Category: Local Issues

Following a letter from government inspectors questioning council plans, local residents are being urged to contact the council leader.

We often complain that major works like this are progressed without talking to the residents, so the council should be congratulated on holding a well-publicised consultation on this one.

The Boundary Commission has suggested new ward boundaries for the city which will radically reshape Queen Edith’s with respect to the county council.

The brand new “Queen Edith” public house in Wulfstan Way opened for business this Friday lunchtime. Mrs R and I were amongst the first at the bar.

Our local newsletter has been given a grant to continue. Now, if we can get advertising from local businesses, we can make the issues more extensive.

I’m amazed, especially with an election taking place, that the plan to switch off streetlights at night has not been a bigger issue.

The original plan has been completely revised, and the feeling is that the new design, as approved, will be better for both cyclists and pedestrians.

Addenbrooke’s roundabout handles a massive amount of traffic, yet has to cater for some of the most vulnerable members of society.

If you’re a Queen Edith’s resident, over the next few days you should be getting the relaunched issue of “Queen Edith’s Community News” through your letterbox. Here’s why I’m rather excited about this.

How on earth did something as hideous as “The Marque” get built? The city council commissioned a report to try to find out, and it’s just been published.

The remodelling of Hills Road to accommodate ambitious cycle paths, continues to cause some controversy between some residents and the council.

There has been considerable disquiet amongst members and visitors over a decision to make three of the seven rangers redundant.

This meeting was appalling, exposing the sheer awfulness of the whole system, from the way different parts of local government don’t talk to each other, to the exclusion of the public from decision-making.

The bimonthly South Area Committee meeting of Cambridge city councillors is coming to Hills Road, and there is a public speaking slot too.

The columns are taller, and can light up a wider area, but it seems to me that this just appears to have allowed a reduction in the number of lights.

The corner of Luard Road and Sedley Taylor Road catches both car drivers and cyclists unaware, and has been the site of regular accidents over many years.

Several well-researched submissions by local residents are known to have been provided, with the authors also planning to present their case in person.

Nightingale Park, South Area Committee, a new community website, 20mph consultation, the EF Language School, Networking lunch, and a load of Bollards…

This blog isn’t intended to be a community newsletter, but here are some of the publications which might bring local events to your attention.

I’d strongly encourage all local residents to wander over to Rock Road and take a look at the library display today.

“The Marque” development has been nominated for a major award – but don’t worry, the world hasn’t gone mad, it’s for the “Carbuncle Cup”.

Few subjects get people worked up as much in Queen Edith’s as parking, and it’s not surprising, because the attitude of so many drivers is that the law, courtesy and consideration are things that only apply to other people.

I raise this point because I think the council should either make this clearer, or change the format of the meetings to make them more public-focused.

“The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” will be looking at how successful we’ve been (or haven’t been!) at making this area an attractive place to live.

Councillors surprisingly went against the advice of their own officers and approved a proposed development on the corner of Hills Avenue and Hills Road.

The main decision to be made seems to be whether to go for a cycle path partitioned off from the road by a kerb and posts, or one which has no barrier (but is wider).

Armed with a fair amount of government money, the council is planning to create wider and safer cycleways which go far beyond painting lines on the road.

The City Council met on Thursday to vote on its “Local Plan”, which will direct development in the area for the next 15 years. The result was a formality.

A special meeting of the City Council takes place this Thursday to consider two petitions objecting to aspects of the proposed Local Plan for the area.

The clique of county councillors called the “cabinet” has been stopped in enthusiastically leaping on the development opportunities looming off Wort’s Causeway.

The County Council has today been ensuring it plays its part in facilitating the locally unwanted development on the Green Belt in Queen Edith’s.

The Save The Cambridge Green Belt Campaign has produced this short guide to the otherwise rather baffling process of commenting on the local Council’s draft local plan.

Last week I had a bit of a rant here about a County Council decision which was simply a bad idea, yet looked like it was going to be implemented anyway. In a small victory for democracy today, the proposal was at least sent for discussion.

Today’s news that our County Council wants to start charging for parking at the Park and Ride sites is not just objectionable, it’s idiotic.

The campaign to save the Cambridge Green Belt now has a website at www.greenbeltsos.org.uk which includes a link to a petition on the subject at Change.org.

Cambridgeshire County Council was recently successful in an application for ?4 million of funding to increase cycling in the city, with one scheme aiming to reconfigure Hills Road to provide segregated bike lanes.

Former Queen Edith’s county councillor Geoff Heathcock has condemned the approval of the Wort’s Causeway development in no uncertain terms.

I have now been sent the text of the speech made by Queen Edith’s councillor Jean Swanson outlining her concerns about development on the Green Belt, but explaining her position on supporting the Wort’s Causeway development.

At a special council meeting on Thursday night, none of the city’s Labour or Liberal Democrat councillors were prepared to vote to delete the two Wort’s Causeway sites from the Local Plan.

A number of additional documents have been sent to us which will be of interest to anyone following the case of the Worts Causeway development.

The go-ahead has been given for a new pub in the heart of the area, replacing the old Queen Edith pub on Wulfstan Way.

An excellent letter from local resident Jeremy Jones takes the council’s case for building on the Green Belt to task, on the grounds of it being based on bad data, misinterpreting national guidelines, and conceding to demands too easily.

The council has decided that development on the sites concerned (“GB1 and GB2”) is unavoidable if the required new housing targets are to be met.

In which we see what a thoroughly well researched argument against a housing development looks like.

The local campaign to “Save the Green Belt” and specifically to object to housing development on Wort’s Causeway is gathering momentum. A meeting of many of those concerned was held on 30 January, and I’ve paraphrased the minutes here for the benefit of anyone who couldn’t attend or who would still like to get involved.

A council review has identified six sites around the city which it feels could be released from the Green Belt; the two largest areas earmarked as having potential for housing are both within Queen Edith’s ward, either side of Wort’s Causeway.

Although the County Council’s long-awaited South Area Parking Review proposals were a huge disappointment after so much time, with very little of real substance, at least they’re giving residents the chance to express their views.

Whether it’s having nowhere to park ourselves, or having our driveways (and roads!) blocked by inconsiderate parking, the topic affects the majority of people in Queen Edith’s.

The arbitrary allocation of Queen Edith’s ward to the South Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency, rather than the Cambridge city constituency, looks even more ridiculous in light of the latest boundary commission proposals.

Streets in the west of Queen Edith’s are being transformed into an overflow car park for Addenbrooke’s and Hills Road Sixth Form College.