As part of the School Streets project, Cambridgeshire County Council have implemented a scheme to temporarily close School Lane during drop off and pick up beginning next term from Monday 12th April 2021. The scheme is for the safety of children and parents. Letters have been sent by CCC to residents and to parents at the school.
School volunteers will be operating the road closure barriers:
Morning from 8.35 am to 9.00 am
Afternoon from 3.05 pm to 3.30 pm
By temporarily closing the road during these times outside the school, this will help to implement social
distancing and encourage active travel, with the added benefit of reducing congestion and pollution at
the school gates and most importantly improving safety for the children on their way to and from school.
This is being arranged by Cambridgeshire County Council using a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order
which will run from the start of term 12th April 2021 until the end of summer term in July 2022.
https://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/road-safety-image.jpg162311Andrew Martinhttps://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/barton-parish-council-logo-800.pngAndrew Martin2021-03-26 18:34:212021-03-26 18:34:30School Lane Temporary Closures
The lovely residents of Barton have come together again, this time in celebration of Spring, with an Easter Egg Hunt! From 2nd to 11th April, there will be 11 giant decorated eggs hidden all around the village with a mystery message to solve: so hop to it and get cracking!
The Easter bunny will leave carrots behind to point the way and, once you have cracked all of the eggs, you can exchange the hidden message at the village shop and collect your Easter egg prize.
Happy eggs-ploring!
A form for the children to complete is available to print in the attachements below, along with details. Remember to subscribe to the website to stay up to date with village news.
After having seen how pretty the pond looked at Christmas, we would also like to invite residents to hang an Easter decoration on the trees around the village pond.
There is a new Barton Parish Council notice board. The old board has been refurbished and can now be used by the public for advertising. The old and new are side-by-side next to the post box in the village centre. Thanks to John Boocock for his expert digging skills and planned ground works.
Our Local Highways Initiative (LHI) bid was ranked fifth. This is good news as it is almost certain that we will receive a grant of £15k towards implementing traffic calming measures on the boundaries of our village. Detailed design work should start soon so the CCC Highways can tap into 2020/21 budget. We will keep you updated on designs and timings of the work when we can.
With schools now reopened, please continue to spread the word that regular home testing is now available to help stop the spread of the virus. Free tests can be ordered online, or collected from local pickup points.
Reminder of the testing sites in Cambridgeshire
The Hub, High Street, Cambourne, South Cambridgeshire CB23 6GW
Queen Mary Centre, Queen’s Road, Wisbech, Fenland PE13 2PE
Soham Town Rangers Football Club, Julius Martin Lane, Soham, Ely, East Cambridgeshire CB7 5EQ
The Coneygear Centre, Buttsgrove Way, Huntingdon PE29 1PE
The Meadows Community Centre, 1 St Catherine’s Road, Arbury, Cambridge CB4 3XJ
The National Booking Service is now open to all those aged 50 and over. Book a Covid-19 vaccination now via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or, for those who are not online, by calling 119.
Vaccine Team
While there are enough vaccinators to be able to deliver the number of doses available to the NHS, this will continue to be a huge task, and to ensure the NHS can continue to vaccinate millions of people as quickly as possible – at the same time as keeping other vital services going – the NHS is recruiting thousands of paid and volunteer roles across the country. Perhaps you can help?
Covid information campaign
NHS patients can pick their type of vaccine.
Any vaccines that the NHS will provide will have been approved because they pass the MHRA’s tests on safety and efficacy, so people should be assured that whatever vaccine they get, it is worth their while.
Is the vaccine safe?
The NHS will not offer any Covid-19 vaccinations to the public until independent experts have signed off that it is safe to do so. The MHRA, the official UK regulator, has said that both vaccines currently being used have good safety profiles and offer a high level of protection, and we have full confidence in their expert judgement and processes.
COVID Recovery Community Chest Grant
To help groups and projects begin to resume their activities as we come out of lockdown, we have earmarked a £30,000 Covid recovery grant fund as part of our Community Chest funding. This is specifically designed to help local community groups and Parish Councils resume community activities which have been difficult or impossible during the pandemic.
The eligibility criteria for our Community Chest Grant scheme have been temporarily amended to allow applications for grants of up to £2,000 for Covid recovery related projects and initiatives. Previously, few parish councils could apply to the scheme but for the next eight weeks – up until 10th May 2021 – it is open to all Parish Councils as well as community groups, with applications being considered at the May 28th Grants Advisory Committee meeting. Meanwhile, the normal Community Chest scheme continues to run for community groups for a maximum grant of £1,000.
The process is the same for both types of application – just select which grant you are applying for at the start of the process. If you have any questions, please email:
Re-opening facilities safely
Included with this week’s update is an attached infographic of the Government’s Roadmap out of lockdown, its four steps and provisional dates. Each transitional step is 5 weeks long and we are currently in Step 1. Step 2 is from 12th April when libraries and community centres can reopen, children’s activities can restart and all retail reopens. Indoor parent and child groups (up to 15 attendees, under 5s donot count) can also reopen in this phase. In Step 3, from 17th May, outdoors gatherings of up to 30 people will be allowed, as will indoor gatherings of up to 6 people (or 2 households) and indoors adult group sports and exercise classes. Step 4 from 21st June – all activities can restart.
Our Environmental Health service has two dedicated teams supporting communities during this phased reopening. They can help with proactive support to businesses, organisations, community groups and community facilities offering advice and help e.g., giving out support packs, Covid tool kits, free signage and signposting to further services. Please contact .
Virtual Council meetings
The feedback received during Monday’s meeting showed that there was concern from parish councils that the authority to hold virtual Council meetings was being removed. Parish councils reported increased interest from members of the public in their activities and meetings, which they felt was a direct consequence of being able to ‘attend’ remotely. They expressed regret that this permission is to be removed, which is shared by many councils up and down the country. Our Covid Team has conveyed these concerns and views to the relevant departments in central Government, as has the Local Government Association (LGA). It is suggested that it would be worthwhile writing to your MP, stating your views on this matter and the reasons for them. Once we have clarification on this, we will provide an update to you.
Easter Holiday Activities and Food Programme
Following some funding from the Department of Education, the County Council is running a series of Easter Holiday Activity Camps with food for eligible children in receipt of Free School Meals. The camps will be held within schools across the District. If you know of any eligible families who might be interested, let them know to sign up by the deadline 23 March 2021.
3 positive steps we can all take when facing difficult times.
Part of our recovery from the stress and tragedy of the last year is the ability to remain hopeful and happy. Being a hopeful thinker about the future will help build resilience and give another tool for handling stress, change and adversity.
March 20th is International day of Happiness, a global event arranged by the United Nations to remind us that experiencing happiness matters, committing to finding ways forward that bring happiness is important and worth celebrating.
Action for Happiness is a UK charitable movement that supports the growth of happiness in the UK with inspiration and practical resources like their downloadable coping calendar.
A minute of silence on a National Day of Reflection
Since the first lockdown began in 2020, hundreds of thousands of lives have been cut short and millions have been bereaved by Covid-19. In South Cambridgeshire alone there have, so far, been 184 deaths where Covid-19 has been a factor.
Behind the statistics, and whatever the cause, every death has been devastating for the people left behind. For those needing support, we suggest they start with The Good Grief Trust for getting the necessary help.
I would therefore like to invite everyone to reflect on our collective loss, support those who’ve been bereaved, and hope for a brighter future together. At 12pm on Tuesday 23 March, why not stop whatever you are doing and pause for a minute of silence for the National Day of Reflection, the first anniversary of the first UK lockdown.
Best wishes
Bill Handley
Lead Cabinet Member for Community Resilience, Health & Wellbeing
Yesterday, hundreds of people tuned in to my public meeting to discuss their opposition to Thakeham’s proposed 25,000-home new town on land around Barrington, Bassingbourn-cum-Kneesworth, Foxton, Meldreth, Melbourn, Orwell, Shepreth, Whaddon and Wimpole. Not one person spoke in favour.
Our community has made its opinions clear – we do not want this development.
To put this proposal in context, it would represent a settlement half the size of Cambridge City and more than twice the size of Northstowe, already the largest new town to be built in England in the last 50 years.
This battle is far from over. Thakeham has made it clear they will be submitting a proposal to the Greater Cambridge Local Plan, a document that will guide South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning policy for years to come.
I want to draw a line in the sand, letting both Thakeham and the councillors who will have to vote on that Local Plan know residents do not want such an enormous development. That is why I have launched a petition on my website, to be delivered to the South Cambs District Council on Wednesday 31 March, asking them to oppose any such inclusion.
Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday’s public meeting and to those who have already signed. If you have not, please do click the links below to view the meeting in full.
I very much hope you feel able to support this petition, letting your local representatives know how many people oppose this unsustainable development.
The EWR action group based in Haslingfield, Cambridge Approaches are hosting a webinar on the 23rd of March at 7pm for residents of Comberton, Barton and Toft. This is a slight adaption of the presentation that they and CamBedsRoadRail made for Chris Heston-Harris, East West Rail and Anthony Browne.
The Eversdens are now heavily involved with Cambridge Approaches. In addition, a company has been set up called Cambridge Approaches Ltd. Money is being raised through this limited company to fund possible legal challanges to any routes proposed by EWR that may impact local communities.
If you have been following the story, Cambridge Approaches presented to Barton residents last year and proposed their own routes through the EWR Option E corridor into the south of Cambridge. Alternatives 1, 1a and 6 were through Barton Parish, and so avoiding Haslingfield and the Eversdens. The same group is now pushing for a northern route into Cambridge.
Your Parish Council is continuing to engage with all parties including EWR. EWR will make public their route alignments in the next few weeks.
Please feel free to contact your Parish Council if you have any comments or concerns.
https://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/barton-parish-council-logo-800.png00Andrew Martinhttps://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/barton-parish-council-logo-800.pngAndrew Martin2021-03-16 13:23:172021-03-19 09:41:43EWR Action Group Webinar
INVITATION: PUBLIC MEETING ON THE 25,000 HOME THAKEHAM DEVELOPMENT
Good morning,
Since Thakeham’s announcement of a proposed 25,000 home development in South Cambridgeshire, I have been very clear with them and you – I cannot and will not support these proposals. Residents, local councillors, and campaigners have made their views clear too. No-one wants this development.
I am aware that this issue is being discussed across the constituency, and I want to ensure you are informed about both the facts of this proposal and the campaign against it. I am therefore writing to invite you to attend a virtual public meeting with campaign groups and Parish Councils at 18:30 on Thursday 18 March, live-streamed via Facebook and Youtube.
If you would like to attend please do set a reminder by clicking one of the links below. There will be an opportunity to ask questions on the evening via the comment functions on both streams, but if you do wish to pre-submit questions please email .
I very much hope you will be able to join us and assist in the campaign against this unnecessary development.
https://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/snag-ee4b864.png360657Andrew Martinhttps://bartonvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/barton-parish-council-logo-800.pngAndrew Martin2021-03-12 12:25:512021-03-12 12:25:51Thakenham Development Public Meeting
Neighbourhood Watch Network is supporting Sussex’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne, who, in partnership with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), has created an online survey designed to understand the public’s perception of dog theft, enforcement, and the prosecution of offenders.
The survey includes a question seeking views on whether dogs should be treated in law merely as property when they are stolen. Having a common understanding of how the public feels about this issue will help inform discussions that PCCs and NWN will have nationally, as well as allow police forces to better understand the public’s views.
Mrs Bourne said: “Pet theft, dog theft in particular, is a growing concern for the public and their fear has been perpetuated over the last couple of weeks with shocking reports in the media of more dogs being snatched by criminals.
“I am incredibly eager to get more detail around this issue and understand residents’ views and if they feel more could be done to respond to their concerns or for more preventative measures to be put in place to better protect their pets.”
Neighbourhood Watch Network have just been approached to help support this campaign so apologies for the short notice as the survey closes on Friday12th March. Please, if you can, and haven’t already, take a couple of minutes to complete the survey as your support and views are really valuable to us.
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