Archive for category: News

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).

Send us your thoughts and questions

Get in touch

Copyright © 2023 East West Railway Company, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:

East West Railway Company

One Grafton Mews

Midsummer Boulevard

Milton Keynes, MK9 1FB

United Kingdom

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We’re seeing an increase in thefts from vehicles and on some occasions tools worth thousands of pounds being stolen 👀

There are some simple steps you can take to help prevent yourself becoming a victim of tool theft 🛠

Here are some tips to help you:

• Avoid leaving your tools unattended in your vehicles overnight.
• Keep your vehicle locked at all times, and park in a secure, well-lit area whenever possible.
• Consider investing in additional security measures, such as steering wheel locks, alarm systems, or vehicle trackers to deter thieves.
• Mark your tools with a unique identifier, such as your name or postcode. You can also register your tools at: www.immobilise.com to help us identify owners of recovered stolen tools.
• Remember, if you see any suspicious activity, especially near you vehicle, report it to us as soon as possible.

We take tool theft very seriously, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to prevent it. However, we need your help too.

By following these simple steps, you can make it much harder for thieves to target your tools when they’re inside your vehicle.

For more crime prevention advice visit 👉 https://bit.ly/3HTso2v

Kind regards,

Detective Inspector, Juliet Heald

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen an increase in keyless car thefts, particularly targeting high-value vehicles such as BMWs and Mercedes.

Thieves are using a relay box to pick up the signal of car keys that are inside people’s homes and then replicating that signal to steal the car.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in the theft of £500,000 worth of cars in our county alone.

Do you own a keyless car? Here are some steps you can take to help reduce the risk of being targeted.

👉 Keep your car keys away from the front of your property.

👉 For just a few pounds you can purchase a Faraday pouch to store your keys in – this will prevent thieves picking up the signal from your car keys.

For more on how to keep your vehicle safe visit https://bit.ly/41VXQ8k.

Kind regards,

Chief Inspector, Denise Harper

Thank you to everyone who attended our quarterly online meeting on Tuesday. We had one of our best turnouts, with lots of people bringing their concerns to our attention.

For those that couldn’t make it, this email will give you an insight into the work that has been done over the past three months and our priorities for now until our next meeting at the beginning of August.

In February we agreed that drugs, knife crime, anti-social behaviour and anti-social driving would be the main areas of focus.

Drug dealing

The team have carried out warrants in Barrington (and as a result Essex), Trumpington and Fen Road into the supply of drugs. Three people were arrested as a result of the Barrington warrant which has had a significant impact on cross boarder dealing.

Lots of stop searches which has resulted in out of court disposals for personal use of cannabis. The team have also visited an address in Fowlmere.

Anti-social driving

The team have carried out speed checks in Duxford, Sawston, Swavesey, Bar Hill, Bourn, Shelford, Meldreth, Longstowe and Foxton.

A community protection warning was delivered in Suffolk to prevent a car meet in Waterbeach and a warning issued to the driver of a black Audi parking and driving around Cambourne.

Anti-social behaviour

High visibility patrols have been carried out in Cambourne, Bar Hill, Melbourn, Grantchester, Fen Drayton and Orchard Park. Young people have been engaged with and stop searched.

The team have also issued two Anti-Social Behaviour Contracts to young people in Cambourne for their continued disruption in the area.

Priorities and other concerns raised

The priorities for the next three months will continue as knife crime, drug dealing, anti-social driving and anti-social behaviour as they come out as the most critical in the online survey.

There were lots of concerns raised on the evening including speeding, parking and anti-social behaviour across Linton, Caldecott, Melbourn, Milton, Shelford, Fen Road and Waterbeach. These will be looked at by the team over the coming months.

We’ll meet again online on 8 August where we will have another presentation on recent activity from the team, listen to concerns and together agree the priorities. You can register for the meeting in advance here.

In the meantime you can follow our work on Policing South Cambridgeshire Facebook.

Please ensure you report any concerns to us as they happen online.

Kind Regards

Inspector Simon Birch

South Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Team

We are pleased to say that we’ve seen a 95% decrease in catalytic converter theft this month.

This isn’t by chance. It’s thanks to members of the public who have shown confidence in their local police teams by reporting suspicious activity, as it happens.

It is the community’s quick thinking and the swift reaction of local officers that we have seen such a huge reduction.

Arrest and charge

On 23 March officers responded to a catalytic converter theft in Kingsley Walk, Ely and arrested three men who have since been charged in connection with catalytic converter theft.

The statistics

During the first quarter of the year (January-March), catalytic converters were being stolen at a rate of almost four every day (3.8).

Since the start of April (1-26th) there have been six thefts recorded, a decrease of between 91 and 95 per cent compared to January (133), February (140) and March (73).

The work

The decrease follows significant work carried out by the local policing teams who oversee proactive

disruption of organised crime gangs as well as support from the police helicopter and the road policing unit to help intercept suspects. Officers have carried out targeted days of action and weeks of patrols, visited scrap dealers and have launched dates for further free catalytic converter marking. Search warrants have been carried linked to Serious and Organised crime groups who police are now investigating as part of a regional crime series.

What next?

Whilst we have disrupted organised crime groups in our area by arresting and remanding individuals, we know other criminals won’t be able to resist the temptation to steal such valuable metal again. So our message is please remain vigilant.

Prevention

It takes just minutes for thieves to remove a catalytic converter and on many occasions victims are unaware their vehicle has been targeted even though it was on their driveway. Thieves are also known to be violent and may carry weapons.

Toyotas and Hondas have been predominantly targeted but other vehicles including Lexus, Mercedes, Mazda and Volkswagen have also been singled out.

Vehicle owners are urged to look out for vehicle jacked up (especially in the middle of the vehicle) and listen out for the sound of metal being cut. There may be a vehicle nearby with the engine running and two or three people involved.

Call 999 and share the vehicle number plate, make and model. Where possible, also provide the make, model and VRM number of your own vehicle.

Kind Regards

Chief Inspector Paul Rogerson