Peter Topping

good and bad...

2012-01-29T19:43:00.003Z

The embryonic village orchard at the entrance to the allotments is still there and what was planted before Xmas is flourishing - hope they survive the coming cold snap. The area will get a tidy up this month.

On the downside someone has left a trail of graffiti through whittlesford village so need to get it cleaned up and see if the local police recognise the "tag".

God Save the Queen! Silver Jubilee Plans take shape in Whittlesford

2012-01-28T18:05:00.000Z

Good turn out at the village hall on Friday evening for a briefing and planning meeting arranged by the Millenium Group in preparation for the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in the summer. About 40 people there to hear the plans and the events that are being organised and volunteer to help

Sounds like its going to be quite an event!

solar street lights

2012-01-26T00:42:00.003Z

looking to see if we can fund and install street lights in a poorly lit area using a wind and solar combo to provide the energy - then no need to connect to mains with huge costs of digging up roads etc. This sort of thing seems to work:
http://www.wirefreedirect.com/green_column.asp

Station Road - cops taking parking enforcement action

2012-01-26T00:22:00.001Z

Went down Station Road to catch the train to London - high-viz. police patrol car and high-viz officers were there challenging the owner of large van that was parked up on the yellow lines and causing obstruction.

Good to see a follow through to the concerns on this that the parish council raised at the recent neighbourhood police forum in Sawston.

getting connected

2012-01-21T10:24:00.001Z

I've put a link to Whittlesford Parish Council website, and Thriplow village website on the bar at the right hand side. Maybe a twitter site next?

oops - been in Leeds working so havent posted a while

2012-01-21T10:15:00.001Z

Parish Council meeting Tuesday before last focused on the proposed developments in and around Whittlesford, and what and how to respond - we do have some really useful material. Also how to resolve the issue of the two sheds on the village recreation ground - lots of technical debate there!.
Had a good day yesterday going through planning performance improvement with Scambs, and also looking at how to make best use of the data coming out of a major piece of work done across Cambridgeshire on renewable energy sources.

Planning issues - Tickell Arms

2011-12-26T00:06:00.004Z

Final parish council meeting of the year last week. Good mince pies courtesy of Penny Toop.
Quite a busy meeting for a December.
Some concerns raised by group of local residents who attended the meeting about access and boundaries re the Tickell Arms under the proposals put forward by the company - the Cambridge Chop House Company - that wants to run the place going forward.
Parish council is supportive of plans to renovate the Tickell - which has been closed now for at least a year - but we asked Kate Wood, a south cambs planning team leader who was at the meeting, to investigate the boundary/access issue, and I will pick it up in the new year.

Whittlesford solar panels are go!

2011-12-11T22:24:00.004Z

The hard-working Whittlesford Memorial Hall committee have managed to get the panels on the roof of the hall and also sort the paperwork with EON (which was always the tricky bit, because if the energy company didn't certify us then the favourable feed-in-tariff would not have applied.)
But they did it!
The South Cambs district planners did their bit by getting the planning permission sorted.
Also had a session with the South Cambs climate change team and they reckon they can help Cambourne Parish Council with their plans for low-carbon energy sources on the major buildings at Cambourne such as the new sports centre. The revenue from these will not be huge, but it will give them enough to fund some sustainable activities.

"a thousand apple trees of some unforbidden variety"

2011-12-11T21:53:00.005Z

This all started with a training day organised by South Cambs District in conjunction with the Apples and Orchards Project for the East of England last winter.
Despite some set-backs, because at one point we had identified a cracking site that unfortunately fell through, this morning Ann Beeby, Marie Swann and I planted the first nine trees (pears, plums, apples) on behalf of the Parish Council, and which we hope will grow, both physically and metaphorically, into a village orchard. They are just at the entrance to the allotments on Newton Road.
The plot isnt big, tho we reckon we can get another four trees in no problem, without encroaching on neighbouring space. We still need to clear up some redundant compost heaps and some brambles - though there are some well-established currants bushes which should stay.
We hope that we can put in a bench that would be used by both allotment holders and also people coming to have a look.
Tho' it doesnt look much now, we have planted the trees in a curve so that there is some space at the front to make it look welcoming.

The "call for land" issue

2011-12-04T21:02:00.004Z

Regular readers will know that the parish council has put out a leaflet explaining the "call for land" process initiated by the district council planners, and with a map showing the land that has been offered by local land-owners and developers in and around Whittlesford, including land north of the A505 on the west of the M11, which is still Whittlesford parish (Lido and Burma Roads).

Not a huge response from residents, which in some ways is good, as it may suggest that people found the note re-assuring and believe that things are being taken forward that will allow a sensible assessment of the issue. The parish council is arranging to go and talk to the district planners but this will be after Christmas now. There has been most concern in Lido and Burma Roads, because a development there would entirely envelop those two roads. We'll focus particualrly on addressing that when we meet the planners.

Keeping Heathfield off-limits to off-road bikes

2011-11-30T18:16:00.006Z

Some feedback from residents on my recent Heathfield autumn newsletter was nice to have, plus a few local issues that I will pick up on, including -

the entrance to Heathfield, at Hurdles Way, has become a bit of collecting point for youngsters on trail bikes, and the police attended an incident last Friday evening after reports of vehicles being broken into. They did a bit of sensible talking to one or two lads, followed up by some Community Officer "visits" over the weekend.
One of the issues is the fact that the good quality path linking Heathfield to Thriplow means that someone on a trail bike can do a nice loop without having to go on the A505. I raised local farmers concerns about bikes at Thriplow parish council earlier this month.

I've spoken to the sector sergeant at Sawston and the patrol cars will drop by every now and then just to make sure it stays quiet.

whittlesford bits

2011-11-26T19:16:00.002Z

Busy day yesterday - went to look at the site for a pilot orchard, near the allotments in Newton Road. It isnt the full monty, but it will be a start. Trees are on their way.
Then off to South Cambs to go through planning performance with the officers - though there is still room for improvement, the speed with which applications are being dealt with is the best so far this year.
Then a quick shop at Shelford and back for the opening of the new affordable homes at West End.

Yule Cottages, Whittlesford opened by Andrew Lansley MP

2011-11-25T18:40:00.006Z

Residents of Whittlesford viewed the new affordable homes at West End this afternoon, and which were formally opened by Rt Hon Andrew Lansley MP.
As builders cleared away a path to enable people to enter the site, the new residents who will move into the three houses were welcomed by representatives of local charity the Nicholas Swallow Trust, which will administer the scheme.
The small scale scheme is funded by the will from local resident Betty Yule. It follows on from a public meeting in Whittlesford in summer last year, which Andrew Lansley also chaired for us, to consider how to break the deadlock of providing local affordable houses.
For its part, the district council needed to produce a special agreement to allow the homes to be run by the Nicholas Swallow charity, which meant a series of meetings at the beginning of this year with South Cambs lawyers and planners.
Mince pies at the village hall followed on - localism in action.

thriplow revamped recreation play area gets £18k from South Cambs

2011-11-18T14:54:00.004Z

Brilliant. We discussed this at Thriplow Parish Council on Monday evening, and everyone was hopeful that the bid would be successful after being pushed back - for sound reasons - last year.

The team behind the bid have put together matched funding from a number of sources, and have researched what it is people (and children!) want in the village. It is an ambitious project but there are plenty of able people involved and it will pugrade some rather tired amenities in the heart of the village. I am very pleased and proud to have been able to support the bid as it went into the South Cambs process.

brownfield or green fields?

2011-11-14T19:17:00.003Z

Looking forward to hearing more from a local Cambridgeshire business looking to move their site to south of A505 opposite Whittlesford Bridge, alongside the Volvo site. They will be coming to the December parish council meeting.
It may be that they can be persuaded to go for the site currently occupied by the county council's highways depot at Whittlesford Bridge, near the station, rather than the arable land running between Duxford and the A505.
But clearly they can't stay where they are, if they are going to carry on being a successful business employing people and being good for the economy.

Talking to the police about Station Road, Whittlesford

2011-11-13T20:05:00.004Z

The system works! - contacted ecops and have just picked up on voicemail a quick reply about Station Road issues. Cambs Police keen to talk about what they can do to improve policing profile in Station Road, Whittlesford. Report more tomorrow.

Good turn out for Whittlesford Remembrance Sunday

2011-11-13T18:09:00.002Z

Must have been fifty people gathered at the village memorial at the Guildhall for Remembrance Sunday. Our vicar Ruth gave a thought-provoking sermon at the URChurch beforehand, the trumpet sounded Last Post and Reveille, wreaths were laid, and the traffic stopped.

The new village sign is in position too, as you can see.

solar panels go ahead for village hall

2011-11-12T19:07:00.002Z

Made a tough decision not to go ahead with solar panels for South Cambs district office roofs, but the numbers just didn't stack up after the tariff was cut. Went on BBC Radio Cambs to talk it through last evening. Interesting discussion with presenter Andy Burrows who seemed pretty well informed.

Closer to home, the village hall is further advanced as a project (and a bit smaller) so parish council this week took decision to ask village hall committee to press ahead. The panels need to be on the roof by December, and connected up - so all systems go!

Just two minutes once a year...

2011-11-12T18:57:00.003Z

When I was at school we in the cadet force used to march to the Cenotaph on remembrance Sunday, along with the real soldiers, the scouts, etc etc and the police closed the roads all around, end of.
When I lived in Huntingdon fifteen years ago and took my boys to the memorial there, a big fat police sergeant would stand in the middle of the road and stop the traffic.
Now, the advice from Cambridgeshire Constabulary is "Organisers would then need to implement the closure using signing and guarding in accordance with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and Directions. This would likely involve employing a professional traffic management company."
If this is progress then I'm a dutchman.

swift!

2011-11-03T21:13:00.003Z

Earlier in the summer when we wading through nettles in a corner of Whittlesford looking for a site for a village orchard, the south cambs ecology officer Rob Mungavin was telling me about swifts.

He had hatched a plan to use recordings of birdsong to attract swifts to new boxes built into a new development at Fulbourn re-placing old buildings where they had nested for years. Now the idea has won him a national award! - here is the detail on the rspb website. Brilliant.

panels, panels everywhere

2011-11-02T21:55:00.002Z

Following on from the Government decision to cut back on the feed-in tariff for solar panels on buildings. It was bound to happen - and I understand why - but now there is a lot of work going on to see if the panels on the village hall roof in Whittlesford can be in place by the December deadline, and William Westley school are trying to get their scheme sorted too - I've asked the district planners for advice for the school and it may be possible.

South Cambs itself is looking to see if the panels planned for the Camborne council offices are also doable in time. The poeople losing out are the tenants of council properties, because that scheme looks now to be a non-starter. Govt Minister Greg Barker says there will be a community tariff for that sort of scheme - bring it on and lets get started.

What will Energy Minister Greg Barker say?

2011-10-30T17:28:00.006Z

Energy Minister Greg Barker will be in Cambridgeshire tomorrow - stopping off in the morning to spend time meeting residents at Rampton Drift, who are part of a pilot scheme run by South Cambs and commercial developer partners. The scheme is retro-fitting insulation onto mainly 1970s houses, and it is incredible the scale of the insulation going on, in, and around these houses, built before the early 70s oil crisis when fuel was dirt-cheap.

Later in the day he will be giving a talk.

Hope it isn't to announce that photovoltaic panels on roofs, if not installed by end of the year, will not qualify for the high feed-in-tariff, which is a rumour going round on green websites and blogs.

More likely he will be making a very strong link between insulation and feed in tariffs. This does make sense, because there isn't any point in having all this alternative energy if your house or your school or the village hall or whatever rattles about and loses heat every time the wind blows.

We'll have to see - if the tariff does go down, it will be a challenge to make the numbers stack up for South Cambs who are putting panels on council-owned properties, and here in Whittlesford, where we want to put the panels on the village hall, Duxford Imperial War Museum, panels to go on one of the hangars, and William Westley school, who are thinking the same.

The village hall and the school are reasonably new buildings, so their energy efficiency rating should be good.

Just off to stuff some paper in the cracks in this house....

all aboard the community bus to Whittlesford station

2011-10-26T16:14:00.003Z

Good to hear that there will be a pilot community bus with county council funding that will pick up from Duxford and Linton and deliver to Whittlesford station.
Hopefully if the timing can be got right, there will be fewer commuters parking on the roads around the Station as a result.

yellow lines, commuters, and car park prices at whittlesford station

2011-10-24T22:29:00.003Z

I've had fed-up emails from fed-up people, both residents and commuters, saying that if only the outrageous cost of parking in the Whittlesford station car park could be reduced, commuters would not park on the corners of the Moraine and Knights Orchard, making the places easier for residents to get out of without being run over.

I'm not so sure, in that if Whittlesford was cheap to park at, more people would catch the train and potentially those empty spaces along Station Road would be taken up by other commuters wanting to save even the reduced price of a ticket. I think it is the economic law of demand.

So the answer is to get the county highways to agree to put yellow lines on the corners of these roads - as there are on Station Road itself. We are trying to fix a meeting with highways at the moment, and Tim Stone, our county councillor, is on the case.

Land for development in Whittlesford - can I just say something...?

2011-10-23T18:52:00.003Z

A4 Map low res
OK, so I went to the printers on Friday to get a flyer sorted out to go in Look this month about the development land put forward in Whittlesford. The printer (thanks Neall, from Altone in Sawston) scanned in the map, and here it is.
So the map and an explanation of what has happened and what will happen over the next few years will go to every household in the village, which will at least bring everyone up to par on the process.
When I used to work in PR, I'd get a proof diagram or visual, laid out using a scalpel and pasted on graphics and text. This would be couriered to the printer who would send back a final proof the next day having worked overnight. Any changes would have to be marked up, couriered back, and then printed. And now, the printer sends me the map as a pdf. and I've uploaded it onto sripd, and you can download it and look at it. My boys says you have to get over this new technology stuff, but I still think it is incredible.
And now back to the plot, which is the proposal for a lot more houses in Whittlesford than we currently have.

Duxford IWM update

2011-10-19T19:36:00.004Z

Good session with the director of the Duxford Air Museum. The museum is still doing well despite the tough economic climate, and is developing new income streams.

Interesting to hear that the airfield had featured in as diverse a range of activities as a British Airways advert and as part of the Horrible Histories TV series. 7,000 schoolkids attended its educational days more than the previous year.

No complaints received from residents re the last F1 test-day, but a good deal about the F15 plane. The IWM plan to seek permission increase the number of F1 test days to eight next season. Long discussion on the various accidents at airshows this last year and the precautions being taken to manage the future. Mick Martin knowledgeable as ever.

IWM plan to put solar panels on one of the hangar roofs, which seems sensible, and their plan for the north side of the A505 is to keep it largely as it is.

Airshow dates next year - 27 May, 30 Jun and 1 July, 8, 9 Sep and 14 Oct.

village signpost - coming soon!

2011-10-16T19:55:00.003Z

Following discussion at the parish council, and a follow-up meeting with Highways, a site has been agreed for the long awaited village signpost designed to direct strangers and the bewildered to the village hall etc etc.
It will be adjacent to the Guildhall, which seems very sensible.

Broadband

2011-10-16T00:06:00.003Z

At a meeting in the House of Commons this week with the leader of Cornwall County Council. We got talking broadband.
Basically Cornwall are putting money into superfast broadband for the same reasons we are in Cambridgeshire - to make it easier for businesses to access the internet from anywhere in the county, and that includes villages like Whittlesford, where the service is highly variable depending almost on which side of the street you live.
Talking this morning to a resident who runs a business from Whittlesford that has global connections - they have to download files overnight to be sure of getting them. So a big thumbs-up from that person for the county's investment.
Now all we need are some surfboards.

yellow lines outside the village school at Thriplow

2011-10-10T21:11:00.002Z

Good meeting at Thriplow Parish Council this evening to decide the detail of the yellow lines to go in outside the village school.
Basically the school is on a narrowish road and the tendency is for people to park inappropriately when dropping children off, causing real problems and some danger.
Local PCSOs Gary and Chris walked the course with the parich councillors last week and the police back the proposals. Also caught up with people on views re the housing proposals put forward by landowners for Heathfield.

Land - for possible building on II

2011-10-03T20:02:00.003Z

Here is a more detailed update on the planning process that will be working its way through South Cambridgeshire District Council over the next three years.

In the past SCDC and the Government agreed a housing target of 21,000 houses by 2016, based on the then prospects for the economic growth of our region.

Time has moved on, and SCDC and the Government is now looking at the period 2017–2031. There are two parts to the analysis

1. To decide how many new houses will be needed, called the “Housing Needs Assessment”.

This process started earlier this year and will last to Summer 2012, when the findings will be put out to public consultation. Obviously, the analysis has to be based on sound projections, forecasts and evidence, and cannot be arbitrary, and it can be challenged if it is not rigorous enough.

2. To decide where those houses should go, called the “Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment”.

That process started in June, when landowners and developers were invited to put their land forward, called the “Call for Sites”. On 28 September, SCDC published the details. There are sites spread across South Cambridgeshire, and include some of the land previously known as Hanley Grange, as well sites at Heathfield and Whittlesford.

SCDC will now take about 9 months to consider these sites. It will publish (in Summer 2012) an “Issues & Options” paper for public consultation. For example, the options might be:

(a) to focus on more new towns a few miles away from Cambridge; or

(b) to expand out from the edge of Cambridge; or

(d) a combination of those, or something completely different.

For each option, the list of sites that have been put forward will be ranked in order of suitability, according to ‘best practice’ guidelines published by Central Government. Each entry on the list will also specify the number of houses that can fit on the site.

The ‘Issues & Options’ paper will be subject to public consultation and, afterwards, a vote of the 57 elected Councillors at SCDC.

Then, when the chosen option is known, and when the Housing Needs Assessment is finished (so there is a decision on how many houses SCDC needs), the planners will (in general) approve development on the necessary number of sites to reach that number, starting from the top of the relevant list, and working down until the required amount is reached.

Please appreciate that this note is just a very brief summary of the very complicated process of drawing up our area’s next “Local Development Framework”. Full details are here.

Land - for building on

2011-09-28T20:26:00.003Z

At south cambs this evening for a meeting with parish councils.

SCDC needs to prepare a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) as part of the evidence base for the new South Cambridgeshire Development Plan. The SHLAA is a technical assessment that will identify sites that are potentially suitable for housing.

Click to take you to the maps of the land that has been put forward by developers and land-owners, and which was discussed in general terms.

Officers reckon a fraction of the land put forward will be needed to meet housing needs. Clearly housing round Cambridge is a good return on investment. Some of the land that was "Hanley Grange" is there again.

Process will take three years, with first step being a technical review of the land offered up - eg flood plains. Then public consultation in June next year, with decisions the following year.

Dale Farm - judge says council's enforcement plans too wide

2011-09-27T19:20:00.004Z

Just been reading the judgment given by the judge hearing the arguments in the High Court about whether the Dale Farm evictions can go ahead. Basically he ruled that what Basildon Council intended to do by way of demolition (gates, walls etc) goes beyond what is set out in the enforcement notices served on the travellers between 2002 and 2004. The complexity is around the relationship between stuff built on the hard-standing that was the subject of the enforcement notices. Caravans are a different issue.

So a further hearing this week and maybe more detailed enforcement notices may have to be re-issued - who knows. As always, the devil is in the detail.

IWM Neighbourhood Forum 19 October

2011-09-27T19:01:00.002Z

Continuing the vaguely militaristic series of recent posts, here is the original Ledo Road, the overland supply route linking India to China during WW II and after which Burma and Ledo Roads in Whittlesford are named.
I'm making sure that any issues from the residents of said B & L roads regarding the Imperial War Museum across the way from them are discussed in good time at the parish council and taken forward to the Neighbourhood meeting with the IWM director on October 19.

Red Lion at Whittlesford Bridge re-opens

2011-09-26T23:21:00.002Z

Strange day last week - spent the morning doing some work with the Ministry of Defence in London (I'd tell you more but then I'd have to kill you). Then after full Council meeting in the afternoon and a session with planning agents till eight, rushed back to catch the last hour of the grand re-opening of the Red Lion Hotel at Whittlesford Bridge with their new reatuarant area, which looks pretty good, and we intend to check it out properly soon.
The guest of honour - keeping the links up between the Red Lion and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford - was Cpl Johnson Beharry VC, looking very cool and in control. You don't often get to shake hands with a man who has won the VC.
I know some people don't like the scale of the hotel that has been built on the site, but I've always taken the view that if the Red Lion didn't move forward it would have closed and been boarded up within a couple of years. And the district conservation team worked closely with the owners to blend the new with the historic buildings.

Whittlesford when global warming really kicks in ...

2011-09-26T21:00:00.004Z

Seriously though, glad to see that in my absence on hols the parish council approved the proposals to put solar panels on the roof of the village hall.

This is the sort of community "green payback" initiative that the government's energy incentive schemes are supposed to encourage, so good that we are leading the way. Well done to the Memorial Hall Management Committee for doing the maths and putting together the bid.

The road even less well travelled....

2011-09-26T20:47:00.003Z

The Dale Farm impasse continues, with the High Court looking to make a decision at the end of this week, a fortnight after the clearance of the unlawful bit of the traveller site in Basildon was due.

It is a very complex legal process, and an expensive one, and the consequences with regard to law on planning enforcement will be extensive.

So far, no reports of unlawful incursions onto Smithy Fen or elsewhere in South Cambs after a few initial reports. Police liaison being kept up and enforcement team also active in checking any likely places.

Burglary and an attempted break-in

2011-09-05T13:52:00.001Z

Getting reports that a commercial premises in Whittlesford had an attempted but thankfully unsuccessful break-in over the week-end. Police in attendance.
Earlyin August a burglary took place at a house in Whittlesford while peoplewere away, but the goods taken may have been recovered thanks to policeaction in raiding a premises in another village after a tip-off.
So check security, especially if late holidays planned, team up with neighbours to keep an eye on empty houses.
We will take up these developments with the local police squad at the early October Neighbourhood Forum at Sawston.

War planes? You'd have thought they'd have brought their own

2011-09-03T14:26:00.000Z

The F15s over Whittlesford this weekend are from the airshow - they fly over at three-ish today and tomorrow. Then they are not back for another five years. Makes the Spitfires that normally go over at this time of year seem like the drone of a passing bumble bee, but these jets do have a connection with Duxford, as this squadron evolved from the US air force based there in 1941.

You have to be Geordie to get the joke.

crime prevention day at Whittlesford station

2011-08-27T19:10:00.002Z

t
Given that no one in their right mind would leave a bike at the rail station overnight, this seems like a very good idea. Thursday 1st September, from four till seven.

Where's tha bin?

2011-08-24T20:27:00.003Z

Brilliant idea from South Cambs and Cambridgeshire Constabulary - stickers showing the speed limit to go on the side of the garbage bins - so that once a week on bin collecting day motorists will see a huge row of reminders as they drive through this and all the other villages..

The road less travelled...

2011-08-23T21:25:00.003Z

Been a bit busy last few days because the proposed eviction of travellers from a site in Basildon has created quite a bit of media interest locally. This is because of the potential knock-on effect for the traveller site at Smithy Fen.

Since May I took on the planning portfolio at South Cambs, including enforcement of planning laws. Which is where this all kicks in, because if people move on to Smithy Fen - or anywhere else for that matter - without planning permission, then that is an unlawful occupancy.

"Call for sites" over - new houses consultation starts next year

2011-08-21T09:23:00.004Z

Over the last month, people have been invited by South Cambridgeshire District Council to send in details of their land that they want the Council to consider for potential housing developments.
This does NOT mean all the sites submitted will be suitable (and some will be very unsuitable, and the owners just chancing it) but it does mean that the planners know about all the land that could be available, so there is a clear picture.
Now the process has finished, and we will get to know what land has been offered up in this area.
Next year there will be consultation on the sites, and the local Development Plan that it feeds into.
The important thing is for development to be locally owned, rather than just lumped on top of us. The development in West End, Whittlesford is a good example of development that is working:
- the site includes some affordable homes that will be managed by local charity Nicholas Swallow, and South Cambs have agreed the preference is for local people with village connections;
- unlike previous propositions, the houses fit in well with the local area;
- the gift by a Whittlesford lady which has enabled the affordable housing will be commemorated in the name of those houses - Youell Way - which keeps a local link going for as long as the houses are standing.

"an isolated afterthought" - developers lose appeal

2011-08-18T15:13:00.008Z

The planning inspector has dismissed the appeal by the developers looking to build more houses at the entrance to Heathfield.

I took the district council planning committee to see this tiny patch of land last year, and thankfully they kicked out the application.

The developers then took it to appeal and the inspector has thrown it out, commenting "the development of this site requires a particularly sensitive and imaginative approach". From other remarks in the report, he clearly doesn't think what was put before him cuts the mustard: "bland and uninspiring" and "an isolated afterthought, unrelated to the adjacent form of development, and out of character".

We need now to talk to the developers so that, on the back of this, they come up with something better. The people of Heathfield deserve it.

moorfield road, junction of A505 (3)

2011-08-10T12:42:00.002Z

Following further calls from Whittlesford residents early this morning, I asked the district planning enforcement team to check out this site, which they promptly did, at about ten o'clock.

The gate across the entrance has been knocked over and the owners are being told to put it back up. Residents of Whittlesford are very concerned that the property will be unlawfully occupied.

At the same time, I'm told by the county highways people that the owners are seeking planning permission for houses there (ie running along the same line as what is now Knight's Orchard.)

Formula 1 on Sept 1st

2011-08-08T19:07:00.004Z

Another day of F1 testing coming up - I'm asking the Duxford IWM if the numbers of test runs proposed for the day quoted in the Cambridge News is accurate, as it seems a lot.
Maybe the News got the sums wrong. I'll check.

Whittlesford Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership

2011-08-04T20:52:00.007Z

...needs to regroup now that Adam, who kick-started it all, has moved on.

As climate change portfolio holder, I had a good meeting with Cambs County climate change lead, including going through how we can help people take advantage of all the things that the government is launching next year, like the Renewable Heat Incentive - good if you are off-gas and looking at better ways of heating than a tank of expensive oil, and the Green Deal, which is all about insulation.

After next week's climate change meeting at the district, where we hope to adopt an action plan, I will need to see what can be done more locally.

Meanwhile, keeping it sustainable, my courgettes are coming along nicely, and flowering, good enough for a plate of fiori di zucchini ripieni as we say in Whittlesford.

sheralds croft lane, thriplow

2011-08-04T20:38:00.005Z

Sheralds Croft Lane is nicely laid out with good open space in the middle, and views over the fields and high Cambridgeshire skies to Foxton and Fowlmere from many of the back gardens.
I'm pleased that the planners at South Cambs have not supported over-development of what is a pleasant patch of village housing.
Long may it remain so.

moorfield road, junction of A505 (again)

2011-08-04T19:00:00.003Z

The enforcement team at South Cambs has visited this site at the border of Whittlesford and Duxford twice now and checked with the neighbours on what it is that is going on.
I took calls yesterday evening about two vans trying to gain access to the site yesterday morning - so I called the enforcement team again, and I followed up by visiting people nearby today.
The enforcement team (bless them) happened to be on the A505 yesterday when all this malarky was going on. So they pulled in and spoke to the people accessing the land. It may be that, in order to prevent any form of unlawful occupation, the lawyers need to be mobilised and an injunction sought. Not easy, and a lot of hassle, but maybe necessary.
I'll also get a briefing from the planning officers on the bigger picture.

moorfield road, junction of A505

2011-07-24T21:50:00.002Z

This patch of land right on the corner of Moorfield and the A505 in Whittlesford seems to have been cleared by someone, very recently. Not aware of a planning application. Need to get the district council's planning enforcement in to have a closer look.
I've asked them to visit asap.

West End - new development takes shape

2011-07-18T20:10:00.005Z

The new houses being built at West End, Whittlesford are coming along well.
They will include affordable housing for people with a Whittlesford connection.
Those houses will be let via local charity Nicholas Swallow, after we secured agreement with South Cambs on the point.
Now all we need to do is make sure the district comes up with a sensible name.

Station Road - works start on the vet surgery

2011-07-16T21:09:00.003Z

It looks like the good people of Station Road, Whittlesford, have another bout of building and disruption to put up with.
The building that is currently the vet surgery (and used to be a pub, and possibly the stationmaster's house?) will be turned into an office building and a bran' new surgery built behind it.
With all this commercial activity plus the traffic from the residential developments down there, maybe its time to talk to the highways department about a traffic scheme that makes life simpler for residents. I'll talk to Tim Stone, our county councillor about a meeting with Highways

weather holds out for whittlesford two days running

2011-07-10T21:36:00.003Z

People attending the Whittlesford Ball on Saturday evening and the Whittlesford Society BBQ on Sunday afternoon enjoyed good weather.
Both events were in support of worthwhile causes, whether within the village or beyond.
And good to see Robert James at the latter still standing and reading out the results of the raffle.

democracy

2011-07-10T18:02:00.003Z

Went to a gathering of local authority people at the House of Commons. It was a mix of MPs like Grant Shapps, David Blunkett, Bob Neill, Caroline Flint, and councillors from all over. An opportunity to talk about the things that are concerning us, and swap ideas. It was worth the long queue through security.

On Saturday afternoon was in Cambridge: the very small but noisy EDL march disrupted the whole of the centre of town. Well policed, but it must have cost a lot.

The connection? - when times are tough and people are thinking about jobs, their children's future and the cost of energy bills, democracy needs to keep connecting with, and showing it can do something about what worries people. Otherwise, the rise of extremism...

So what is the SHLAA? Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment - why does it matter?

2011-06-20T21:34:00.007Z

Spent an afternoon at south cambs district council with reps from parish councils being briefed on various developments in the planning world. All a bit dry, but Ken Winterbottom from Whittlesford PC and Anthony Cooper from Thriplow PC both asked some killer questions.

Because the district council is the planning authority it is starting on preparation of a new South Cambridgeshire Development Plan, which will set out the planning policies to guide the development and use of the land in the district up to 2031.

Part of this exercise is a call for land that could be used for housing. This runs to Friday 29 July 2011.

Why does it matter? The call for land has the effect of allowing developers the opportunity to try to bring their plans back to life - such as the 12,000 houses proposed for a site called Hanley Grange.

duxford formula 1

2011-06-20T21:16:00.003Z

Went to see the film "Senna" about Ayrton Senna. I saw him win the Macau Grand Prix in 1983. Brilliant film, brilliant driver.

The Lotus Renault team will be testing their car at Duxford Air Museum on Friday 1 July. Under agreement with South Cambs district council there is a limit to the number of laps and there will be some breaks in the day's testing.

station flowertubs

2011-06-16T17:47:00.005Z

mmm... the area railway manager, alan neville alan.neville@nationalexpress.com came to the parish council to talk about various things - including the new trains to London being introduced, which look pretty good. He also floated the idea of some group adopting the station and helping look after it - perhaps a bit of planting, a bit of sponsorship. We'll have to see.

I'd like to think that the station staff team down there should do this, aided in terms of crime and vandalism prevention by the Transport Police, but the days of the porter watering the flower baskets are long gone. Perhaps the guy who checks the car park to make sure people have paid the huge fees levied by NCP could do a bit of weeding. Doubt it. In the meantime, I'm chasing up whoever needs to fix the broken glass from the phonebox down there.

village orchard - and nettles!

2011-06-16T17:34:00.004Z

The possibility of a village orchard in Whittlesford is growing. We had a site meeting with Rob Mungavin, the ecology officer at south cambs, who is really enthusiastic and knowledegable about lizards, butterflies, moths and all sorts.

So spent a very hot afternoon trying not to get stung by nettles or fall down rabbit holes (got any magic mushrooms, Alice) as Rob, parish cllr Ann Beeby and I explored the site. I can't say where it is as the site isn't yet safe, but if it is can be there it will be incredible, and there are old fruit trees and elms, so it would look good right from the start, rather than having to wait ten years for the trees to grow.
What it will mean is some volunteer labour in the autumn to help clear the nettles and fill in the rabbit holes! We'll know more next month - there are some legal issues to sort.

thinking about tomorrow's services, and keeping today's up to scratch...

2011-05-16T13:54:00.006Z

Every now and then I have a day more or less totally given over to district council and parish work, and last Thursday was one of them…

0715 Up and around Whittlesford delivering leaflets containing the reports for the Parish Council annual meeting the following evening. Nice and peaceful across the Recreation Ground at this time of the morning

0815 Quick bowl of shreddies and granola (home-made, thank you very much) then off to Heathfield to meet up with some residents complaining about the numbers of cars parked up and being repaired. As I leave the house the phone rings. A fellow parish councillor asking for details about street naming, which is a district council task. It is important in this case to get this right as we want to name a new road in Whittlesford after the village lady whose generous will has made possible the affordable housing being built as part of the development.

0945 After the Heathfield meeting (of which more later) I arrive at South Cambs offices at Camborne. I’m chairing the climate change working group at ten, but I just have time to check with one of the lawyers at the council about a planning application that has gone to appeal. Thriplow Parish Council want to write to the planning inspector and I need to to get some details. Helpful quick word and then in to the climate change meeting at ten. We work through the draft of an action plan for the next three years, setting out how the council will support local people, and local businesses, make sustainability work, and in particular try to help people make savings by being more energy conscious. We also go through some ideas by two of our working group on how the council’s own buildings rate in terms of sustainability and how we can put our own house in order.

1230 Working lunch with a group of officers and councillors to go through options for improving the council’s customer contact centre. Part of the discussion about social networking methods as a means of delivering customer service. Interestingly, I already get text message reminders about appointments from both my doctor and dentist.

2.00 Finish the customer session and check a numbers of points with the district’s planning team so that I am ready for the parish council meeting – there is growing concern about the scrapyard operating at the end of Station Road in Whittlesford. Pass on the concerns about parking in Heathfield to the Planning Enforcement Officer. He has visited the area once about this, but perhaps another visit at a different time may be needed.

3.00 Leave Camborne and decompress, but I’ve got to be back in a few hour’s time for a group meeting of councillors.

8.30 Collect one of my boys from Whittlesford Station. As I’m waiting I notice that the phone box has been vandalized. After all the policy and strategy thinking I’ve been doing earlier today, I reckon there is still the old-fashioned need to make sure services are delivered properly and things get sorted out. So we need to get BT to do the repairs, and hope that the rail station is not going through another of the bouts of vandalism that have impacted it and its users in the past.

Local services for local people...

2011-04-26T11:41:00.005Z

I'm planning to go along to a forum in Shelford that has been set up about local library services - meanwhile what to do about local bus services continues as an issue, with a second of the meetings chaired by County Cllr Tim Stone coming up. The district council has done some good work here in knitting together the various strands of community buses, dial a ride etc for South Cambs.

Some good news in terms of one vital local service - the new units and shelving is going up in the village shop in Whittlesford, so it wont be long now before that is back in action...

Whittlesford Parish Council update

2011-04-18T10:45:00.004Z

I attended the Whittlesford April parish council meeting last Tuesday: as well as a useful discussion about the potential for a village orchard, which Ann Beeby is leading on, and I am helping, and some discussion about planning matters, here are the main things I've been doing that I reported on:

I have had complaints about litter round the bench at the corner of the A505 and New Farm Road, and will contact the district environmental services to arrange to have a clear-up done.

Station Road scrapyard: I met the enforcement officer at South Cambs who updated me on the request for a meeting that had come in from the owners, in response to the formal letter written to them about apparent lack of planning permission for the site. The planning team at South Cambs are going to meet with them this week. The purpose of the meeting is to see if the owners have any evidence to counter the district's assessment that there is no covering planning permission.

Boundary changes – I attended a meeting of the Electoral Committee at South Cambs, where the district boundaries between Whittlesford and Duxford were discussed, following on from the changes to the parish boundaries. The committee agreed to change the district boundaries so that the A505 will be the boundary. The inconvenience for residents living on the south side of Station and Royston Road is that they will have to vote twice in district council elections in two years: in 2011 in Duxford, in 2012 in Whittlesford, as the Boundaries Commission in London can't make the change any quicker.

I asked the housing and new communities team at South Cambs for an explanation of the sheltered house that appeared to be for sale at butts green: they confirmed it is just the equity share – I’ve passed that information on to people who raised the question.

I attended the Neighbourhood Policing Panel at Sawston. I queried progress on the two burglaries just after Christmas in Whittlesford. The police had conducted patrols afterwards and offered advice to a number of houses that looked vulnerable. No arrests have yet been made.

KWS: new glass house at Thriplow

2011-04-12T17:11:00.003Z

Did you know that nearly half the cereal crop in the UK, covering some 20,000 hectares, comes from varieties bred at KWS, the plant breeding site at Thriplow? Now planning permission has been secured to erect a new glasshouse on the site, to support development of new strains of wheat and barley. The glasshouse will replace some polytunnels. Just the sort of new science industry that we need.
You can now see more details of planning applications, including links to maps, at the Scambs website.

New nets for Thriplow Cricketers

2011-04-12T16:48:00.006Z

The District Council has given planning permission for practice nets to go up at Thriplow Cricket Club.
Funding for the nets was secured last year in a successful bid to the district's grants committee, and one that I was very happy to support.
At one point the cricketers feared that if planning permission was delayed, they would run out of time to spend the money, because one of the conditions attached to the grant is that it was to be spent within 18 months.
I've been talking to the grants officer. Now, just in time, all clear to go.

Blue lamp update: Sawston Neighbourhood Policing Forum

2011-04-05T15:45:00.004Z

Well attended and brisk session last evening to discuss local crime and anti-social behaviour issues with Inspector Savage and his high-quality team. Went there representing Thriplow and Whittlesford.

Lot of concerns about people parking on pavements, in front of schools, speeding through villages and using mobile phones while driving. Also rogue traders pestering people on the doorstep. Police distributed 17 tickets in Whittlesford last quarter - mainly at Station Road. The two houses burgled in Whittlesford in late December/early January. Police regretted that they haven't caught the culprits but they did mount patrols following on from that and identified some high-risk houses and gave advice to people in the village about crime prevention.

Insp Savage confirmed that he is in close discussion with planning enforcement officers at South Cambs about the scrap-yard at Station Road Whittlesford - I can confirm that because I saw him in South Cambs HQ the other week!

Interesting presentation delivered by Sawston Village College youngsters about vandalism and litter in the area, and an urge to action to get it sorted.

In some ways, we should be thankful that generally speaking crime is low in this part of the world, because we have strong, active and reasonably prosperous communities.

Thanks, Marc...

2011-03-28T19:07:00.003Z

Bought some groceries Sunday morning - last day of trading for the village shop run by Marc Massey.

As well as what we needed on a week-end like OJ, eggs and croissants, and the essentials like kitchen rolls, tea, and tins of soup, Masseys has been good for a whole range of other things, including cheeses, veggie boxes, panettone and carrot cake. And the village shop has over the years hosted wine-tasting, carol-singing, cake-stalls, and village competitions.A tough act to follow...in a tough economic climate for small retailers.

It's a house for sale, Jim, but not as we know it...

2011-03-28T18:25:00.007Z

One of the houses on The Lawn, Whittlesford, is up for sale (see pic) and this has caused some surprise as this house is one of a cluster that form part of the council-owned sheltered housing scheme in the village.

The explanation is that South Cambs operates a scheme -as do many other local authorities - known as "Equity Share" for the elderly whereby people aged 60 or more who are homeowners or have sufficient capital can purchase a 75% share in a sheltered bungalow or flat.

If later on the equity shareowner wants to sell then they have to assign the lease to a qualifying person. The Council has first dibs in that it can nominate a purchaser from its housing register for the owner to assign the lease to. If the Council is unable to nominate someone then the owner has to find their own purchaser (hence the for sale sign). But the buyer is only buying the equity share, and not the freehold of the property, so this is not about houses going out from the council pool of sheltered accommodation. More details on the South Cambs website

Praise for South Cambs at Thriplow Parish AGM

2011-03-28T18:12:00.003Z

At least one of the days of the Thriplow Daffodil week-end was reasonably sunny. Saturday was anything but...

Thursday before saw a reasonable turn-out for the Thriplow Parish Council AGM.

Putting aside the debate between residents over the accuracy of the village information signs (apparently mentioning a street that last existed in 1903) there was praise from all sides for South Cambs in the way that its environmental team had handled the issue of noise/anti-social behaviour outside the village hall, and for the good work on a transport strategy worked up by the new communities team to overcome the gaps that might be left in the bus services as a result of the county council's reduction of the subsidies paid to the bus operators. I'm trying to secure a grant from the council for the improvements to the village recreation ground - not easy as although it is a very solid proposal, times are hard. We'll see - there is a meeting to decide grants next week at south cambs where, like a true boy-scout, I'll do my best.

solar farms - not quite so much subsidy

2011-03-22T18:42:00.002Z

The proposal for a solar farm on fields between Thriplow and Whittlesford may not be built after all. The subsidy for solar power that made these schemes viable is being quickly reviewed by the government, and could mean the feed-in tariff rate paid per kilowatt (over a 25 year period, guaranteed) cut from over 30 pence to 8 pence for large schemes of over 5 megawatts.

This means that household and school/village hall solar panel installations will still get a good rate of return, but the schemes for 250 or so panels in a field will not. I think this is a good move, and I was on the very listenable andy harper show on radio cambridgeshire yesterday morning to say why. This will take the edge of a market that was in danger of rapidly over-heating (no pun intended).

But watch this space for government plans to make putting up with wind turbines more attractive, by giving the business rate paid by the turbine company to the local community. No easy answers on energy at the moment.

Reducing emissions from the Pet Crem at Thriplow Heath on the A505

2011-03-15T22:06:00.004Z

The Pet Crem by the side of the A505 at Thriplow Heath has secured planning permission to introduce new technology that will reduce emissions and fuel consumption, rebuild the chimney and also provide a purpose built air quality monitoring platform.

I'm grateful to the science officers within the district's environmental services team for taking me through the proposals.

Scrapyard at Station Road, Whittlesford

2011-03-11T14:49:00.003Z

As I reported to Whittlesford Parish Council on Tuesday, after a meeting with the planning officers at South Cambs, the district council has now written to the owners of the scrapyard site setting out the council's view as to what business activity the site has planning permission for, and what it has not.

The owners have 28 days to reply. I've written to the people in Station Road who contacted me giving them more detail. As can be seen from the aerial pic, there is a good deal of light industry in and around Station Road, co-existing with the station and its commuter traffic, and the Station Road residents themselves.

A patchwork of transport services for South Cambs

2011-03-09T18:17:00.006Z

To a meeting today attended by local district and county councillors as well as parish representatives about the bus service reductions that the county council will trigger by withdrawal of its subsidies.

It was good to see our local "industry" present, aka the Duxford Air Museum in attendance in the form of its director, no less. So a bit of Big Society thinking going on here.

For information, the C7 bus serving Whittlesford and Heathfield will be reducing its frequency but good news, changes to its route should improve its punctuality. Click for the Stagecoach information.

Tim Stone chaired the meeting and the debate ranged far and wide, but the upshot of it is that there needs to be three "layers" of public transport going forward:
1. The commercial services such as the C7;
2. The semi-community funded, feeding in to the commercial hubs;
3. The community and dial-a-ride schemes that a lot of parishes are supporting.

The colourful chart shows community car schemes - as mapped by the district council officers. Interestingly there isn't a lot of coverage in the Thriplow, Duxford, Whittlesford, Sawston area, which may be because of the good transport links and the good local services such as the surgery at Sawston. Next step is to be clear where the cuts will be made, and do a gap analysis to see what should fill it - and be realistic about what can and cannot be done to replace the millions of pounds of subsidies.

Scrapyard at Station Road Whittlesford and a much needed piece of cake

2011-03-08T15:09:00.004Z

Went to see the planners and other officers at South Cambs - it makes sense to have a bundle of things to go through each time. Caught up on:
- the position re affordable homes and the council's "waiting list"
- the complex planning history to the scrapyard site (see pic left) at Station Road, Whittlesford, which comes under discussion at the Parish Council this evening. The scrapyard owners have also applied to the Traffic Commissioners for an HGV licence;
- the environmental/emissions improvements that go with replacing the old chimney at the pet crem. on the A505 ouside Thriplow;
- a planning/conservation issue which has a long history, and required the long memories and big files of the planning officers, and after which I needed a piece of the banana, date and cherry cake currently on sale at South Cambs and which certainly sticks to your ribs!

Formula 1 testing back at Duxford - 27th April

2011-03-07T17:31:00.002Z

Just got notice that Team Lotus will be holding a single full day of testing on 27 April. This is a different team than Renault who were doing the testing two years ago - this is me asking questions of the test manager at the time.
Under the terms of the testing agreement which South Cambs District Council brokered, the test car is entitled to operate between 0800 and 1800 hours, with a break in the middle of day.
Have to see how it goes - it will certainly boost visitor numbers to the museum.

Highways Agency application Station Road East

2011-02-17T23:15:00.003Z

At the Highways Agency/County Highways compound at Station Road East there is a large metal shed (arrowed) where the workers change and shower after a busy day putting cones on the motorway or whatever.

It was supposed to be a temporary structure when it was put up five years ago, and now the HA are asking for it to be made permanent. And I suppose one more metal shed down there wont make much difference. But it was originally supposed to be a portakabin - looks a jolly big one is all I can say, from the pictures going with the application.

Thriplow play area

2011-02-13T14:20:00.004Z

Over to Thriplow Village Hall on Saturday morning to look in at the consultation with people about improving the recreation area and particularly facilities for children (ie swings, play area etc).

Met the people running the group, amid the general hubbub - it was very well attended, with amazing selection of cakes and lots of littlies crawling around as well as people voting by stickers (see pic) for the facilities they would like to see most. The group is called the Thriplow Rec Improvement Committee, or TRIC for short. Its aim is to raise funds from a variety of sources and to consult widely so that the improvements can be afforded, and are relevant to the needs of the users and to the neighbours of the play area, indeed to everyone in the village.
I'm certainly very willing to see what South Cambs can do to help.

Annual district councillor report to Thriplow Parish Council AGM 2010/11

2011-02-06T18:32:00.002Z

I have continued to work closely with Thriplow Parish Council, particularly on planning matters that affect the village and also the Heathfield estate:
• I supported the successful appeal last May to the planning inspectors that meant the children’s swimming pool at Thriplow Heath could continue in business;
• I got the district council planning committee to visit Heathfield in November, and I spoke against the planning application to build additional houses at the entrance to the estate. The application was rejected. I also opposed the proposal to split a Heathfield house into four flats, because of the parking problems it would bring, but that application went ahead;
• I supported an application from residents in Fowlmere Road that eventually overcame planning officer objections.
I attend the neighbourhood police forum that covers Thriplow. I also go to the Duxford Airfield liaison meetings, and last summer worked with the parish council to persuade the airfield to stop sending tankers through Heathfield on airshow days.
I continue to chair the district’s corporate governance committee and am now the chairman of the Climate Change Working Group. I was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire about solar farms. I hope to ensure that the proposed solar farm on the bridleway east of Thriplow makes a contribution to the community nearby.
I backed a successful bid from the village cricket club to obtain a grant from South Cambs District Council to put astro-turf in on the practice nets. I’m sure this will help improve performance!

Whittlesford village shop - faced with closure

2011-02-03T09:36:00.002Z

I'm not posting much on this yet,as most people know about it, and there is a meeting next Tuesday in the Village Hall chaired by the parish council - mainly to see if there is the will and the support to start a co-operative village shop.
Tough decisions too for the current owners, who have really made a go of it for the last five years, and made it the heart of the village. And for the Post Office...

Solar farm proposals at Thriplow drift - background

2011-02-03T09:28:00.013Z

Suddenly there is all this activity to spread solar panels across packets of countryside. These are not community schemes for putting panels on school roofs, but industrial scale proposals backed by investors, who are taking advantage of the favourable rates for electricity that the government has offered. They may be a really good idea, but we need to have the debate now about something that will still be there a quarter of a century later? Who gets the best deal out of this – the people, the planet, or the investors? Click here for an excerpt from my radio cambridgeshire interview

We are now into double figures in terms of sites across Cambridgeshire, with planning decisions having to be made soon about Bourn and Chittering. There are also proposals for Croydon near Royston, and at Thriplow, near Wilburton and at Ickleton. With the exception of Cornwall, where proposals are about nine months further ahead in terms of planning applications, there is nothing like this any where else in the UK. I guess we have both the spots of low-grade farmland (between the generally pretty high-grade fields) and, more critically, the good connections to the National Grid that these people are looking for.

I think the reason for this surge of activity is the money these schemes will make for their backers by supplying electricity into the national grid at a rate guaranteed for the next 25 years. That fixed price, called the feed-in tariff (FiT), is currently set at just under 30 pence a kilowatt for these schemes generating up to 5 megawatts. But anything built after March 2012 gets 5p a kilowatt less. So for an investor seeking a maximum return, guaranteed for 25 years, this all has to be up and running in the next 12 months – which isn’t a long time in planning terms.

The government has said what it calls “clean energy cashback” will allow many people to invest in small scale low carbon electricity, in return for a guaranteed payment both for the electricity they generate and export. And the cost of paying for this tariff will be met out of our electricity bills. Should we in Cambridgeshire be doing something equally quick to build our own solar parks – after all it is our county. The problem is the up-front cost. It could be £50 to 100k to put panels on a school. These solar farms are costing more like £12million to build, and typically need about 35 acres of land.

Solar farms may have great potential – Kevin McCloud from TV’s Grand Designs is a supporter so they must be a good thing. But we do need to understand the returns for everyone involved. How much profit over the 25 years will the investors make compared with the payments they are offering local landowners and support for communities? Is it a fair return or not?

Will this activity drive down the cost of building solar panels – in other words, a price worth paying because of the knock-on benefits? If most of these developments are about putting up panels in a field, then how much technology and know how will be transferred to putting panels on school roofs?

How much employment will these solar parks provide? The solar industry talks about tens of thousands of jobs being created. Once the panels are in place – a six month build – then how much more is there to do for 25 years apart from maintenance and mending the fences round the site?

Swavesey byways committee

2011-02-01T21:48:00.003Z

Once a year in early February I drive up the M11 and leave behind the chi-chi world of Cambridge, with its ipads and its skinny lattes, to fulfil an obscure duty of South Cambridgeshire District Council.
I cross over through the mists and fog to the outskirts of the fen country, to spend an evening in a meeting room with a dozen Cambridgeshire farmers, who are accountable under the Swavesey Byways Act, 1984, for the upkeep of the drove roads around that village.
There is no public money spent on the upkeep, except some administrative time, and costs and labour are carefully husbanded by people who know the value of most things.
Decisions are made as to which droves need attention, and what needs to be put by in case of emergencies. Some gentle banter is exchanged about how things might be done on this road, as opposed to that, and, in recent years, the encroachment of the guided busway.
All who attend are urged to keep an ear to the ground for cheap supplies of the "planings", the raw ingredient skimmed from motorway repairs that keeps the drove roads accessible.

And then we close the meeting for another year.

C7 bus service

2011-01-30T18:24:00.005Z

As part of the county council cuts, one proposal is to end the subsidy paid to the bus company to run the C7 service covering Sawston, Duxford and Whittlesford. The problem is that the bus is pretty empty going through Whittlesford, and fills up from Sawston onwards into Cambridge. But the county has been paying a staggering quarter of a million (£239k) each year in subsidy. It does make you wonder whether the deal has been a good one ...

My point is that we are going to have to be flexible about these sorts of services, and one thing I reckon we should look at is a feeder service that collects people from villages and drops off at a Sawston bus stop to connect with the main bus - and runs to a time that co-incides with the train departures at Whittlesford, which the C7 currently doesnt.

This is the set-up in Hong Kong, and probably other places round the world, which has stood the test of time (in that it was running 20 years ago when I first lived there and was still going strong, now with air-conditioning, when we were back last year).

Of course you still need a driver, but the operating costs of a small mini-bus must be less than a huge double-decker. If each parish council put in a subsidy, and made it clear to villagers that was what it was doing, there might be more sense of ownership and support. Insurance costs - maybe the local authority could use its purchasing muscle to negotiate a good deal.

Or, we just accept that there isnt going to be much of a bus service, and we all drive around, paying whatever it will be next for a litre of gas, and the people who can't drive are trapped in the village (without its village shop...).

solar farm proposals at Thriplow drift

2011-01-29T18:26:00.005Z

Went along to Thriplow Village Hall to find out more about the proposal for a solar park along the drift to the east of Thriplow. (The area marked in red on the map) About 50 people came along during the course of the afternoon.

This is a bit of a first, as there are currently about six applications in with south cambs seeking to put up solar panels, and a similar number down in Cornwall, but nothing actually up and running yet. So uncharted territory. Obviously far less impact on the countryside than a wind turbine - but less electricity generated.

It was helpful to understand more about the proposal, how it would work, and what impact there would be on the environment from the panels. For example, the panels don't require full sun to operate, so even on a dull winters day they generate some power. Thriplow Parish Council intend to hold a public meeting on this proposals - date to be advised.

Whittlesford Social Club - application for licence extension withdrawn

2011-01-21T15:03:00.003Z

Went along to the well-attended meeting last Friday
night at the Village Hall where about sixty people
turned up to ask questions about the licence extension put in by the village social club. The extension would in effect allow drinking outside the building, in what is currently the tarmac covered courtyard (left) but which now has planning permission for a different - and arguably more attractive covering, lending to a greater level of outside socializing in the summer months.
The meeting hear a lot of concern about noise levels, swearing, inconsiderate car parking on the High Street and late hours voiced by people living nearby. On the other hand, a village amenity that has been there a long time and clearly serves a need given its membership numbers.
After a while, an agreement put forward by the social club to with draw the application and try to work with people to build a better relationship. I support this - clearly given the level of concern if something isn't worked out they may well lose the whole licence.
I spoke to the licence team at South Cambs today who confirmed this application had been withdrawn and who are meeting the social club management team next week to give some guidance.

solar farm proposals at Thriplow drift

2011-01-21T14:23:00.007Z

Just had a letter about a public meeting at Thriplow village hall next Friday, 28th Jan, from a firm wanting to put an unspecified number of solar panels on the Russell Smith Farms fields on either side of the drift path between Thriplow and Whittlesford.

The panels would be over six foot high and be two feet off the ground, so eight foot in all.Well, we've had plenty of wind farm applications - another meeting about the Heydon Grange Wind Farm coming up in mid-Feb - so I guess it was only a matter of time before this popped up.

Street lighting in Knight's Orchard

2011-01-21T14:11:00.003Z

I'd asked the county engineers about the lighting levels in Knight's Orchard, off Station Road. The issue came up at the Parish Council.

The engineers have come back to say that the developer isn't planning to put street lights in, and this apparently was agreed some time back. This was on the basis of local consultation - which we'll need to find out a bit more about - that because Station Road itself is pretty dark (say that again) if this development was lit to current requirements it would look like a fairground by contrast.

Mmmm. People now moving into the development might not have realised this - it does look pretty dark - and because it is on a slope, it seems more so going further away from Station Road. I also learnt that developers do not have to install lighting for the road to be adopted.

Licencing application from Whittlesford Social Club

2011-01-11T17:30:00.004Z

The club, in the High Street, is seeking a variation on its licence, mainly to do with what activities and and when it can stage indoors. The application can be viewed at the south cambs website as follows:

www.scambs.gov.uk then go to Licensing, Permits etc on left - then
Public Registers - under Licensing Act chose Premises Register. You now
can put in Whittlesford Social Club in the (Premises Name box) and press
Search. You should now be able to scroll down and click on the blue
number 017700 variation, which will give you all the details of the
application.

People have until 20th January to lodge any views on the application. If any further information is required people can contact the case officer dealing with this variation application on (01954)
713024 .

Neighbourhood policing forum update

2011-01-05T02:06:00.003Z

A brisk meeting on a cold January night.

Locally, the Sawston-based police led by Inspector Savage that cover this patch of Cambridgeshire including Whittlesford, Thriplow and Heathfield have focused on traffic, speeding and parking issues, and on bogus traders, in recent months.

The police have visited Station Road Whittlesford on a regular basis and issued a number of warnings and parking tickets. Their focus is the commuters who chance parking on Station Road, though they have also got the message across to the builders (who are less in evidence now the two developments are almost completed.)

Incidents in Whittlesford and Thriplow are below those recorded during the same period last year and crime such as burglary is down across the sub-district.

They haven't found too many bogus traders, though the meeting heard reports of a scam whereby householders are offered a gutter-cleaning service at a very reasonable price, the trick being that the cleaners then surreptiously and quietly damage the guttering in the process of cleaning, say that they have spotted a problem and then offer to repair it at what quickly becomes a very unreasonable price.

salt bins

2011-01-03T15:20:00.002Z

The arrival of salt bins in Whittlesford just before the Christmas big freeze, and the one already in use at Heathfield has been followed by requests for more of them, for use by Pepperslade residents for example. Clearly if we are going to have more of this weather then these little bits of self-help are going to be more in demand.

graffitti

2010-12-31T15:01:00.003Z

Mmmm - someone had some time on their hands over Xmas - need to get the graffitti squad out from south cambs to clean this off. I'm assuming it isnt a banksy.

planning advice

2010-12-31T14:41:00.004Z

This past year has seen completion of a number of major building developments in the village of Whittlesford - the Holiday Inn Express franchise at the the Red Lion Hotel at Whittlesford Bridge (right pic), which seems to be doing very well in terms of bookings, and the two roads on the south of Station Road - Knights Walk (left pic) and The Moraine - which are more or less complete. As well as extensions and new houses on a residential level.
It is always a balance between development and preserving the reason for people living in a village in the first place. I think we are getting it right.
I was talking to the planning people at South Cambs about the increase in planning appeals to the planning inspectors. They reckoned that as property prices were still flat, people were thinking more about extensions than moving, and inevitably if the planning application is turned down then there isn't much to lose by putting in an appeal.
The best advice I give is that (a) it is the job of the architect to work with the planners at the district council - that is what he or she is paid to do - not leave it up to the householder and (b) getting the parish council to be supportive - by turning up at the parish council meeting where the application is considered - helps considerably. Although the parish council view is not binding on the planners at the district council, it does have to be taken into account, and will often result in the application being considered by the planning committee - at which the applicant gets the chance to put their case in person.

Tough times ahead for local government

2010-12-13T23:00:00.004Z

The detail of the grant settlement announced today by the government makes for tough times for South Cambs.

Officers at Cambourne have done the math and reckon it to be a cut of £1m in formula grant in 11/12 then another three quarters of a million off the following year. So a %16 reduction in year one and another ten per cent in year two.

Government adds it up differently, saying the cut is 5%, but it counts the £3.6m from parish precepts in there. It is a lot to lose taking effect almost immediately, ie "front-loaded". Lots of savings will have to come from back-office mergers, but to be effective, these take time to put together.

land west of Moorfield Road

2010-12-13T06:42:00.004Z

Here's what the planning inspectors appointed to review South Cambs site specific planning policy said about the land along the A505 to the west of Moorfield Road:

27.12 Land at Whittlesford Bridge, just north of the bypass, is open, and forms a continuation of the large open area to the west. The site east of Moorfield Road, included in the Development Framework by the Inspector who considered objections to the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan, has housing on 3 sides as well as the bypass to the south. This is not true of land west of Moorfield Road, which land should not be included in the Development Framework.

So it will be interesting to see what happens to the planning application for change of use from agricultural to office acccommodation of some barns along the A505. Thin end of the wedge, say some. I've asked the planning officers to bear this report in mind, and let me know their thoughts.

Welcome to Whittlesford's "new villagers" at Duxford Chapel

2010-12-11T16:41:00.007Z

A welcome break in the weather co-incided with the Whittlesford Society's welcome to the "new villagers" in the two small developments off the south side of Station Road (Knight's Orchard and The Moraine) plus the people who have lived in the existing houses between Station Road and the A505 and who now find themselves officially part of Whittlesford.
A good turn-out, at the ancient Duxford Chapel just next to the Red Lion Hotel.
While the assembled Whittlesfordians - old and new - sipped wine and munched on Christmas cake, there was a brief exposition on the history of the Chapel, and then Robert James, WhitSoc president, made a presentation to Whittlesford Parish Clerk Ian Skellern (pictured right) for all his hard work in driving through the amendment to the parish boundary. It has taken a long time, and several meetings with the district council's boundary committee, and legal officers, and a submission to the Boundaries Commission, for all this to happen, so well deserved thanks to Ian.

Community Orchard - a possibility?

2010-12-05T18:22:00.006Z

Went along to a district-council sponsored training day with the East of England Apples and Orchards Project. There were people from about ten local groups there from villages across south cambs all interested in setting up a community orchard.
Cambridgeshire is one of the least wooded counties in the UK, with only 2.1% woodland cover. Its orchards are both valuable wildlife
habitats and important landscape features, even though they are dwindling.

The day-long event covered ideas about planning, design, site selection, and technical stuff on cross-pollination and rootstock selection. The pic on the right is of us all shivering round an apple tree at Melbourn's community orchard taking in the finer points of pruning, and the pic next to it is the aspiration!
We will discuss at the parish council next week, but this will take some organising to grow it from a seedling into a Thoday's Quarrenden or a Huntingdon Codlin!

The planning process

2010-12-01T22:20:00.004Z

Went along to the monthly planning committee at South Cambs because a retrospective application for converting a house into four flats in Heathfield had been submitted and I wanted to ensure there was a full planning committee discussion on the matter.

Which there was, and despite local resident association opposition, the planning application went through. Do I agree with that - no, I spoke against it - but at least there was due process, and the developer set out his arguments as to why the application should be granted and I respect the decision of the committee.

I believe that planning applications are an area of council business where councillors can make a difference, and it is a privilige to be able to do so.

Speed limit at junction of A505 and Thriplow turn-off

2010-11-28T15:40:00.007Z

The County Council are reviewing speed limits across Cambridgeshire over 30 mph, and are proposing a 50 mph limit further out along the A505 towards Fowlmere than currently exists.
The advantage is that this would capture the turn-off to Thriplow, which is currently pretty hairy, given that it is a right turn off a narrow road coming up to the brow of a hill with traffic streaming the other way. The map below shows what is proposed, the pic is the approach. We have to 14th December to comment.

South Cambs Village Energy Show Sat 27th November

2010-11-26T17:50:00.003Z

Going to try to get along to the The Village Energy Show 2010 which takes place tomorrow, Saturday 27th November, from 1pm to 5pm at the Comberton Leisure Centre next to Comberton Village College.

There will be over 25 different stands covering different aspects of sustainable living. The main aim of the show is to invite everyone who lives and works in South Cambridgeshire to find out more about sustainable living – bringing more sustainable energy into our lives whilst reducing our carbon footprints and tackling climate change – it will be realistic demonstrating what CAN be done NOW and LOCALLY!

There will be talks throughout the afternoon covering issues of sustainable home energy, food and transport. We're catering for all the family with a real world, real South Cambs and real people focus. I'll report back.

Brrr - hope its not another cold winter for the elderly!

2010-11-26T17:28:00.005Z

Dropped in to see Nicky, the very hard-working "warden" at the sheltered housing in Lettice Martin Croft in Whittlesford this afternoon.

As the winter starts to bite some of the elderly people in the houses there are feeling the chill - even though two years back we arranged for all the roof cavities to be insulated and for all the electrical controls and thermostats to be checked.

Anyway, because of the design of some of the accommodation, the heating isnt brilliant, and I was asked to make some enquiries if any more could be done. The council have sent out an assessor to take temperatures and assess the current heating arrangements, and the next step will be to see what additional or replacement heating can be put in place. It ain't fun being cold and old.

Affordable housing

2010-11-22T21:12:00.003Z

A useful meeting at South Cambs District Council with a local charity and the council's officers exploring how we can have a level-playing field for village based charities who want to help fund and support affordable housing and not have everything run remotely by one of the very large - and probably very efficient - regional housing associations. Making progress, and we need it based on the numbers of potential people on the Whittlesford waiting list.

Blue bins discussion

2010-11-12T22:35:00.002Z

At the parish council meeting there was general approval for the newdistrict supplied blue bins, and some discussion about what happens to the green bin, and if a group of people could if they wished club together to keep fewer bins rather than having the full three-bin set. Also discussion about the amount of paper in the new caddies.

It is making a difference though, in terms of what can be recycled, and is such a change from when everyone just put black bin liners out (for the foxes to tear open and snack on the contents!)

Planning success for Heathfield

2010-11-04T23:12:00.003Z

I arranged for the planning committee of South Cambs District Council to visit the site at the entrance to Heathfield to see what for the themselves. This was on Thursday morning, and in the afternoon the committee considered and rejected the planning application to build two more houses there.

Sawston to Whittlesford cycleway opened this morning

2010-10-29T12:39:00.004Z

Turned up along with about twenty other keen cyclists of all ages, including our vicar, Ruth, to witness the official opening of the Sawston to Whittlesford cycleway this morning. The old path was impossible for cyclists and pretty iffy for people on foot, with roots breaking up the surface and steep inclines over the footbridges. The work has been paid for by the county council, supported by the local landowner, and it is brilliant, with the path curving round the fields, past the parish church and over to Sawston.
We voted it through at the district council planning committee, though there were some concerns that school children using the route would have to be careful crossing the busy Sawston by-pass.