Warning After Spate of Burglaries

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Dear Subscribers,

We’re urging residents to be vigilant, review their home security and look out for any suspicious activity following a string of burglaries across the south of Cambridgeshire.

Since the weekend the force has received reports of burglaries spiking in Cambourne, Sawston and Trumpington as well as nearby villages.

Where thieves have been successful in breaking into properties, jewellery and cash have been taken along with electrical items.

Please take simple measures to keep your home safe. Lock doors, keep keys and valuables out of reach and ensure outbuildings and rear entrances to properties are also secure.

Consider installing good interior and exterior lighting, used together with time switches or motion sensors.

Keep an eye on your neighbours’ property and report anything that doesn’t feel right to police.

If a crime is in progress, call police on 999. Otherwise, please call 101 or report it online.

Further burglary prevention advice is available here.

Detective Sergeant James Rabbett
Southern Burglary Team

Car Park Entrance

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Parish News

The car park entrance is in a bad state with potholes appearing every so often. Rather than spend time, effort and money on patched repairs, the Parish Council has decided to put in place a more substantial entrance apron of block pavers. We would like to start the work as soon as possible but are asking residents for comment before the work takes place. Please respond to the clerk before Monday 29th November (planned start date) with comments or concerns.

 

Please also note that the car park will be out of use for the duration of the works which we anticipate to take about one week. During this time, there is likely to be more street parking and a little bit of inconvenience.

 

 

COVID Community Update & Support Funds

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COVID community update – 11 November 2021

 

Household Support Fund

The Government recently announced a new Household Support Fund that runs until 31 March 2022. The Fund is designed to support those most in need over the winter months.

  • Last year there was a Winter Support Fund. This scheme is similar.
  • Cambridgeshire County Council received approximately £3.5 million and are encouraged to work closely with partners, including the district councils.
  • Like the Winter Support grant, much of the money must be spent on households with children in need.
  • Cambridgeshire is using some of the grant to fund supermarket top up vouchers during holiday periods for families with children who receive free school meals. This will be October half term, the Christmas holidays and February half term.
  • The other main areas the fund can be spent on is food, energy or water bills (including essentials linked to this such as a boiler repair). There is also a limited amount of flexibility to pay for other essentials or housing costs if other support schemes do not meet the exceptional need.
  • As part of the winter support scheme, the County Council and district council partners set up a direct award scheme. This is a one-off payment of up to £50 for food or fuel for those in urgent and immediate need. This scheme of support is
  • . Please ask anyone in need to contact us on

 

However, we know there is a range of support needed for people, especially with changes to Universal Credit and higher energy bills putting pressure on family finances. That is why we have a dedicated officer in our benefits team ready to help.

Often people will find asking for help the hardest part. If someone in your community needs extra support, please ask them to contact us on . We can then help ensure they get all the support they need.

Cambridgeshire is now in an Enhanced Response Area status and as such Cambridgeshire County Council have provided the following advice:

 

  1. Legal requirement – Complete a risk assessment which includes the COVID risks (this can be as part of the normal Health and Safety risk assessment and/or Event Management Plan). For the indoor part of the event, please note any indoor area needs sufficient ventilation. You need to assess the level of ventilation in indoor spaces, as per the HSE guidance, and include that in your risk assessment.  A simple ventilation toolkit to assess the ventilation can found online.

 

  1. As we are now in an Enhanced Response Area we strongly recommend:
    1. that you use the NHS Covid Pass system as per Government guidance for events
    2. face coverings to be worn by staff and attendees indoors and in crowded areas outside, on public transport (including for any transport arranged for attendees e.g. coaches, taxis, and/or car sharing)
    3. set up the event to enable social distancing
    4. if any attendee show symptoms of COVID, they should not attend
    5. staff and attendees should carry out lateral flow testing prior to the event and for four to five days after the event.
    6. the use of the NHS QR code to help trace and stop the spread of COVID
    7. regular and frequent cleaning of high frequency touch points
    8. regular hand washing and the provision of hand sanitisers at all events
    9. make COVID-safe arrangements for any food and drink offered during the event
    10. continued used of COVID-safe messages and posters reminding attendees to take common sense COVID precautions such as wearing face coverings, keeping a social distance, washing hands and so on, including online messaging via the event organiser’s website encouraging vaccine uptake (both COVID and Flu vaccines) and COVID testing.

 

Our Environmental Health Team can clarify any of this advice and answer your questions if needed. Please contact them on .

 

 

 

 

Theft in Barton

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Neighbourhood Watch

Dear Residents,

There has recently been a theft from a property in Barton which backs on to open fields.  The thieves took all electric fencing and batteries, as well as causing damage to gates by cutting padlocks etc.  Please ensure your property is as safe as it can be and be aware of unusual behaviour during the day and night time.  Please report anything suspicious to 101 (as a non emergency), 999 for an emergency.

Thank you

NW Co-ordinator

COVID Update

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COVID community update – 4 November 2021

Dear volunteer coordinators and Parish Councillors

You have hopefully seen the news this week that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been granted Enhanced Response Area status by the Government for five weeks from 1 November. This is welcomed by local Public Health colleagues and should mean that additional resources are available to support work to accelerate vaccination and testing programmes; to establish some bespoke measures in settings such as schools (face coverings, reduced visits etc.); or to encourage mask-wearing in public places. Although mask-wearing is encouraged, it will not be required by law.

 

This status was requested by local Public Health colleagues, with support from local political leaders, in recognition of the above-average COVID-19 case rates across the region, and the pressures currently facing the NHS locally (with local hospitals all at or very nearly at maximum capacity).

 

The Government is urging local residents to remain cautious and follow the national guidance, including to get vaccinated, wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport, meet outdoors where possible and let fresh air into homes or other enclosed spaces. We have received a few requests for any guidance on events due to this news (see item lower in this briefing).

GCP Upcoming Consultations

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Cambridge Eastern Access and Making Connections consultations

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) will shortly be launching two public consultations on proposals to help people move around the area more easily and sustainably.

The Cambridge Eastern Access consultation will ask for views on proposals for cycling and walking improvements on Newmarket Road, while the ‘Making Connections’ consultation is part of the GCP’s City Access project and will ask for views on proposals to transform public transport, cycling and walking as well as reducing pollution and congestion in the area.

We would like to invite you to attend events where you will be able to find out about the consultations from the project teams and ask questions.

The details are as follows:

Public consultation events
Tuesday 9 November, 5-6.45pm and 7-8.45pm
Wednesday 1 December, 4-5.45pm and 6-7.45pm
The Abbey Stadium, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LN (please use Cutthroat Lane)
Please register to attend at http://ow.ly/RNZy50GC9PI

These events will be in person and there are two separate sessions on each evening. Each session will include a presentation on each of the two consultations, followed by a question and answer session.

To help run the event in a Covid-safe way we are asking people to register online for their chosen date and session. The number of people allowed in the room is limited and we are unable to guarantee entry if people have not pre-registered.

GCP staff will be cleaning the room at the end of each session, so both sessions will end promptly on time. We will be wearing face coverings and would encourage attendees to also wear a face covering unless exempt.

East area GCP community forum (online event)
Thursday 11 Nov, 6pm
Please register online for this webinar:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NULuQmWYSBmDccLOZKpscA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

There will be further consultation events and GCP community forum meetings during the consultation period. These will be advertised on our website and social media channels.

We look forward to welcoming you to our events.

Local Transport and Connectivity Questionnaire

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PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ON REGION’S TRANSPORT FUTURE SET TO LAUNCH

People in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are being encouraged to have their say on the region’s transport future. The Combined Authority is refreshing the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) – the strategy for making transport in the region better.

An initial public engagement on the developing Local Transport and Connectivity Plan will begin on Monday, November 1, lasting for four weeks and closing on November 28. The feedback will influence and feed into the next phase of engagement – a formal six-week public consultation, currently planned for January. The Combined Authority Board approved the launch of the engagement at its meeting on October 27th.

Click here to Have Your Say

Action Fraud Reporting & More

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I was not aware that scams of various types can be reported to Action Fraud. Or by phoning 0300 123 2040.

Phishing emails can be reported to:

Scam texts can be reported free of charge to 7726

 

Halloween Night

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Dear subscriber,

With Halloween just a few days away we’re urging trick-or-treaters to respect their neighbours.

October 31 is traditionally a night of fun and frolics with children dressed up as ghosts, witches and assorted monsters knocking on doors saying ‘Trick or Treat’.

While many householders are happy to hand over sweets or other presents to ward off the evil spirits it’s important to remember that not everybody wants strangers knocking on their doors.

For vulnerable or older members of the community Halloween can be a frightening and intimidating experience.

We have created a poster people can download and display in their homes asking trick-or-treaters not to call as well as some tips for trick-or-treaters to ensure everyone has a pleasant evening.

Other tips for an enjoyable Halloween include:

  • Ensure children are accompanied by a responsible adult
  • Explain how vulnerable people can be frightened by an unexpected group calling at their door on a dark evening
  • Only knock at houses where you know you will be welcome
  • Respect any ‘no trick-or-treating’ notices displayed

If you do have any concerns, please call 999 in an emergency or 101/online if you want to report a concern.

You can download a copy of the poster to display here.

Or use the attachment.

Chief Inspector Paul Rogerson
Neighbourhood Policing Team

Greater Cambridge Local Plan

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Greater Cambridge Local Plan – First Proposals

For those interested in what planners are thinking about in the coming years, there is a website being set up to explain the detail of the Greater Cambridge Local Plan. Go and have a look! Below is the introduction:

Greater Cambridge has a strong and nationally important economy. Over recent years, jobs have been created faster than new homes have been built, and this has contributed to higher house prices and increased commuting into the area. Our new development strategy aims to meet our increased need for new homes in a way that minimises our environmental impacts and improves the wellbeing of our communities.

We anticipate than an average of 1,771 homes per year will be built in our area during the Plan period. Our evidence shows that we need to plan for about 550 more homes per year in order to meet our need for housing. Our strategy proposes 19 additional sites for development, along with sites already in our adopted 2018 Local Plans, in order to meet this housing need. Alongside this we will plan for the business space, supporting community facilities, green spaces and infrastructure to meet the needs of our growing communities.

We propose to direct development to where it has the least climate impact, where active and public transport is the natural choice, where green infrastructure can be delivered alongside new development, and where jobs, services and facilities can be located near to where people live.

Our vision is for the well known characteristics of the historic core of Cambridge to be complemented by active, compact neighbourhoods – new and old. This means providing opportunities to regenerate areas that aren’t yet reaching their potential, and creating new city neighbourhoods which have the critical mass of homes, jobs and services to create thriving communities, making best use of brownfield and safeguarded land.

Alongside this, we want our new towns to mature into great places to live and work, making the most of their existing and planned public transport links to Cambridge and other centres. In the case of Cambourne, East-West Rail means that it will be one of the best-connected places in our region, and whilst things like the location of the new station are yet to be resolved, we do think it can develop into a more substantial town with a more fully developed and lively centre.

We want our rural villages to continue to thrive and sustain their local services, but we don’t want to encourage lots of new homes in places where car travel is the easiest or only way to get around. We therefore propose some development in and around larger villages that have good transport links and services, and to support important employment clusters. In smaller villages, we’ll continue to support infill development and affordable housing on suitable sites, but we do not propose lots of village growth.