Around Queen Edith's

Smarter Cambridge Transport is asking for a six-month trial of city-wide neighbourhood parking schemes, allowing local communities to choose the most suitable parking controls for each area. Support its request by signing the petition at the Cambridgeshire County Council website.

Monday night’s council “South Area Committee” meeting heard what the Cambridge News described as a “blistering attack” on many local transport initiatives by Stagecoach bus chief Andy Campbell.

Car parking is a growing problem in several parts of Queen Edith’s, most notably in the roads nearest to Addenbrooke’s and in the roads opposite Hills Road Sixth Form College. In Rathmore Road, Hartington Grove, Marshall Road and Blinco Grove, pavements are regularly blocked and gridlock can ensue as two-way traffic tries to fit into a single carriageway. One solution might be a residents’ parking scheme.

As part of the Greater Cambridge City Deal, this junction is being examined for improvements, and the views of residents and users are being sought.

It’s clear then that the proposed extension of the Biomedical Campus is not good news for wildlife. But according to Aidan Van de Weyer of the South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats, “No one has demonstrated that there is any demand for the development of this land, let alone made a case that benefits of development would outweigh the damage that it would cause.”

Our streetlights may remain on overnight, after the city council has stepped in and proposed to cover the cost.

We may not have a village centre, or signs naming our part of the city, and we may not even be represented by the city’s MP, but I’d like to think Queen Edith’s is steadily continuing to develop more of a character as it grows in importance.

The County Council’s has granted us a consultation survey on the proposed streetlight switch-off. But there are still many questions to be answered, and many serious objections to the plan.

This is an exciting time in the development of our city, and if you’d like to take part, there are opportunities to do so.

Cambridgeshire County Council seems determined to press ahead with its plan to turn off the county’s streetlights after midnight. Here’s what residents were told at Monday night’s City Council South Area Committee meeting.

It was probably the best-attended South Area Committee meeting for a long time. Here’s what the council officer and contractors had to tell local residents about the cycleway saga.

The first ever Queen Edith’s Community Action Morning was considered a big success. Here are some photos!

A small, single storey house on Worts’ Causeway has been bought by a local property developer and plans submitted to replace it with two 4-bedroomed, 3-storey houses.

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.