire Hall.