Temporary 20 mph Going

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The chicanes and 20 mph signs will be removed next week. The temporary speed limit was imposed as part of COVID measures and the temporary traffic order expires on 16 February 2022.

 

We have submitted a bid to make the High Street and off-roads permanently 20 mph and are awaiting the out come of that bid. This bid will not include the chicanes but will have better road signage and roundels on the road surface as a reminders. Many residential areas in towns, cities and villages are going to 20 mph so we are hopeful of success.

 

 

County Councillor Reports

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Monthly reports by our County Councillor, Michael Atkins, are on the County Council Page. The latest report (January 2022) covers:

  • Covid-19: Plan A restrictions; case rates very high, particularly in children
  • County Council Budget: increase in council tax, household support fund, just transition fund
  • Active travel proposals: modified after resident feedback
  • Traffic order: proposed change in speed limit on St Neots Rd
  • 400 homes to benefit from improved energy efficiency
  • Additional needs employment event
  • Farm tenancies available
  • Contact details

Barton Parish Institute (Village Hall) AGM

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The Barton Parish Institute (Village Hall) AGM will be held at the Village Hall on Thursday 10th February starting at 7:45 pm. All welcome.

 

 

Traffic & Transport Update

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Highway Code

Further to our last post, the new version of the Highway Code is now available on line. Hard copies can be pre-ordered and expected to be available from April.

Local Transport and Connectivity Plan

Following the feedback from the survey last November, the combined authority has decided on a complete rewrite of the LTCP. They now will hold a formal 12 week consultation from  May 2022.

East West Rail

EWR are setting up local representative groups. The first meeting of the South Cambridgeshire East group will be on 28th February. Councillor Andy Martin will be representing Barton Parish. Feedback will be provided after the meeting.

Cycling News

If you are interested in the latest news on cycling in and area Cambridge have a look at and or sign up to Cambridge Cycling Campaign. The latest section of the Chisholm Trail is now open with a new bridge over the River Cam between the Abbey and Chesterton, linking East Chesterton to Barnwell community south of the river.

 

Highway Code Rule Changes

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The latest updates to the Highway Code come into force this weekend (29th January 2022). Are you aware of the changes? In all there are eight changes you need to know about. Below is a brief summary of some of these. The latest copy with the changes should be available from tomorrow. Make sure you do have the latest version (current one was published in 2015 with revisions last year…….so wait for the official updated version to see the detailed changes).

New Hierarchy

The biggest change is the firm establishment of a road user hierarchy. In summary, the greatest protection is given to pedestrians (the most vulnerable) with least to HGVs.

  1. Pedestrians
  2. Cyclists
  3. Horse riders
  4. Motorcyclists
  5. Cars/Taxis
  6. Vans/Minibuses
  7. HGVs

Priorities for pedestrians

At a junction, drivers and motorcyclists must give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross. This is likely to cause the greatest confusion as drivers get used to waiting for pedestrians to cross as opposed to pedestrians waiting for vehicles to turn at junctions. In addition, cyclists should give way to pedestrians on shared-cycle tracks.

Drivers to give priority to cyclists

Similarly drivers should give way to cyclists and take care to give them plenty of space on roundabouts.

Clearer Guidance for Drivers

Cyclists have been given clear guidance that they should ride in the middle of a lane when possible on quiet, less busy roads. They are also encouraged to ride two-abreast which makes it safer and easier for vehicles to overtake a large group of riders. Drivers should give at least 1.5 metres clearance when overtaking.

Many accidents occur when car doors are opened without looking. Drivers should look over their shoulder to ensure that the road is clear before opening a door. This becomes automatic when using the opposite hand to open a door; the so called Dutch Reach technique.

Reminders

Pavements are for pedestrians, pushchairs, wheel chairs and invalid scooters. Cyclists and horse riders are forbidden to use pavements for riding. This includes children. Also horse riders are not allowed to use cycle paths. Vehicles should not be parked on pavements or cycle paths as this causes problems for pedestrians and cyclists. Vehicles should not be parked within 10 meters of a junction, on a bend, against a drop curb or driveway.

When did you last read the Highway Code?

Many of us have not picked up a copy of the Highway Code since we took our driving test. With the new changes coming into force this weekend, I would encourage you to go on line, down load a copy or buy a hard copy and familarise yourself and your friends and family with the changes and updates. (Reminder to wait for the official latest version which should be available from 29th January 2022.)

 

COVID Community Update

/in News /by Andrew Martin

COVID community update – 27 January 2022

Dear volunteer coordinators and Parish Councillors,

COVID-19 picture locally

With COVID-19 ‘Plan B’ restrictions largely now ended (as of today – 27 January), I just want to share an update on the COVID-19 picture locally, as provided by our Health partners.

Cambridge has one of the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, and across Cambridgeshire as a whole, rates are at an average of around 1,700 cases per 100,000 people. More than 50% of these cases are in schools and, sadly, there’s no proper indication locally that rates are coming down yet.

Cambridgeshire County Council (which leads on Public Health in our region) has today launched its new ‘COVID Cautious’ campaign, encouraging people to keep doing many of the things they’ve been doing for some time in order to deal with high rates. Please help us to get this information out to residents by sharing these posts via Facebook and Twitter into your communities. As we’ve said before – the pandemic isn’t over yet, and we can still help by following some simple guidelines such as continuing to wear masks in higher risk settings. You can read more about the current COVID-19 guidance on the Government website.

Vaccination update: pop-up in Cambourne

There is a ‘pop-up’ vaccination clinic happening in Cambourne on Wednesday 2 February. Anyone 16+ can walk-in for a first or second dose (Pfizer), or a third ‘primary’ dose for eligible individuals. Anyone who is eligible for their ‘booster’ dose can also walk-in on the day.

  • First, Second, Third and Booster doses available
  • 10am to 4pm, no appointment needed
  • Wednesday 2 February
  • Upper Cambourne Cricket Pavilion, Back Lane, Upper Cambourne, CB23 6BP

Again, please share our posts via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram into your communities – additionally a poster is attached which you are welcome to print / share in your communities. This poster also answers some vaccination FAQs.

For the latest information about where vaccinations can be accessed, please visit www.thevaccinators.co.uk. And for transport to appointments, please remember Cambridgeshire County Council’s ‘Vaxi Taxi’ scheme, where the County Council will cover the cost of the taxi journey.

Request personalised guidance for your project

Do you want to create a social group for people in your community who feel isolated? Or to tackle a community safety concern such as antisocial behaviour? Maybe you want to improve your village’s green credentials such as by planting trees?

We know it can feel challenging to keep up with the number of different toolkits and grants on offer to support positive action in your community, which is why we’ve created a new service to provide personalised advice.

Whatever challenge you’d like to tackle, we can provide personalised guidance for you. This advice could be pointing you to another village that has successfully overcome the challenge, or by introducing you to them for tips; letting you know which grants you could be eligible for; and signposting you to a relevant toolkit for more ideas and guidance. Fill in our short form to receive personalised advice from one of our team about funding and how to get started.

Bill

Bill Handley

Lead Cabinet Member for Community Resilience, Health and Wellbeing

South Cambridgeshire District Council

Save the Date

/in News /by Andrew Martin

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations are from 2nd to 5th June 2022. Barton plan to hold our celebration on Saturday 4th June. Save the date!

CSET Busway Survey

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Have your say on GCP proposals for their CSET busway

In the next few weeks, we may see our County Council vote to progress a new busway (a purpose-built road for buses only) built entirely through the countryside to connect the Biomedical Campus with a new park and ride near Babraham.

Many residents and their parish councils, as well as prominent environmental and transport groups, have expressed grave concerns about the CSET proposals. These include the unnecessary destruction of our countryside and the cost of the project, which may not represent good value for taxpayers’ money.

I have many concerns about the proposals, and I am very aware that many residents of South Cambridgeshire rely on transport links into Cambridge. It is therefore vital that I fully understand your views on this.

If you have two minutes, please do fill out my short survey below so I can better represent your views to the GCP, the County Council, and the Department of Transport. Click here fill in my survey

Cambridge Past, Present, and Future have compiled a useful summary of the main concerns here.

My column from 2021 makes the case for a rethink on off-road busways.

Anthony Browne MP

Park on the Road

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Parish Council asks all residents and their visitors to please park on the road. We continue to receive complaints from pavement users about inappropriate parking. Many motorists think that parking on the pavement helps avoid traffic congestion but forget the impact on pavement users. The main road where pavements are shared with cyclists (Comberton Road) is the biggest problem. In fact parking on the road would be far better as it slows traffic down. Recent MVAS data show speeds of 38 mph (v85) on Comberton Road at Foxcote with a top speed of 77 mph. Other areas of the village where vehicles park on the pavement are the High Street. Again parking on the road would reduce traffic speed and High Street is another road where we receive complaints about speeding vehicles.

Many thanks for being considerate to pavements users and many thanks for helping reduce speeds on through roads in Barton.

Green Bins Collections Start Again

/in News /by Andrew Martin

Dear parish council colleagues

 

We wanted to write to you to let you know the plans to resume the monthly green bin collection from Wednesday. For full details please read our press release, with FAQs, on our website.

 

In summary, collections will resume from this Wednesday, 12 January, and we are asking residents to put their green bins out on their scheduled collection day. We’re also reminding people to check the existing (festive) schedule (as printed in South Cambs Magazine and available on the website), because collection days are not yet back into the normal repeat pattern following the bank holidays over Christmas and New Year.

 

The intention is to empty all green bins in line with the published schedule. However, because there are still several absences and vacancies, any green bins that are missed will not be emptied until the next scheduled collection in February. This is because there are not enough waste crews to return to empty these missed green bins. Any homes that are unfortunately missed will be prioritised for the subsequent collection.

 

Should you wish to share the news about green bin collections resuming within your communities, please feel free to share our Facebook post or Tweet.

 

Best wishes

Hannah