Burglary in South Cambridgeshire

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Burglary in South Cambs this summer

Over the past four weeks we’ve recorded 10 burglaries or attempted burglaries in South Cambridgeshire.

We’re sure you will agree that is 10 too many.

The incidents include people entering through open or unlocked windows and doors.

We’re also seeing burglars distracting their victims by pretending they are someone they are not to enter homes.

Be alert to suspicious vehicles or unfamiliar faces and remember that if in doubt, keep them out of your homes.

Keep an eye out for elderly neighbours and work with others in your street to keep a look out for each other’s properties when you are away this summer.

Please take a few moments to have a read through our burglary and distraction burglary crime prevention advice so you can outsmart any potential burglars and keep your home safe and secure.

Kind Regards,

Detective Sergeant James Rabbett
Southern Acquisitive Crime Team

Update on Village Pond

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The Parish Council has taken further expert advice, and having initially considered leaving the silt (the muddy layer now visible at the bottom of the pond) as it performs the function of a filter, we have been advised that this is a good window of opportunity to remove some of the silt that has built up over time, and therefore both clean and increase the depth of the pond. With greater depth we would have a greater volume of water, which would hopefully fare better during future heatwaves. The pond will then be left to naturally re-fill with rain and run-off water when the weather decides to change. Some villagers may remember the last time de-silting happened in 1995!

A first step in this process is the testing of the silt to ensure it does not contain contaminants (e.g. oils, heavy metals) and, once the Parish Council has the results, we will be able to determine when and by whom the de-silting process can be conducted, and to where we can dispose of it.

By way of an update on the pond wildlife we are pleased to confirm that we didn’t lose all our fish! Sadly a few of the carp did succumb to the high water temperatures, however a team of local volunteers have managed to save around 700 fish and they have been relocated to a temporary rescue tank and seem to be doing well. The ducks, newts, moorhens, toads etc. that have also been inhabiting the pond will find their way to other ponds, of which we know there are many not far from the central village one.

By taking the actions outlined above (and other potential steps to be determined) we hope to be able to mitigate against such extreme water loss in future. Further updates will be released as information is known.

Barton Parish Council

Haslingfield EWR drop-in Postponed

/in News /by Andrew Martin

If you were planning to attend the EWR drop-in on Tuesday 19th at Haslingfield Village Hall, it has been postponed. The postponement is because of the red heat warning. The event will go ahead and EWR are looking at the following week now.

Early Start for Bin Collections

/in News /by Andrew Martin

From Greater Cambridgeshire Shared Waste

During the forecast extremely hot weather, please ensure your bins are put out the night before they are due to be collected. This is because Greater Cambridge Shared Waste crews will be starting work earlier in the day than usual, to try and avoid the worst of the heat. This means your bins may get emptied earlier in the morning than you are used to.

 

Tom Horn | Senior Communications Officer

More on the Pond

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The Parish Council will hold a meeting Thursday or Friday next week to discuss a course of action for the village pond.

There is a very useful article on fresh water habitats and pros and cons of de-silting ponds. The question is do we follow advice for a fresh water habitat pond and not remove any silt or do we treat this as a “fish” pond and remove the silt, deepen the pond with the resultant loss of biodiversity and fresh water habitat? Do we try and combine the two environments?

Your views and comments are welcome early next week before our meeting.

 

Anthony Browne News

/in News /by Andrew Martin

In the news

A new era under a new leader

Well, what an interesting week. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had two one-on-one meetings with the then Chancellor and the then Health Secretary, talking not about leadership but economic policy, and support for hospitals in Cambridge. Five days later, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid both resigned from Government. I immediately issued a second letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister and published the first one I had submitted a month earlier which helped trigger the first no-confidence vote. Those tuned into my social media will have seen copies of both my letters to the 1922 Committee calling for him to go.

Whoever the next Prime Minister is, I will be working with them to help the constituents of South Cambridgeshire and ensure a better future for everyone. Its been a packed month in the constituency, and you can scroll down to find out more about how I have been:

  • Polling constituents on who should be the next prime minister. Thanks to the 1,220 people who gave their opinions – Rishi Sunak was the clear favourite with 27% of the vote.
  • Surveying residents in Sawston to tackle issues that concern residents, including the state of roads and the former Barclays Bank eyesore.
  • Meeting with the Health Secretary to push for specialist hospitals and a pay rise for NHS staff.
  • Pushing the investigations into reports of toxic water in Great Shelford, and receiving an update from the Minister for Water.
  • Assisting constituents with passport applications, schooling concerns, emergency support, Homes for Ukraine applications, and over 1,000 other issues.

 

My letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister. As I say in them both, it is time to restore trust in politics and competence in government.

My article for this week’s Cambridge Independant, on what I’m looking for in the next Prime Minister and why I backed Rishi in round 1.

Campaign updates

Fighting for South Cambridgeshire

A one-to-one meeting I had with the health secretary discussing funding for new hospitals and a review of  NHS pay in Cambridge to give NHS workers here a high cost of living allowance.
More on this via Facebook

My latest resident’s survey

Residents in Sawston have begun to receive letters directing them to my survey, campaigning to ensure the town has everything residents need.
Find out more here

Twitter

Facebook

Website

Instagram

Local Greenways Public Sessions

/in News /by Andrew Martin

There is a public session at Comberton Village Hall today showing detailed drawings of the plans for Comberton Greenways. On Tuesday there will be public sessions for Haslingfield Greenways with a morning session in Grantchester and afternoon session in Haslingfield. All are worth visiting as they will link in to Barton Greenways.

Public sessions for Barton Greenways are likely in the Autumn when plans have been progressed. In the meantime Barton Parish Council is in dialog with the contractors to discuss parts of the scheme so that we can coordinate with them.

 

Fuel Thefts on the Rise

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Fuel for both vehicles and domestic use has been a valuable commodity and now more so with the extremely high oil price on international markets. A typical tank of petrol or diesel is worth £100 or more and a 500 litre tank of domestic central heating oil worth about £500. As a result of the high prices thefts are on the increase.

Ideally cars should be parked in a garage or secure car park. If this is not possible use CCTV or busy areas where theft is less easily committed. Domestic fuel tanks are usually outside these days and so are hard to protect. Use locks on tanks where possible and think about installing CCTV and lighting.

Thieves will go for easier targets. Make it as hard as possible.

Next Engagement Meeting

/in News /by Andrew Martin

We’re preparing to hold our next online engagement meeting next month and we would like to once again invite you to have your say.

In May we met and heard about the work being done to tackle drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and speeding across the district.

At the end of the last meeting and based on the survey results we agreed to continue to focus our efforts on the same priorities and over the past couple of months that is what the team have been doing.

Please take a few moments to fill in our online survey again so we can see what has or hasn’t changed since we last heard from you.

We’ll then meet again online, on 9 August from 7pm, where we will have a presentation on recent policing activity from the team, we’ll listen to concerns, present the result of results of the survey and allow you to once again shape the police activity. Please register to attend this meeting.

After the meeting, your neighbourhood policing team will work on the matters we agree and update you with the progress over the coming weeks and months.

We hope you will get on board with this pilot once again so we can work together to create a Safer Cambridgeshire.

We look forward to hearing from you during the process.

Inspector Shane Fasey
South Cambs

Community Forum

/in News /by Andrew Martin

North West and West Cambridge Community Forum
Community forums are held in South Cambridgeshire to bring residents, councils and developers together to raise issues and discuss how local developments are progressing. The Forums are open to everyone and usually meet three times a year, with an informal drop-in session followed by a more formal meeting. Since the onset of the pandemic, some meetings have gone online and continue to be conducted using Zoom Webinar, usually in the evenings. Others are in-person. Details such as start times will be updated online, with agendas being published in the week prior to the event.

The next Community Forum for North West and West Cambridge is an in-person meeting on Wednesday July 20 at Storey’s Field Community Centre from 6pm. For further details, see: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/north-west-and-west-community-forum/

 

 

Many thanks for your help with this messaging.

Kind regards,

The Communications Team