Archive for category: News

If anyone wants to join Barton Speedwatch please let Andy Martin know. The training sessions are by video which can be watched at home. This is about 25 minutes long. There is an indemnity form to sign and return the the area Speedwatch coordinator. When online training is complete the volunteer can receive practical training by participating in a road side Speedwatch session.

We do need help with Speedwatch as speeds in 30 mph on Haslingfield Road, Wimpole Road and Comberton Road are much higher than they should be. Typically we would try and arrange one Speedwatch session a month and each session is about 1 hour. This year we have only conducted a few Speedwatch sessions but would conduct more if we had more help.

Barton Parish Council would like to receive feedback on the 75 bus service. Below is an email from Lisa Redrup (our District Councillor) who is following up on any changes to bus services in our area. If you use the 75 bus and or have ideas and suggestions about the service, then please contact Barton Parish Council.

“The CPCA are currently reviewing the bus services they fund, and the 75 bus service has been identified as expensive for the level of use. They are looking at ways that the service could be changed to encourage more use.

I met with Neal Byers, Andy Hunt, and Oliver Howarth last week about this review to find out more about what they are considering. They’re looking for ways to make the service more cost effective, with the intent that any changes that they recommend would come into place April 2024. The long time frame is to allow time for changes in tenders. This means that recommendations will be put forward fairly soon. The only change they mentioned that they are considering is combining the 75 and 31 services. The 31 service comes from Newton to Hauxton, Little Shelford, Great Shelford, Stapleford, Addenbrookes and into Cambridge on Hills Road, so it’s very different from the 75 location wise. They mentioned Haslingfield as one of the higher areas of use of the 75, so it would seem they would aim to include that but they did not give details of the route they’re planning. I’ve followed up with some more questions on the likely route by email.

I shared suggestions from people I’ve been in contact with in Haslingfield and Harlton on the kinds of changes that would help them to use the bus service. They replied that they are aware of many of the things that are needed (clearer signage and communications, frequency of services, evening services, reliability) and that they have ambitious aims for the local bus services in the long-term, but there is limited scope currently. They are looking for things like connections, start and end points, specific timings of services that could improve usage, rather than increasing services at the moment. They are currently putting together a case for franchising, which would give them much more control over the bus services that are provided, although it’s not yet clear if this will go ahead. They are also putting together a plan for improved communication, which would be via a Bus Service Improvement Plan.

I asked about involvement of Parishes in the review and they would welcome written input with ideas and suggestions. They would particularly appreciate any data that may be relevant.”

Our second MVAS arrived at the end of September and has been on Haslingfield Road since. Data shows that speeding continues to be an issue with about 38% of vehicles travelling at over 35 mph (speeding ticket threshold). The v85 speed is 40 mph which means that “normal” drivers treat this road as a 40 mph road. Top speed was 77 mph. The MVAS is set up to record speed in both directions and shows that when motorists are approaching the sign (visual display), the speeds are slightly lower than those that are departing and do not see the display.

Barton Parish council would like feedback from residents to see if they would want hardware such as speed cushions and build-outs to physically reduce traffic speed.

Please contact the clerk or Councillor Andy Martin.

Since the beginning of 2022, we’ve been inviting residents, businesses and councillors across South Cambridgeshire to our quarterly online community meetings.

During this time, we’ve had 286 people sign up to our meetings and more than 1,650 people share their concerns via our online survey.

This has resulted in us working together to agree priorities to tackle every three months across East Cambs.

They have included anti-social behaviour, anti-social driving, drug dealing, speeding and parking. We’ve also taken multiple specific concerns about individuals or areas to look at.

Our next meeting is taking place online on Tuesday 7th November at 7pm and we would love to see you there. You will hear updates from your neighbourhood officers, see the latest crime statistics and find out what the community concerns have been raised.

Most importantly, you will get to ask the officers any questions you may have or raise any concerns about an issue.

Before the meeting comes to a close, a new set of priorities will be agreed which will be tackled until we meet again in early 2024.

So, what are you waiting for! Sign up to the meeting today.

If you can’t make the meeting, please take 10 minutes to share your thoughts.

Kind Regards

Inspector Simon Birch

South Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Policing Team