Amanda Taylor

Thanks to all who came to the launch of the new facilities at Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground last Saturday:

• to the Mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart, who cut the tape of the new games area and also cut the cake
• to the CHYPPS team who ran the games and painted faces
• to Mark Buckton, who ran the Bin Challenge and gave recycling tips
• to Authentic Cakes, who made the cake
• to the City Council’s Active Communities team who managed the series   of improvements to the recreation ground over the past few years
• to James Day, who took this photo.

The games area can be used for a variety of ball games whatever the weather. The other recent enhancements have been:

• a second tennis court
• a revamped playground
• a second tennis court
• a path around the recreation ground that can be used by wheelchairs and pushchairs
• recycling bins for bottles and cans
• new benches

It was great to see a mixture of all ages enjoying the event and the sunshine!

This evening over 100 people crowded into the Cambridge Professional Development Centre in Trumpington to hear the two organizations bidding to run the new school set to open next year on Gunhild Way, where Netherhall Junior School is now.

The Queen Edith’s Federation team, presented first. The Head, Caroline Peet, spoke of their vision over the next ten years of two schools working in partnership. The Queen Edith’s chair of governors, Pam Jones, described the other sort of partnerships that Queen Edith’s has in the community – with educational institutions, faith groups and bodes promoting wellbeing and inclusion. The schools’ deputy head explained how Queen Edith’s serves the needs of a community that is diverse in its ethnicity, religions and economic backgrounds.

Mr Rossi spoke for the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, explaining the theological imperative for education and their belief in the uniqueness of every child as a child of God. He told us there are 26 Catholic schools in the diocese, so there is plenty of experience. They aim to serve South Cambridge, as there are many Catholic families from the local churches who would like to send their children to a catholic school if there were more provision.

The meeting was very well attended, mainly by parents from Queen Edith’s, but there has been scanty local publicity in the other local schools.

Questions were wide-ranging, covering special needs provision, school economics and the logistics of split sites, but the major concerns led back to the main difference between the two bids: admissions policy.

While the Queen Edith’s Federation if successful would serve the immediate community — children residing in the current catchment areas of Queen Edith’s, Ridgefield and Morley primary schools — the Roman Catholic school would cover half of Cambridge, but give priority to children baptized as catholics, and only then to local non-catholic children.

Concerns were expressed about the extra traffic that would be generated by children coming from across town. It is unlikely children would walk or cycle to school from Newnham or Newmarket Road … especially at the speed of your average 4 or 5 year-old. More importantly, many people expressed alarm at the prospect of the new school having insufficient places for children living near the school.

These are concerns that I very much share. While I appreciate the value of a faith school (I attended two myself), it is even more vital that a school is embedded in the local community. Children going to a school in their neighbourhood has to be a good thing, not just for parental convenience but for the social life of the child and community cohesion.

I am hoping there will be more opportunities for people to hear the two sets of proposals again between now and the end of the consultation period, 20th August. It would be good to have something actually in Queen Edith’s, at a time that’s more convenient for parents than the early evening, a time when many parents will be on bedtime duty and I shall be making this request of the County Council.

The Conservative Cabinet of Cambridgeshire County Council will make the final decision on which organization runs the school at the end of September.

The two organizations bidding to run the new primary school on Gunhild  Way in Queen Edith’s will be presenting their proposals to the public at the Cambridge Professional Development Centre in Trumpington (CB2 9NL) this Thursday 15th July. There will be public displays from 5 to 6 p.m. before the presentations. The meeting is open to everyone.

There are just  two bidders: The Queen Edith Community Federation Group and the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia.  You can read their full bids here, or see a summary and fill in a questionnaire here. If you can’t make the meeting, you can comment by contacting:

David Clark,  CYPS Infrastructure, Cambridgeshire County Council, Box CC1209, Castle Court, Castle Hill, Cambridge, CB3 0AP.

David.clark@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

The new primary school will be on what is now Netherhall Lower School, off Gunhild Way and it is to cater for the ever rising numbers of children in the south of city. It is intended it will open in September 2011.

The Queen Edith’s bid includes proposals to create a catchment area of children from the existing Queen Edith Primary School catchment area, as well as those of Morley Memorial and Ridgeway. It has broad support, including from local councillors and from the Diocese of Ely.

The Roman Catholic bid covers a broader area, and in their own words, ‘will serve in the first instance, the Catholic community of South Cambridge’.

There will be more road diversions from tomorrow — at least tomorrow is the date advised by Cambridgeshire County Council — as they begin a new road layout.

Motorists will not be able to turn into Brooklands Avenue from Hills Road during the period of the work, which could take seven months or more, but will instead be diverted down Long Road.

The County Council has trialled cycle lanes on the bridge this year. The trial has been very well received, surprisingly so — and they are now installing permanent cycle lanes. Bizarrely, the new layout won’t be the same as the one that’s been trialled, but the cycle lane will actually be in the middle of the carriageway. My concern is that some less confident cyclists, or people cycling with children, will be nervous about being in the middle of the road. I hope my fears are misfounded.

On the positive side, the cycle lane will be a good wide one of over 2 metres, and there will be new signals at the end as well as improved junction arrangements and access to the station. For the full story, see the County Council’s website.

Liberal Democrat Cambridge City Council has devolved some functions to local ‘area committees’, each covering a geographical quarter of the city. Queen Edith’s is part of the South Area, which also includes Cherry Hinton and Trumpington. The committee comprises the councillors for the three wards.

Last Thursday it met at Homerton College for the first time – a handy venue on the mainbus routes, but swelteringly hot last week. Fortunately chilled water and fans were close at hand.

For my sins, I have been elected to chair it for the coming municipal year, taking over from Trumpington councillor Andy Blackhurst who is chairing the Council’s Housing Management Board this year. Fortunately he is staying as vice-chair.

The first item of business was ‘Safer Neighbourhoods‘, a report by the local police on their activities and recommendations for priorities for the coming quarter. The meeting agreed to carry on with tackling anti-social behaviour in Paget and Foster Roads in Trumpington and in Tenby Close, Cherry Hinton. Following a request from Cllr Sheila Stuart, drug abuse in Hanover and Princess Courts (council flats in the northern part of Hills Road) were added.

We received a report about the Council’s revision of its Statement of Licensing Policy, which has to be renewed every three years, and a consultation on the same. The meeting did not give much detail about any changes, but was more a means of bringing the renewal to people’s attention. If you would like to see what is proposed, and comment, you can view the policy on the City Council’s website — any time up to 5th September.

More wonders of the web were presented by the Council’s planning officers in a Powerpoint presentation on a new virtual facility for viewing and tracking planning applications: Planning Public Access. You can view plans on line, comment on them, see what others have said about them,  and set up an email alert so you know when something changes. Use it at home, or if you prefer, at the Council’s Customer Service Centre on Rewgent Street, where planning officers are there to help form 10.30 till 3 p.m.

Community development grants were approved for  the following groups:

• Little Bunniers Mothers/ Carers Playgroup
• Trumpington Residents Association
• 2nd Cherry Hinton Guides
• Hanover and Princess Court Residents’ Association
• Trumpington Elderly Action Group
• Denis Wilson Court Social Club

There were two environmental improvement bids:

A topographical survey was agreed for the Wulfstan Way shopping parade, to take forward improvements (see my previous post on this).

The other bid was for road humps in Clarendon Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, to stop speeding, alleged to be coming from the Government offices and Cambridge University Press. I am sorry to report that police checks demonstrated that there is indeed speeding taking place, 15% of the vehicles driving not just over 30 mph but over 40 mph, though it’s not proven who is speeding. Two cats were killed in one of the streets last year.

The chair of the Brooklands Avenue residents’ association, spoke in support of traffic calming. E-mails expressing opposition to traffic calming had been sent to councillorsbyC.U.P. and one of the residents of the street.

The committee considered that while they viewed the speeding with concern, other measures than speed humps should be considere, possibly a 20mph limit, flashing lights warning people of the speed limit or chicanes. Officers will report back at the next meeting.

Two planning applications were approved: a retrospective application for a tall fence at 54 Kelsey Crescent and two new houses at 102 Glebe Road (with conditions for new landscaping on the boundaries with neighbouring properties and for a ban on deliveries to the site during construction during the school rush hour).

Cambridge City Council has four area committees, which take decisions on grants and other local matters, s well as planning applications.

Next Thursday (8^th July), the South Area Committee meets at Homerton College, and will be discussing safer neighbourhoods (that’s council-speak for community
policing), licensing policy, a presentation on how people can view planning applications at the Council’s Customer Service Centre in Regent Street, grants and planning applications.

The police will be presenting crime figures and reporting on their activities over the past quarter, and recommending priorities for the next. The public and councillors should be asking questions and commenting on those priorities. See the policing report here.The big change for planning is that people can visit Cambridge City Council’s new Customer Service Centre in Regent Street to view applications on line, or speak to a planning officer if they wish. The Council’s new online facility can be used to view plans and applications, leave comments and set up an alert about new
applications where you live.We will be looking at community development grants for playgroups (a trip), residents’ associations (Christmas fun and a trip to St Ives)  and youth groups (camping kit). Although the committee covers Queen Edith’s, Cherry Hinton and Trumpington, there are no bids from groups in Queen Edith’s this time. If you are involved in a community group hat could use extra funds, please contact one of your councillors and we can explain the sorts of things that can be funded and to whom.

The other decision to take is on environmental improvements. One is a survey for the Wulfstan Way shopping area to progress the already agreed works (see previous post on Wulfstan Way shops); the other is for a traffic calming scheme in Clarendon Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, subject to its getting the thumbs-up from public consultation. See teh details here.

There are two planning applications: a retrospective application for a 2m fence round a house, the other for two new houses on Glebe Road.

Here is the agenda. I look forward to seeing you there!

If you can’t come along but would like me to raise an issue on your behalf, please let me know.

The police covering Queen Edith’s will be holding a community surgery at the Cherry Hinton Village Centre on Saturday 17th July from 4-5 p.m. They will be happy to give advice on crime prevention and discuss any concerns about the community.

If you would like to receive regular updates of police activity in the area, sign up for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary E Cops newsletter by visiting http://www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/

Families in Queen Edith’s are to be invited to party in the park to celebrate the opening of a new games area at the Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground.

The event is being organised by myself and the other three Lib Dem councillors for the area and there will be games, sports and possibly face painting during the afternoon of Saturday, July 17th.

Cambridge Mayor, Sheila Stuart will open the new multi-use games area for basketball, volleyball, netball and football at the Nightingale Avenue recreation ground, marking the culmination of a series of improvements to the park.

These include an improved children’s playground, extra tennis court and a pushchair and wheelchair friendly path around the edge of the park. New cycle racks and benches have also been added. So there should be something for all ages!

We have been working on making the park better to serve different people’s needs for some years. Many of the ideas have come from residents of the area, notably the path round the outside of the rec, a bright idea that the council was able to make a reality.

I hope local families will come and bring a picnic to enjoy the celebrations and help us officially open the new area.

Please tell your friends!

Traders and residents are moving forward with a package of ideas to revitalize the shops at Cambridge’s Wulfstan Way and we have just held our second workshop to explore ideas.

They want to see more lighting and seating, extra parking which could be controlled so that it could be used exclusively for shoppers, a community noticeboard and better signage to the shops.

My colleague Cllr Viki Sanders suggested we might incorporate some public art with the help of the local schools and colleages.

We have prioritized the areas we would like to go ahead with and will be taking detailed costings forward to the City Council’s South Area Committee on September 9^th.

Midsummer Fair, starting this Wednesday on Midsummer Common, is one of the big dates in Cambridge’s civic calendar.

 King John granted permission for a fair on the Common back in 1211: in those days it was an opportunity for different merchants to meet and trade their wares. For more information see here. These days it is more of a funfair than a trade fair, with rollercoasters, ghost trains and, of course, the ubiquitous dodgem cars.

It is still authorized by Parliament under an Act of 1850. When the City Council wished to alter the time of the opening proclamation from the afternoon to the evening, we had to get government permission!

The tradition is upheld by a procession of the Mayor, council chief executive, macebearers and councillors, often joined by the ‘chain gang’, civic dignitaries from neighbouring councils. There is a civic proclamation of the Fair by the Chief Executive and Town Crier with a warning about good behaviour, then the Mayor, Bailiffs and councillors throw newly minted pennies at the crowd before proceeding to a crazy circuit on the dodgem cars.

The opening ceremony is 6.30pm on Wednesday.