Archive for category: News

Dear Barton Residents,

Following on from the success of last year’s Twelve Days of Christmas, this year we thought we would co-ordinate an Advent Calendar around the village.

We are looking for 24 volunteers to create a scene as part of a village wide Advent Calendar.  Volunteers will be allocated a number on a first come first serve basis. On the day of their allocated number their window or display should be illuminated, displaying their scene and number between the hours of  5pm and 8pm (or longer if desired) and every night thereafter leading up to the 24^th December.^. Window displays need to be visible from the street and have a seasonal theme with their number. Each night, starting at 1^st December, an additional window will be revealed in order.

If you would like to take part in this year’s Christmas event, please contact Sarah Pitchford:

or 07816 495590

Thank you

Barton Parish Council

Parish News

There have been several incidences of noxious smoke over the village in the last few months.  The Parish Council has received complaints from many residents, not just because it is unpleasant and increasing the air pollution in the village, but also that it is seriously affecting those with respiratory problems.  We have spoken with the Environment Agency and have been told that any further incidents must be reported as they occur to the Environment Agency by anyone who is concerned or affected: the more reports they receive, the sooner this matter will be investigated.

If you are concerned or affected by this, please call the Environment Agency’s emergency incident line on 0800 807060.

As a reminder, waste needs to be disposed of properly and bonfires limited to garden waste. Even then, composting, chipping and cutting up for logs is a far more sensible approach to protect our health and look after our environment.

On Saturday 18th September 2021, the restored roundabout was officially “open for business”. Many thanks to John Boocock and David Hodge for working on this challenging project and restoring the roundabout to its former glory. In addition, the ground has been levelled and reinforced with matting.

Background

In 1953, for the Queen’s coronation, a range of Wicksteed play equipment was installed on the play area on Barton’s Recreation Ground. Only the double swing and the roundabout remain from that time. The solid and popular roundabout has had woodwork repairs many times over the years and an attempt to re-fix some metalwork and with occasional repainting. By 2021, when nearly 70 years old, it had become rather scruffy, and bordering on unsafe. The Parish Council decided that a major refurbishment was required.

Restoration

Refurbishment was started on 27 July and completed on 2 September, needing around 170 hours labour .

The dilapidated timber was removed and the 16 metal holding down plates deemed to be better renewed rather than an attempt at sandblasting before repainting. Machine screws, solidly rusted in to the underframe, proved impossible to entirely remove. So, fresh holes were drilled and threaded, together with the new plate fabrication by Henrich Zelinka the Burwash blacksmith. Meanwhile, all the framework was wire-brushed and red-oxide painted.

New timber, sourced at Millworks Bottisham, was Siberian kiln-dried Larch. The eight sides and eight top triangular board units were carefully made as individual pieces before insertion onto the re-assembled underframe. Timber treatment was with Osmo coatings, and surface metalwork – plates in red and rails in green – with hammerite paint.

The rutted ground surrounding the revolving platform was levelled, covered by a decagon of pre-cut perforated mats, cable-tied together, pegged down and set at a level 100mm below platform rim.

Although the mechanism still runs perfectly, it has had no lubrication for at least 25 years, and probably much longer. So, the bearings were greased through a temporary nipple after removal of the machine screw on top of the central hub.

Thank you

Barton Parish council wishes to acknowledge and thank BRIG and BVCT for contributing to the costs of this project and, once again, thank John and David for all their hard work.

Neighbourhood Policing

Neighbourhood policing is at the heart of everything we do and building trust and confidence with our communities is vital in helping us to prevent crime and bring offenders to justice.

We want to ensure our neighbourhood teams are accessible to, responsible for and accountable to their communities.

With this in mind, last month we launched a dedicated neighbourhood policing page for you as the residents of South Cambs.

The pages allow you to see who your local officers are, read the latest news and appeals and most importantly give you the opportunity to tell us your concerns so we can help rectify the issues that matter to you most.

Tell us what concerns you most in your area?

By working together, we can help to find solutions to the local problems that matter to you most. Whether it’s anti-social behaviour, e-scooters, burglary, speeding or bike theft, we want to hear from you.

Your concerns will help us to understand community needs and work collaboratively with partners, the public and communities to solve local problems.

If you have a community concern you would like to raise, contact us here, it takes just a couple of minutes.

Please note that if you wish to report a crime or suspicious behaviour, continue to tell us through our online reporting portal here.

Inspector Shane Fasey
South Cambs Neighbourhood Policing Team