Archive for category: News

EWR will be holding public events in our are in June. I recommend you attend to find out how the latest EWR proposals affect Barton and near-by Parishes. Our nearest event will be held at Eversden Village Hall on 22 June 2023 between 2 pm and 8 pm. Alternatively you can attend the one at Harston Village Hall on 26th June between 2 pm and 8 pm.

 

22 June 2023 2pm – 8pm
Eversden Village Hall
4 Chapel Road, Great Eversden, CB23 1HP

26 June 2023 2pm – 8pm
Harston Village Hall
20 High Street, Harston, CB22 7PX

 

You can find further information about our proposals and the events in EWR newsletter and on oEWR website. This information now also includes a series of factsheets on some of the key topics of interest.

 

If you would like to order hard copies of the four reports relating to the Route Update Announcement please click this link and place your order. The documents will be sent to you directly. Route Update Announcement Documents – East West Railway Consultations (apsmos.com)

 

If you’re part of a larger group or organisation and need multiple copies, please email:

 

EWR look forward to welcoming you to the events and please do get in contact with EWR if you have any questions in the meantime.

Robin Page

Many in the village will already know of the sad passing of Robin Page who lived next to Bird Farm and Haslingfield Road. Robin was well know for his views on the decline of the village and his concerns about intensive farming and the impact it has on wildlife. In 1994 he became nationally know when he took over from Phil Drabble as the presenter of the BBC program “One Man and His Dog”. He was also well known for his political views when he represented Barton as District Councilor from 1973 to 2006 and Haslingfield from 2012 to 2016.

Robin’s funeral service will take place on Thursday 22 June 2023 at 2pm at St Peter’s Church.  Please use the recreation ground car park to avoid congestion on School Lane.

BBC Orbituary 

 

Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership update
This week we have seen a huge amount of interest in the launch of the Making Connections consultation report.
The results have been widely discussed throughout the media and we have seen the Making Connections 2022 report downloaded extensively while the presentation of the results has had over 200 views.
As well as the report itself we have published the raw survey data in addition to the written submissions we received during the ten-week consultation. All of the information is available at www.greatercambridge.org.uk/mc-2022
To remind you, next week the report will be presented to the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Joint Assembly meeting on Thursday 8 June where members will have the opportunity to discuss the findings. You will be able to view the meeting live at www.youtube.com/@GreaterCambridgePartnership
Members will also hear an update on the Greater Cambridge Greenways at Bottisham, Swaffham and St Ives, which links to next week being the 100th annual National Bike Week.
As the UK’s leading cycling city – walking and cycling is the main mode of transport for many of us on our daily commutes – the GCP is working to deliver improved ways to travel around Greater Cambridge. You can learn more at: https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/active-travel-projects

Making Connections update

Consultation report published

A report outlining the results from the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Making Connections public consultation has been published today at https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/mc-22

More than 24,000 people responded to the consultation, which proposed measures to transform the bus network alongside better walking and cycling infrastructure that would be funded in the long term by the phased introduction of a road-user charge.

The key findings and the wide-ranging views – both in favour and against the proposals – are contained in a paper to the GCP’s Joint Assembly which meets next month.

The headlines are:

• Over 70% of people were in favour of the future transport network – with more buses to more locations, cheaper fares and longer operating times supported by better walking and cycling infrastructure to give people faster, cheaper and more reliable travel alternatives to the car.
• 58% of respondents opposed the proposed Sustainable Travel Zone (STZ) as the means for delivering the transport vision. Opposition increased with age from 35 to 64 with 55-64 year olds the most likely to oppose. Those who lived outside of Cambridge were also more likely to oppose.
• 34% of people support the STZ as proposed. Support was highest among the youngest and the oldest respondents, who are more likely to find it most difficult to access education and healthcare due to the limitations of the existing bus network. Support was highest in the city centre and west of the city.
• Around half of those who oppose the STZ did support the vision for better buses.
• The views from organisations such as business, healthcare and others were broadly supportive of the plans but with caveats about the impact on staff or those who were vulnerable.
• Additional representative opinion polling was carried out which showed opposition and support for a road user charge was more balanced.

The reasons for supporting or opposing varied but covered a variety of areas:

• Those who supported the proposals were keen to get more frequent bus services, would be able to cycle more safely and generally were positive towards the idea of a charge to tackle climate change and reduce congestion.
• While those who opposed felt the exemptions didn’t go far enough, and perceived a charge to be unfair, in particular on those travelling to Addenbrooke’s and Royal Papworth hospitals, and also believed there would be a negative impact on jobs.

With a large number of free text responses in the survey to supplement the ‘closed questions’, a lot of detail is now available about what people feel could be positive amendments to the scheme. These included changing the rate for cars, changing the hours, amending the discounts and exemptions and altering the boundaries.

The report will be discussed at the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Joint Assembly meeting on Thursday 8 June.

Route Update Announcement
May 2023

Route Update Announcement

Today, we’re publishing the route update for East West Rail (EWR), which will see new train services connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge moving one step closer – unlocking the area’s potential to create jobs, grow the economy and attract investment for the entire country.

Our proposals will slash journey times across the region, create new opportunities for people to access jobs, green spaces and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

Our news is part of a wider government announcement the Chancellor of the Exchequer made this morning about plans to bolster the UK’s position as a global science superpower. This announcement recognises that delivering this new line is critical to improving connections between UK science powerhouses Oxford and Cambridge and will bring more investment to the region.

The proposals we’re announcing today for EWR have been shaped by the hundreds of conversations we’ve had with local people, businesses and other stakeholders and the thousands of responses we received from local people to our second non-statutory public consultation.

Alongside this announcement, we have also launched our Need to Sell scheme, which sets out support available for those property owners potentially impacted by EWR and takes into consideration the feedback received during our 2021 consultation.

What other information is being published?  

Alongside the Route Update Report, a range of factsheets and updated maps, we’ve published several other related documents, including:

• The 2021 Consultation Feedback Report
• The EWR Economic and Technical Report 
• The Need to Sell Property Scheme Guide

All of the Route Update Announcement information can be found on our website.

Find out more here

Next steps

In the coming weeks we’ll be in a location near you holding public information events and meeting stakeholders across the route to answer questions about the updates.

The events will run from 2pm – 8pm and the dates can be found below. Further details are available on our Community Hub.

13 June – Bedford Heights
20 June – Ravensden Village Hall
22 June – Eversden Village Hall
26 June – Harston Village Hall
30 June – Summerlin Centre, Woburn Sands
04 July – Lidlington Village Hall
07 July – Tempsford Stuart Memorial Village Hall
11 July – Cambridge Belfry Hotel
12 July – John Paul ll Centre

20 July – Love’s Farm, St Neot’s

We’ll continue to work on more detailed designs and proposals, which we’ll present at the statutory consultation which we expect to take place in the first half of 2024. This will be a key part of the process to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO).

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